The U.S. Coast Guard from the Puget Sound sector was deployed on Thursday morning, July 28th at about 8:20 a.m. after the Washington State Ferry CATHLAMET crashed into the pilings near the West Seattle Fauntleroy dock. It is reported that the vessel had veered off course and was coming in…
Articles Posted in Ferry Incidents
Port of Bellingham Ordered to Pay $16M to Injured Ferry Worker
In November of 2012, Shannon Adamson suffered life-threatening injuries when the passenger gangway she was standing on collapsed. She fell 18-feet and suffered a shattered pelvis and sacrum, fractures in her lower back, loss of sensation in her right leg, a broken ankle, wrist and ribs, two punctured lungs, a…
Federal Jury Finds Port of Bellingham Negligent For Collapse of Gangway; Awards Injured Ferry Worker $16 Million In Damages
A Seattle Federal Court Jury has awarded an Alaska Ferry worker and her husband 16 million dollars in total compensatory damages for injuries she suffered when a gangway she was working upon collapsed at the Port of Bellingham. Shannon Adamson, a Mate aboard an Alaska Ferry, was injured in an…
Disabled Ferry TACOMA’s Power Loss Caused by Power Surge from Ship Design Flaw
Why did the ferry TACOMA lose power during a routine run from Seattle to Bainbridge Island last summer? “We have found the problem, and we have identified a fix for it,” said Lynne Griffith, Assistant Secretary for the state Ferries Division. A power surge caused by a design flaw destroyed…
M/V SEWOL Tragedy off South Korea
Ferries operate around the world, most of the time successfully enough. Here in the Puget Sound area, millions rely on ferries each year. In fact, according to the Washington Department of Transportation, over 75,000 commuters use the ferry system each work day, and vehicles board ferries around 11 million times…
British Columbia Ferry Rams Dock – Six Passengers Injured
One passenger was airlifted to a hospital in Vancouver with possible head injuries after a British Columbia Ferry, Queen of Nanaimo, carrying 207 passengers, rammed a ferry dock on Mayne Island near Victoria. Five other persons were also injured in Tuesday’s accident. The captain of the ferry capable of carrying…
New York Staten Island Ferry Collision – Up To 40 People Injured
Saturday, the ANDREW J. BARBERI, a Staten Island Ferry, slammed into a docking pier injuring up to 40 passengers. The accident is blamed on mechanical failure, and there is no indication that drug or alcohol was involved in the accident. The vessel was carrying 250 passengers at the time of…
PLEASURE BOAT CRASH KILLS 3, HURTS 4
A pleasure boat crash near Long Island has left three dead and injured four others. The 40 foot pleasure boat ran aground South of the Hamlet of Wantagh, N.Y. Sea Tow, a company that assists boaters in emergency, contacted authorities following the accident. The Coast Guard dispatched a rescue boat…
Ferry Workers Receive $1.1M for Toxic Voyage
Three Washington State Ferry workers were awarded a combined verdict of $1.1M for lung damage resulting from cleaning products and lack of instructions from the Washington State Ferries. The three workers, Tammy Brazeau, Alex Johnson and Natette Lewis, were cleaning a restroom with a substance called Hi ‘N Dry as…