'Hard landing': Ferry crash causes damage to vessel, Fauntleroy Terminal structure
SEATTLE - A ferry and a structure at the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal in West Seattle were damaged Thursday morning after a crash at the dock.
The Washington State Ferries said there was a "hard landing" involving Ferry Cathlamet, and it caused significant damage to the boat and an offshore dolphin at the terminal.
A dolphin is a terminal structure located at the dock and it helps guide a vessel in.
A dolphin is part of a terminal that helps guide a boat in. (Washington State Ferries)
"We were just going like normal and like right before we were docking, we just hit a huge wood pylon out there. It was a huge crash and it shook the entire boat and sort of like shifted a lot of people’s cars too, inside the boat. It was crazy," said Oskar Weiss, a ferry passenger at the time.
No injuries were reported.
Crews are still investigating what happened.
"There's no smoking gun exactly what happened here, you know, as far as mechanical failure or anything like that. I can tell you that all of the crew, as standard procedure, will be drug and alcohol tested. And that's already been done. We're awaiting results there. And we're working with our federal partners and others to really investigate what happened here. We want to know that it doesn't happen again," said Ian Sterling, the public information officer for Washington State Ferries.
On Monday, drug and alcohol tests came back negative for the entire ferry crew, suggesting intoxication was not a factor in the crash. Washington State Ferries says the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident and will release their findings later.
Sterling said that this is a rare occurrence for Washington State Ferries. There are "hard landings" from time to time, but nothing like what occurred on Thursday.
Services in Fauntleroy were initially suspended but have since resumed with two-boat service.
U.S. Coast Guard has cleared WSF to move Cathlamet out of the Fauntleroy terminal. The vessel will do a few stops for crewing purposes before heading to our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility for repairs, WSF said.
Two-boat services have resumed for the Fauntleroy route. The Kitsap and Issaquah ferries will be running.
Sterling said during a press conference that the Cathlamet would be out of service for months with a "significant price tag." This already putting stress on short-staffed ferries and reduced routes due to the pandemic.