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| The Spirit of Nantucket was run aground after it started taking on water.
(Cruise West) |
By Jim Washington
The Virginian-Pilot
The captain of a cruise boat with 66 people aboard purposefully ran the craft aground on the Intracoastal Waterway this morning after it started taking on water, according to a Coast Guard spokesman.
No one was injured, Petty Officer Christopher Evanson said. The Coast Guard worked with a helicopter and boats based in Portsmouth and Elizabeth City, N.C., to ferry passengers from the boat to the Pungo Ferry landing, Evanson said.
Medical personnel were available and buses were being lined up to transport passengers, according to Evanson.
No fuel was spilled into the river, Evanson said. The Spirit of Nantucket left Alexandria, Va., a few days ago for a 10-day tour to Charleston, S.C., Evanson said.
The craft began taking on water shortly after 6 a.m. and the captain decided to run aground to prevent any more water coming in.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, Evanson said.
Evanson did not know how wide the river was at that point or how far out the boat was stuck. That section of the Intracoastal Waterway is also known as the North Landing River. The boat is near Old Pungo Ferry Road and the Pungo Ferry Bridge.
Video of the operation appeared on CNN, MSNBC and other national news channels Thursday morning.
According to the Web site of Cruise West, the Spirit of Nantucket is 207 feet long, has space for 102 passengers and has a draft of eight feet, allowing for shallow water cruises.
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Give me a break...
Mark E., if you could be so kind, speak not of what you don't know...unless you were either on the cruise ship or the CG boat, you don't know what is in the water, or where it came from. It could simply be from the water being pumped out of the ship to keep it from sinking. Maybe when the pic was taken, they were getting people off the sinking ship rather than putting out booms. Before you bash the CG, take a moment and realize what the men and women do for this country and the ton of jobs they have with 48,000 people...less than the NY City Police Dept.
hmm
I feel like no one actually read the article. it says the captain was there on purpose because the boat was taking on water. That would make him quite a good captain, I think, since he knew to do that. why is everyone so negative all the time.
How rude
I am lost on the rude comments?? The Coast Guard did their job?? Nobody was hurt, so what is the issue?? I will never understand people; a bomb can fall from the sky-no big deal. A ship is brought to safety and nobody is hurt and the Coast Guard did a good job, and you all are rude?? What only the Navy and the jets get positive comments?? Rude and pretty shallow too.
What!!!!
its not their first time through there, so i'm sure they knew what they were doing..... big yachts go through there all the time and they have deep drafts also.
I wonder if the water was still low from the storm...
Clueless Coasties
I agree Ira, that's a nice size sheen ont the water. I'm sure it was there already, probably has nothing to do with a boat running aground. It's a good thing they reviewed the pictures before commenting!
I'm pretty sure Petty Officer Evanson is pulling his boot out of his mouth about now. His superior must be proud! And these guys are in charge of Homeland Security at the Ports--scary!! Tax dollars hard at work!
Spirit of Nantucket
Aboard the Spirit of Nantucket
The Captain said "Hand me a Bucket!"
As the water rushed in,
He would rather not swim,
So deep in the mud he has stuck-it.
Cruise ship aground in ICW
I'm a professional captain and pass through this area several times a year since about 1960. This is no place to be in the dark (5:30 AM) as it is full of stumps and wrecks as shown in the background of photo. Twenty five feet ether side of center and you run a good chance of hitting something. Many of the electronic charts relied on today for navigation have a large error in this area and cannot be depended on. However, running her aground was a good move.
yer so smart
the slick is from rotting vegetation stirred up when the boat went aground.I see this all the time when I'm in the swamps. I guess professional skippers know how to get there boat through these shallow places.
no fuel spilled?
No fuel spilled?? Whats that blue glow around the Coast Guard boat at the top of the page? Looks like fuel to me... or is that just a good ol' 2 stroke engine spittin oil from the Coast Guard boat?
Really?
If no fuel was spilled, then who does the fuel slick in the second picture belong to? Also, why was a boat w/ an 8' draft heading through Currituck? You would have to be really sharp and have some local knowledge to run from the sound through Coinjock without hitting shallows.