12-4-17

“When they told us to put on the life vest, that part was very scary because we didn’t know how we were getting across to the pier.”

Coast Guard divers were sent into the river to inspect the ferry and figure out a plan to get it unstuck. They found two small breaches in the hull — but six gas-powered pumps kept the vessel from flooding.

Rivers – #Mississippi /NJ/NY/PA – NY Ferry stuck in mud in East River

Source MrMBB333

#dryriver

Passengers stranded after NYC Ferry gets stuck on sandbar off Wall Street

An NYC Ferry got caught on a sandbar made of construction soot and old pylons off Wall Street on Monday evening, stranding scores of passengers and rupturing the boat’s hull, police said.

The ferry ran aground with 114 passengers, six crew members and a pup aboard, just 100 feet from Pier 11 around 5:15 p.m., according to authorities. No one was hurt.

“We were crowded. We were hungry. It was wonderful. This is New York,” said Leslie Mahoney of the Rockaways, as she rushed to get onto a replacement boat.

The embarrassing incident was another setback for the ferry service, which on Monday sent three more boats to join a trio of ferries already sidelined for repairs, officials said.

Staten Island ferry gets new entrance to ease overcrowding

One ferry employee said the sandbar is “like concrete.” Another said the ferry usually backs out along the pier and then turns around in deeper water.

“This one pulled straight out and right onto (the sandbar). That’s where they got into trouble,” the worker said.

Anthony Hogrebe of the city Economic Development Corp. said while the crew was familiar with the vessel, it “is not an NYC Ferry crew.”

Riders said they called 911 after the Rockaways-bound boat tried, unsuccessfully, to clear the pier for several minutes.

“It started trembling and a little bit after that the captain said we are stuck in the mud,” said Luke Miszczuk, 31, of the Rockaways. “He really tried to gear it up and move the boat but it wasn’t going to move. There was a little bit of a smell of gas.”

After they were stranded for about 45 minutes, passengers were told to put on their life vests, several riders said.

Beth Ward and Pepita Martindale, of the Rockaways, said they weren’t told what was going on fast enough and the ferry crew didn’t immediately call 911.

“We had to call,” Ward said. “The passengers called 911. We tried to find out what was happening and no one was giving us any answers.”

Added Martindale, “It was really frustrating because no information was being passed on to us. 

“When they took us to put on the life vest, that part was very scary because we didn’t know how we were getting across to the pier.”

She said after about a half-hour, passengers asked the crew whether 911 had been called. Crew members said it had not.

“And so we picked up our phones and called,” she said.

Melissa Grace, a spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio said, “We are glad all passengers were safely disembarked and regret the inconvenience.” 

Coast Guard divers were sent into the river to inspect the ferry and figure out a plan to get it unstuck. They found two small breaches in the hull — but six gas-powered pumps kept the vessel from flooding.

The NYPD’s Aviation Unit captured video of the rescue with a fountain of water spewing out of the boat.

Hogrebe said the boat, named the Zelinsky, is owned by Hornblower, the company hired to run the city ferry service.

“It’s a boat our operator has used in the past without incident,” he said. Built in 1986, the Zelinsky was sold by the Blue & Gold fleet out of San Francisco in 2017 because it was near the end of its useful life. Right before it went into service as a replacement boat in New York in April, it slammed into something and had to be repaired. 

De Blasio has heavily promoted the NYC Ferry service, and ridership hit 1 million three months later, but the crowds have led to long lines.

The service runs routes in the Rockaways, South Brooklyn and the East River and expanded to include an Astoria, Queens, ferry in August.

The Coast Guard was investigating what caused the boat to run aground Monday. As part of the inquiry, the captain and crew are also being interviewed and will be tested for drugs and alcohol. 

Source NY Times

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