The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its report yesterday regarding the allision* between the Carnival Pride and the pier and passenger walkway in Baltimore last year.
On May 8, 2016, the Carnival Pride was attempting to dock at the cruise terminal in Baltimore, Maryland, when the ship’s bow struck the pier and an elevated passenger walkway on shore, causing over $2,000,000 in damages.
The Carnival cruise ship was returning from a cruise to the Bahamas. It had previously taken on a pilot while it was in U.S. inland waters.
The staff captain later took the helm and was navigating the Pride to the terminal. As the ship approached the pier, the angle of approach was too steep and the speed was too fast.
The captain took control of the ship from the staff captain and applied full thrust away from the berth to slow the ship but not before the bow struck the pier support columns.
The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the crash was the staff captain’s errors during the docking maneuver (approaching the pier with excessive speed and at too steep of an angle) and the captain’s insufficient oversight.
You can see photos of the extensive damage here.
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Photos credit: Top – CBS Baltimore; bottom – NTSB report via gCaptain.
* Definition of "allision:" the action of dashing against or striking upon; example – by a vessel against an object ashore, in contrast to a "collision" between two vessels.
