Summary:
On the morning of May 8, 2016, the passenger vessel Carnival Pride was attempting to dock at the Cruise Maryland Terminal at South Locust Point in Baltimore, Maryland, when its bow struck the pier and fendering, along with an elevated passenger embarkation walkway on shore. The allision caused nearly $2.1 million in damages. The walkway was destroyed, three vehicles that were under the walkway as it collapsed and damaged them, and the vessel sustained minor cosmetic damage. There were no injuries and no pollution was reported.
Damage:
The elevated passenger walkway was destroyed at an estimated cost of $2 million. Repair or replacement of the three vehicles damaged when the walkway collapsed onto them totaled $75,000. The retractable observation and mooring platform on the forward starboard side of the Carnival Pride absorbed the majority of the impact with the walkway and was bent out of shape, hanging at the ship’s side. Additional damage to the vessel included scraping and minor indentation to the side shell plating at the flare of the bow approximately 15 feet below the gunwale. Repairs to the Carnival Pride were estimated at $10,000.
Probable Cause:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Carnival Pride’s allision with the pier and elevated passenger embarkation walkway 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 during the maneuver.
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Source: NTSB
