No Response from Reverse Thrust Says Captain of Busted Up Ferry

In August, Incat Crowther completed a retrofit of the Seastreak Wall Street. The job included swapping out the original four Cummins main engines powering four water jets with two MTU engines with controllable pitch propellers.  USCG Image

The captain of a ferry that crashed in Manhattan’s Financial District yesterday told investigators the ship didn’t respond when he put the thrust into reverse, a National Transportation Safety Board official said.

“As the captain approached the pier, they go into reverse to slow the vessel down,” Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member, said today at a press briefing at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. “He moved from the center console on the bridge and transferred control to the starboard console and found the reverse thruster wasn’t working.”

The captain, whom he didn’t name, reported no problems with the ship’s steering, Sumwalt said. He was interviewed for more than three hours, Sumwalt said.

The Seastreak Wall Street, a commuter ferry, slammed into Pier 11 at South Street and Gouverneur Lane about 8:43 a.m. yesterday, according to the New York City Police Department, injuring about 57 people.

The boat left Highlands, New Jersey, at 8 a.m. with 326 people aboard, including five crew members. The boat ran into one slip and then slammed into another, officials said.

– Martin Z. Braun, Copyright 2013 Bloomberg.

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