Docking maneuver errors led to cruise ship allision

Screen shot from a CCTV monitor, provided to the NTSB by the U.S. Coast Guard, shows the allision of the Carnival Pride with the pier at Cruise Maryland Terminal, South Locust Point, Baltimore Harbor, Maryland, as the elevated passenger embarkation walkway falls and crushes three vehicles parked below on the pier

MARCH 7, 2017 —  Too much speed and too steep an angle of approach resulted in the May 8, 2016, allision involving the cruise ship Carnival Pride in which more than $2 million in property damage occurred, according to a National Transportation Safety Board marine accident brief released Tuesday.

No fatalities, injuries or damage to the environment were reported in connection with the Carnival Pride’s allision with the pier at Cruise Maryland Terminal, South Locust Point, Baltimore Harbor, Maryland. Property damage resulting from the allision was estimated at more than $2 million and involved the destruction of an elevated passenger walkway, damage to three vehicles on the pier, and damage to the Carnival Pride’s hull and observation and mooring platform.

The Carnival Pride’s staff captain (second in command) had the conn of the vessel and allowed the vessel to approach the pier too fast and at too steep an angle . The staff captain, upon recognizing the situation, attempted to shift to manual controls but was unable to assume manual control at the bridge wing station. A Maryland pilot was aboard the vessel but had transferred conn of the cruise ship to the ship’s staff captain for the final approach and docking per the agreement between the Association of Maryland Pilots and passenger vessels berthing at the cruise ship terminal.

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.

The NTSB’s marine accident brief, ‘Allision of Passenger Vessel Carnival Pride with Pier and Passenger Walkway,’ is available HERE

Excerpt of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chart 12281 depicts the approach to the Cruise Maryland Terminal, South Locust Point, Baltimore Harbor, Maryland, via the Patapsco River. The red star denotes the accident location and the red line shows the track of the Carnival Pride as it proceeded to the berth on May 8, 2016. NTSB graphic.