SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A 10-day voyage to Alaska that was scheduled to set sail at 4 p.m. Thursday was still in San Francisco as of Friday morning.
The Ruby Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, made contact with Pier 27 on Thursday. The collision damaged the ship’s hull and dock.
For overnight and early morning repair work, teams were placed on a crane so they were close enough to repair the damage.
The crews have welded the hole shut and are now awaiting the Coast Guard’s all-clear before setting sail for Alaska.
“It certainly looks like it’s been repaired well there,” Robin Richardson told ABC7 News. “Because there was a big hole yesterday. I hope that’s enough!”
Richardson was on board at the time of impact, completing a ten-day Alaska voyage himself. However, this new round of passengers remained docked on the first day of their voyage when they were otherwise on open water.
“Walk under the Golden Gate Bridge and start our cruise and be happy about it,” Richardson said of the first day. “But they sit here and don’t start their cruise. So that’s unfortunate.”
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Passengers who boarded the ship on Thursday were asked to stay on board and not go ashore. There are 3,256 guests and 1,161 crew members on board as the ship remains docked at Pier 27.
The captain came over loudspeakers on Friday and announced that they hoped to be able to leave soon, to accommodate the passengers for the lost day and asked for patience.
By the time the captain updated at 8am, the Ruby Princess was repaired. At 9 a.m., Princess Cruises was still awaiting clearance from the US Coast Guard.
Passenger Jennifer Ding spoke to us on board the ship.
“It probably took us about four to six months to develop it,” she explained. “We have birthdays and anniversaries and I am currently pregnant and expecting a child. So there’s a lot we’re celebrating on this cruise,” she said.
Ding described the atmosphere as upbeat – hopeful they will leave today despite the delay.
“Everyone I met was in a good mood,” Ding told ABC7 News. “We just had breakfast with two other couples and everyone was in a good mood.”
Captain Allan Post of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy said the crash was not uncommon in the maritime world, particularly when operating large vessels.
“The Ruby Princess is about 950 feet long and weighs about 115,000 tons,” said Captain Post. “With so much weight and so much sail area, the ship is influenced by the wind, the current and the technical prowess of its design.”
Princess Cruises spoke of a “goodwill gesture as compensation”. However, it is not known exactly what this will look like for the thousands of passengers affected.
In a statement Friday at 8:45 a.m., Princess Cruises said it was in: “Continued discussions with the US Coast Guard regarding clearance for Ruby Princess to depart San Francisco and while we are confident that the ship will depart today, to given time, will be released for departure.” The departure is still to be clarified.
Investigations against the bar pilot
We learn more about the Ruby Princess pilot. In a way, this is an elite group. According to the Executive Director of the Board of Pilot Commissioners, there are not many bar pilots, currently there are 52 and four trainees are in the pipeline.
The investigation into what went wrong with the Ruby Princess while docking at Pier 27 in San Francisco Thursday morning is in the early stages of fact finding.
“It appears that the Ruby Princess’ docking area made contact with Pier 27,” said US Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander William Williams.
The Coast Guard, which is helping the investigation, says the pilot will be subjected to a drug and alcohol test, which is standard in a serious incident at sea.
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“The Coast Guard has dispatched two teams, a survey team and a port state control inspection team, to the ship and will conduct these inspections and investigations,” Williams said.
Bar pilots under investigation after cruise ship crashes into SF pier
San Francisco Bar Pilots are responsible for safely navigating the ships they board across the offshore sandbar to docks throughout the Bay Area.
A spokesman for the San Francisco Bar Pilots told ABC7 News: “We can confirm that a pilot was involved in a hard landing at Pier 27 this morning. We are cooperating with all necessary authorities to investigate this matter and have no further comment to make.”
The Board of Pilot Commissioners tells ABC7 News that the pilot is a member of the Pilot Evaluation Committee, which is responsible for trainees, and that everyone on that committee must have been a pilot for more than 10 years.
The investigation is now in the hands of the US Coast Guard and other federal agencies, who were briefed on the incident earlier this morning.
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