Ferry captain lost ‘situational awareness’ during hard landing

SEATTLE — Editor’s Note: The video of the collision above was published on August 29, 2022.

The captain of the Cathlamet ferry lost “situational awareness” before the ship collided with a dolphin offshore at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in July 2022, according to an internal report produced by the Washington State Ferries.

After the ship hit the dolphin – a structure that guides ferries to dock – the captain asked the captain “What happened? What happened?” according to interviews conducted after the incident. It is not known if the loss of consciousness was caused by the captain’s refusal to answer questions during the investigation.

“However, we can conclude that his loss of situational awareness was the primary cause of this incident and that without this loss of situational awareness, the assassination would most likely not have occurred.” happened,” the report concluded.

The captain’s name was removed from the report by Washington State Ferries.

The collision occurred on July 24, 2022. Cathlamet “did not slow down” when approaching the pier; was traveling at about 15 knots at the time, according to reports.

The collision caused significant damage to the ship. The dolphin is mainly made from a pile of wood with steel and concrete, which has created a sizable tear in the front right of the ferry.

According to a report from the Washington State Ferries, one passenger suffered minor injuries and one vehicle was damaged and could not immediately disembark.

A ferry spokesman said drug and alcohol tests on the entire crew were negative.

The captain of Cathlamet at the time of the collision resigned on July 28, four days after the incident. When initially interviewed about the incident, the captain answered each question: “On the advice of my attorney, I refuse to answer questions,” according to the report.

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