Watch CBS News

Ferry Runs Aground In Lynn Harbor

BOSTON (CBS) - A ferry that ran aground in Lynn Harbor Wednesday night is the same boat that left 157 people stranded overnight on a whale watching tour in July.

Boston Harbor Cruises' Cetacea was en route to Lynn Ferry Terminal from Boston's Long Wharf when it grounded in a sandbar around 8:20 p.m.

"We were doing about 30 miles per hour and it just came to a full, complete stop in the space of about two or three seconds," said Steve Deveau, a passenger on board the ferry.

When high tide came in, Cetacea re-floated and made it back to port about 90 minutes after its scheduled arrival according to BHC. The company called the incident "embarrassing" in a statement to WBZ Thursday, but says the captain commanding the boat has been with BHC for over 20 years with a perfect safety record. None of the 10 passengers or 4 crew members were injured.

The Cetacea is one of 44 vessels in BHC's fleet that carries 2.5 million passengers a year. Yet the same boat was involved in an incident last month when its propellers became entangled in ropes in the harbor. On that trip the Cetacea was disabled for more than 12 hours, leaving whale watchers to sleep on the boat while a crew was dispatched to cut them free. The captain on that trip was not the same captain involved in this week's grounding.

Deveau says he isn't upset about the delay Wednesday night and that most of the passengers seemed to be regulars on the Lynn to Boston ferry route that launched just this Summer.

"Hopefully somebody learns a lesson from it," said Deveau. "If you look at the news over the years, ferries have grounded. [It] happens in a lot of places to a lot of people."

The Coast Guard is investigating both incidents. BHC said it would issue gift certificates to the passengers.

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.