oh my!

another carnival accident, this time on the Ecstasy.

Cruise ship damages gangway

By Laura Elder
The Daily News
Published February 2, 2010

GALVESTON — The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an incident last week in which Carnival Cruise Line’s Ecstasy struck the passenger gangway at the Texas Cruise Ship Terminal at Pier 25, knocking the $1.8 million structure out of commission, possibly for weeks.

No one was injured in the collision, which occurred about 8 a.m. Thursday as the ship’s captain was attempting to turn the 855-foot Ecstasy around in the channel, port officials said.

“While turning around in the channel, the rear of the ship nudged the gangway and pushed it about 15 feet along the wharf and about 3 feet toward the terminal — but not into the terminal,” Port Director Steve Cernak said.

Cernak referred questions about the cause of the incident to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard has ruled out drug and alcohol use as the cause of the crash, Lt. Timothy Tilghman said. But it had not completed its investigation nor determined the cause, Tilghman said.

Such investigations are standard in vessel accidents, Tilghman said.

Two members of the 15-member Galveston-Texas City Pilots Association were aboard the Ecstasy when it struck the gangway.

Ship pilots guide vessels in and out of local harbors, relying on their local expertise to alert captains of local obstructions.

Capt. Wally Hogan, president of the association, said pilots performed their duties and were not responsible for the accident.

Ecstasy’s captain was in control of the vessel, Hogan said.

One pilot was in the wheelhouse and another on the stern when the vessel struck the gangway.

The pilot on the stern advised the pilot in the wheelhouse that the ship was about to hit the structure, Hogan said.

Carnival Cruise Lines could not be reached for comment Monday.

Relations between ship pilots and cruise-ship operators have been tense for months.

In September, Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association in September sued the Board of Pilot Commissioners, which regulates ship pilot pay, to uphold an agreement that would stop the requirement of two ship pilots on each cruise ship.

Cruise ship operators said one pilot is sufficient and two is expensive. Pilots said the two-pilot rule is about safety.

But Judge Susan Criss of the 212th District Court in Galveston last month dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds.

Port officials still are assessing damage of the gangway to determine whether the frame was damaged, Cernak said.

The port is directing cruise ship passengers to an alternate gangway typically used by staff, Cernak said.

The port has ordered parts to repair the gangway. Delivery of the parts and the repairs could take at least 30 days, Cernak said.

Carnival Cruise Lines is a port tenant.

The port and the Florida-based company have not yet agreed whose insurance would cover gangway repair costs, Cernak said.

Information about damage to the Ecstasy, which offers four- and five-day cruises to the Mexican coast and the Western Caribbean, was not available Monday.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------