7 passengers hurt when whale-watching ship crashes into pier in San Diego

A whale-watching ship rammed into San Diego’s Embarcadero on Thursday afternoon, injuring passengers, damaging the hull and buckling a portion of the well-traveled brick walkway.

The crew of the Adventure Hornblower reported a mechanical malfunction that caused the throttle to become stuck in the forward position, San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief David Gerboth said. The crew, coming in to dock along North Harbor Drive, could not stop the boat to prevent the crash.

Seven passengers suffered minor to moderate injuries. Of those, three were sent to hospitals with neck, back or leg injuries, Gerboth said. The others were treated by medics and released.

There were 144 people aboard the 150-foot ship at the time, although it was not clear whether that included the crew members.

Mike and Deb Ellis, from the Phoenix area, had come to San Diego to celebrate her 60th birthday. During the cruise Thursday they saw two water spouts and a lot of dolphins. Deb Ellis was in the stern on the top deck when the boat crashed.

“It felt like we were coming in a little hot,” she said. “Then the boat hit the dock. The next thing I heard was four blasts of the horn. ... We hit pretty hard.”

Mike Ellis said that people waiting in line for the next cruise ran to get out of the way as the bow slammed into the walkway.

Tables, chairs and people on the top deck fell down.

Also on the top deck were Osmond DeSousa, his wife and teenage son, who were visiting from New Jersey.

“I saw it coming in fast. It hit the dock, bounced off and continued too fast to stop. The woman next to me fell, she was hurt pretty bad,” DeSousa said.

“The crew were walking on the deck yelling, ‘Brace yourselves or hold on to something.’”

Mike and Deb Ellis said that after the crash, the crew started first aid on the injured, putting ice bags on bruises and bandaging cuts. They opened the snack bar for free food and drinks while passengers waited about two hours to disembark.

Tugboats had to push the ship back from the damaged walkway so passengers could get off.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Harbor police will handle the investigation.

“We’re not exactly sure what happened yet,” said Jim Unger, general manager of Hornblower Cruises and Events, who stressed that the safety of their passengers was important to the company.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune-com
Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Staff writers Dana Littlefield and Kristina Davis contributed to this report.