(WASHINGTON) — On June 25, 2023, at approximately 3:05 a.m., the small passenger ferry vessel Pelican II was underway northbound from the Fisher Island ferry terminal west, Miami Harbor, en route to the Causeway Island ferry terminal in Miami, Fla. The vessel had three crewmembers, no passengers and no cargo or vehicles on board.
At approximately 3:06 a.m., Pelican II entered the marked channel in Government Cut between buoys No. 16 and No. 19. Shortly after the vessel entered the channel, the master of Pelican II spotted a small recreational vessel (FLl 832JU) heading east in Government Cut, moving at a high rate of speed approximately 100 yards off the port bow. The master began to slow the vessel down.
At 3:07, the Fisher Island Ferry vessel Seahawk passed Pelican II port to port. Approximately eight seconds after the two vessels passed, the recreational vessel’s starboard side collided with Pelican II’s bow. The master of Pelican II immediately brought the vessel engines to all stop. Debris from the recreational vessel broke apart from the boat and sank to a depth of 50 feet with two people on board. The master of Pelican II immediately reported in the incident to the Coast Guard.
At approximately 3:36, the crew of Pelican II retrieved one person floating in the water, who was placed on the deck. The person retrieved sustained multiple injuries, was semi-conscious and without clothes from the waist downward. At approximately 3:54, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) vessel, Fireboat 15, was on scene. The injured person was transferred to the fireboat and later transported to a local hospital. It was discovered that there was another person on the recreational vessel that was missing. Approximately 45 minutes after the vessel collision, a Miami fire rescue dive team extracted the missing person from the water. The person was pronounced deceased on scene at 4 a.m. Pelican II proceeded to the pier and moored safely.
At approximately 7:38 p.m., a local salvage team recovered the recreational vessel, and the waterway was reopened to all marine traffic. It was noted that the two outboard engines were not attached to the vessel and were never found.
Through this investigation, the Coast Guard has determined that the initiating event for this casualty was the recreational vessel colliding with Pelican II, resulting in the sinking of the boat, one injured person, and one loss of life. The causal factors that contributed to this casualty were 1) violation of navigational rule No. 6 (safe speed), and 2) violation of navigational rule No. 15 (crossing situation).
– U.S. Coast Guard
