NTSB: Maintenance error led to engine failure on WSF ferry

NTSB: Maintenance error led to engine failure on WSF ferry

(WASHINGTON) — An improperly tightened fastener led to a diesel engine failure on the passenger and car ferry Wenatchee near Bainbridge Island, Wash., resulting in nearly $3.8 million in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Tuesday. Marine Investigation Report 22/06 details the NTSB’s investigation into the April 22, 2021, catastrophic failure of the No. 3 main engine aboard…
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Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand

Seastreak newcomer pushing through dip in demand

Two years ago, Seastreak LLC took delivery of Seastreak Commodore, a 600-passenger fast ferry, from Gulf Craft of Franklin, La. Designed by Australia-based Incat Crowther, the vessel is the largest of its kind in the United States and was built to meet the burgeoning demand for service in the New York-New Jersey market. Then COVID-19 arrived and passenger traffic took…
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Niagara Falls tour operator leads industry toward all-electric future

Niagara Falls tour operator leads industry toward all-electric future

Buffalo earned the “City of Light” nickname more than a century ago as an early beneficiary of the electricity generated from nearby Niagara Falls. The iconic Niagara Falls Maid of the Mist tour company made history of its own last fall when it took delivery of the first zero-emission passenger vessels built in the United States. The 90.5-foot aluminum catamarans…
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Madonna adds flexibility, ice-breaking capacity for Wisconsin operator

Madonna adds flexibility, ice-breaking capacity for Wisconsin operator

For most of this century, the Washington Island Ferry Line had a single icebreaking vessel available for winter runs across Lake Michigan’s Death’s Door Passage. The arrangement caused some sleepless nights for company President Hoyt Purinton. He should rest a little easier this year now that a second ice-hardened ferry has joined the fleet. “We haven’t had the luxury of…
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