Ship in Boston Harbor runs aground, takes on water and is evacuated; 1 injury among 174 aboard

Ship in Boston Harbor runs aground, is evacuated

BOSTON — A tour boat headed on a whale watch with 174 people on board was evacuated Saturday after it ran aground on a rocky ledge in Boston Harbor and began taking on water.

No one was seriously hurt in the accident, which was reported at about 10 a.m. off Deer Island. The Coast Guard said two people suffered back and knee injuries.

Authorities said a combination of Coast Guard vessels, local emergency vessels and nearby fishing boats helped evacuate the 87-foot vessel Massachusetts, and by early afternoon, everyone was safely off the boat. Passengers were taken to a pier in Hull, about 3 miles from the disabled boat, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Connie Terrell.

Meanwhile, workers on board the Massachusetts tried to pump out the sinking vessel, while divers attempted to patch the gash in the hull, said Winthrop Deputy Harbormaster Chuck Evans, who was at the scene.

Evans said the boat’s operators reported that they collided with rocks at Devil’s Back Ledge while traveling at about 18 knots. The boat was listing heavily toward its bow Saturday afternoon and its back end had lifted out of the water, he said.

“It’s a pretty serious accident,” Evans said. “Once it goes down, it would be a total loss, I believe. … They’re trying to save it.”

Passengers described a loud noise and a sudden jolt that snapped the legs on plastic deck chairs and sent people sprawling.

“We were physically thrown forward,” Maria Patane of Yonkers, N.Y., told The Boston Globe. “Kids were crying, people screaming. For a few seconds I thought we were going down.”

Sarah Bennett, a tourist from North Carolina, told the Boston Herald that passengers were instructed to grab life jackets and move to the top deck. She said she was taken to shore on a lobster boat with about 40 other passengers.

The Coast Guard was investigating the cause of the accident.

The Massachusetts is owned by Massachusetts Bay Lines of Boston, which also runs party and harbor cruises. A woman who answered the phone at the company’s offices Saturday said no one was commenting on the accident.