WASHINGTON (TVR) – Speed and human error are to blame for the collision of a fully-loaded Carnival cruise ship into a Maryland pier, causing more than $2 million dollars in damage, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday.

The elevated passenger embarkation walkway, in the midst of falling to the ground and crushing three vehicles, after it was impacted by Carnival Pride’s observation and mooring platform. Courtesy: US Coast Guard

The Carnival Pride was docking at the Cruise Maryland Terminal in Baltimore on May 8, 2016, when the bow collided with the pier, destroying an elevated passenger walkway and damaging the ship.

There were 3,362 passengers and crew on board at the time; no one was hurt.

Weather did not appear to be a factor, with scattered clouds, “clear visibility at 10 miles,” and winds at four to six knots, according to the NTSB brief.

NTSB: Cruise Ship Collision Due to Human Error

In a Marine Accident Brief, the NTSB blamed human error:

The staff captain allowed the vessel to approach the pier too fast and at an angle too steep because he misjudged the power available in the joystick mode for correcting the maneuver. In the seconds it took him to assess that the joystick control would not be enough, in his opinion, to slow the ship, he lost valuable time in shifting to manual control. In his haste to shift control, he was unable to assume manual control at the bridge wing station, an event the staff captain could not explain. The vessel’s operating company was not able to replicate the failed transfer of control from the joystick mode to the manual mode during testing on subsequent voyages. Thus, the company has been unable to determine a cause other than possible human error.

The Carnival Pride was returning from a seven-day cruise to Florida and the Bahamas.

Shortly after the collision, passenger Debbie Squires told CBS Baltimore, “Heard it like a crash and felt it and then heard something crashing from outside as well.”

“They were very kind and they had a plan B and it all worked out very good,” Squires was quoted as telling the station.

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