USVI-On-Line

Are the new ferries running now?

The new ferries are/were running. A couple weeks ago one of them ran into the dock while arriving in Cruz Bay. It has been dry docked for repairs. So we have one new ferry and the old ferries running.

That crash into the dock was remarkable, and occurred at the very peak visitor moment: the 4 PM ferry from Red Hook, on a Saturday in high season. Seas and weather were fine. One possibility is that the Captain was distracted at the key moment as the ferry approached the dock. Another is that he (assuming it was a guy) had perhaps too much experience with the old monohull vessels, for which there was a smooth and pretty forgiving curve of lateral offset from the dock and any issues. With the new twin hull ferries, that curve is a step function that goes from a fender kiss to serious port side hull damage in pretty short order. Two passengers were injured; all in all, a somewhat traumatic and very unprofessional welcome to St. John.

http://www.stjohntradewindsnews.com/ind ... juring-two

All the best,

Kevin