Seventy-nine people had to be evacuated from the Freedom ferry to Nantucket Tuesday after the boat suffered a mechanical failure in Nantucket Harbor.
The summer ferry runs between Harwich Port and the island.
During a morning trip, it arrived safely in the harbor but was unable to dock normally.
A problem with shifting out of reverse appears to be the culprit, according to Master Chief John Lowell, the officer in charge of Coast Guard Station Brant Point.
“The owner and operator of the boat will have to determine the specific nature of the casualty, but initially it looks like maybe a shift cable broke between the bridge and the engines,” he said. “It looks like they shifted into reverse and they weren't able to shift out of reverse.”
The edge of the boat’s hull got stuck under Old North Wharf.
“The port aft quarter, or the left back corner of the boat, … got lodged maybe a foot underneath the Old North Wharf there,” he said. “And then as the tide rose, and the people disembarked, it only got more stuck as the pressure became greater against the hull.”
The boat usually docks at Straight Wharf, nearby.
Lowell said the Coast Guard worked with the Nantucket Fire Department and Harbormaster’s Office to render aid. The ferry was eventually freed by the natural action of wind and current.
No one was injured.
No one from the company that owns the vessel, Freedom Cruise Line, was immediately available to comment Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday morning, an employee said company officials were on board the boat and not available to speak.
