Loose barge near Seattle’s waterfront came unmoored in windy weather

The barge that floated unattended and perilously close to Seattle’s downtown waterfront Thursday came loose from its mooring near the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 18 and is owned by Alaska Marine Lines, which offers regular barge service to Alaska and Hawaii.

Called the Pacific Trader, the 380-foot barge was loaded with empty containers, said Alaska Marine Lines spokesperson Ryan Dixon.

“High winds pushed it across Elliott Bay and it made contact with Pier 66,” Dixon said in a statement. He did not respond to follow-up questions about how it came loose and how long it took company staff to notice it had floated away.

The errant barge captured the attention of hundreds, maybe thousands, of onlookers Thursday as it crept north from Harbor Island, narrowly avoiding a queue of significant piers, including those hosting Colman Dock, the Great Wheel and the Seattle Aquarium. It eventually collided with the marina near Pier 66, causing minor damage and no injuries.

The quick thinking of Capt. Dan Krehbiel, who was piloting the King County Water Taxi between West Seattle and the waterfront, may have prevented more significant damage. Around 1 p.m., he and the crew noticed the unmoored vessel and moved to intercept it. Using the bow of the small passenger ferry, they nudged the barge north, keeping it clear of the most populated and prized parts of the waterfront.

Data from the website Marine Traffic shows the water taxi, the MV Doc Maynard, leading the boat along the shoreline and releasing it into the sparsely populated marina.

Krehbiel was celebrated by King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Metro general manager Michelle Allison.

“We’re very proud of our captain and crew,” said Allison. “They recognized the danger this loose barge represented and then took quick action to protect people and the busy Seattle waterfront.” 

The Coast Guard is leading an investigation into what happened. A spokesperson offered few details Friday.

Metro spokesperson Al Sanders said it’s the responsibility of the captain and crew to assist vessels in distress. “As USCG Merchant Mariners, the captains and crews are trained to react in crisis situations and make the best decisions possible with the information they have,” he said.

The Seattle Fire Department briefly issued an evacuation order to the aquarium and Pier 66 buildings, but called it off once the barge was secured by tugboats.

Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman, speaking in his role as a maritime safety consultant, questioned how the barge was able to float so far before a tugboat could secure it.

The incident highlights a broader safety concern with barges, namely that they’re not all required to carry automatic identification systems that would show up on the vessel traffic services monitored by the Coast Guard. That lack of a system has “many other implications on maritime safety analysis” because it’s difficult to tell when a barge is being tugged or what it’s carrying, Felleman said.

“It’s unfortunate that a tug could not have gotten there sooner,” he said. “While I’m greatly appreciative of the heroics of the captain of the Doc Maynard, it’s unfortunate that there wasn’t an appropriate tug available before it hit the dock. Perhaps there could have been earlier indication of it separating from its mooring if there had been an AIS transponder on board the barge, but unfortunately no barges are equipped with such things.”