A whale-watching boat ran aground Wednesday morning in Favorite Channel.
Allen Marine’s St. Maria was near Eagle Rock, north of the Juneau area, when it struck charted rock, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Nicholas Capuzzi said.
“The reason they were up there is because there’s a lot of seals that they can spot up there, so when they’re not doing whales they’re looking at other mammals, and the seals are in that area,” Capuzzi said. “They were probably following them along and the tide was a little lower than they expected.”
One-hundred-and-thirteen passengers were aboard, but no injuries were reported. The boat sustained a small crack in the port hull.
Capuzzi said the St. Maria’s onboard pumps were able to keep the vessel de-watered.
“The tide was coming up so they were able to refloat on their own,” Capuzzi said. “They transferred passengers to another of their vessels and they proceeded back with the damaged vessel.”
The Coast Guard Sector Juneau is investigating the incident to see whether any future safety recommendations are needed.
Correction: A previous version of this story reported that the boat struck a sandbar. Coast Guard Lt. Nicholas Capuzzi said the boat struck a charted rock. This story has been updated.
