Barge strikes three houses in Gig Harbor’s Sunrise Beach after tug captain falls asleep
A large barge ran ashore Monday after the captain of the tug pushing it fell asleep, causing the barge to strike three homes off Sunrise Beach Drive in Gig Harbor.
There were no reported injuries afloat or ashore, although a woman having her morning coffee on the deck of one home was badly scared when the barge, looming out of the predawn gloom, sheered off the deck.
Homeowner Chris Smith said he was in bed and his wife, Rhonda Schwab, was on their deck when the barge veered toward their house about 7:30 a..m.
“She started screaming, so I jumped up real quick and ran to the front window. I witnessed the tugboat coming from just out beyond those buoys at an angle,” Smith said. “You can see the line that sheared off on that piece of plywood that used to be decking.”
The company that operates the tug Island Chief said the skipper fell asleep and allowed the tug and barge to drift off course.
“It just is an unfortunate incident that is very rare,” said Erik Ellefsen, general manager at Island Tug and Barge Co. which owns the tug. “It has never happened to us for the 40-plus years we’ve been in business. Policies are in place for rest periods and then those are followed. They were followed on this incident as well.”
The impacted houses were in the 9500 block of Sunrise Beach Drive Northwest.
Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One responded to the scene along with the Coast Guard and Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies.
Eric Waters, division chief and public information officer for the department, gave details:
“The barge was heading south out of Seattle and, for some reason, ran aground and struck those three buildings, one a little more severe than the others,” Waters said. “Our technical rescue team is at the scene right now and they are putting some emergency shoring in place to stabilize the building.”
Deck sheared off
Smith built the house himself and has lived there for nearly 14 years. It was the first to be struck by the barge and bore the brunt of the impact. He said he estimates the cost of the damage is upwards of $200,000.
It is easy to see why. Smith’s entire front deck was cut to pieces and the line that the barge took in tearing through his property can be seen from around the corner.
Even with the damage, Smith considers himself lucky that no one was hurt and that the impact didn’t damage the house structurally,
“We’re so lucky. You can see the corner of my house didn’t really get damaged,” Smith said. “It mainly just sheared off the deck. We’re very fortunate it didn’t hit us square on.”
Smith said that he saw the tugboat get stuck ashore and the barge drift away after the initial impact.
“I’m glad he got off, because he could have been here now,” Smith said.
Smith said his wife is okay and just had been understandably surprised at the early morning sight of what looked like a 200-foot barge bearing down on their home.
“She’s a tough lady. It’s just the initial shock, you don’t expect this to happen,” Smith said. “She was on the deck on that railing waving frantically at this guy trying to get his attention and it just didn’t happen.”
In a tweet, the fire department showed some of the scenes from the aftermath of the crash.
Ellefsen said there are currently no planned consequences or changes in leadership for this boat.
A vacation no one expected
Sierra Hudson was staying in a home that was down the way from Smith. The home is being rented out as an AirBnB and Hudson is visiting Gig Harbor from Ohio.
“It wasn’t too bad once we understood what happened, everybody is okay,” Hudson said.
Hudson was staying with friends and had set up a GoPro camera in the hopes of catching a beautiful sunset on video. Hudson had no idea what would actually be caught on video as the whole group went back inside to sleep more.
“I heard what almost sounding like an explosion. I lifted the blinds and there it was,” Hudson said. “I ran out front and there it was. It basically took off the front part of the deck and then started to correct itself. It sounded like an explosion but it was honestly only the boat hitting the house a couple houses down.”
Hudson said the house they are all staying is in is fine, but that the front part of the deck was very shaky to walk on.
“It was definitely a big surprise, we didn’t really of course expect that. We’re not from here so we’re not really used to boats or anything,” Hudson said. “Everybody is okay, mistakes were made. As long as everybody is alive and well, it all can be fixed.”
Captain still has a job
Ellefson, the towboat company owner, said he’s not planning to relieve the captain of the Island Chief.
“Of course we’ll be assessing the situation. Once we find the full findings we’ll make our evaluation and go from there,” Ellefsen said. “I think it should be noted that this is a talented captain that is very experienced and, while unfortunate, his reactions actually saved further injury and further damage.”
Ellefsen said after the captain noticed the tug was off course, he took immediate action.
“Once he realized the situation he was in, his evasive maneuvers, in my opinion, prevented further injury and further damage,” Ellefsen said. “Everything else will be internal and there will be ongoing investigations.”
Waters said it will take more time to know the extent of the damage to all the houses.
“That’s something that a structural engineer will make an analysis on and make the determination as to what they need to do or what can be done,” Waters said.
Ellefsen said the tug company is already working to help with repairs.
“Any repairs, any damages that have been done we’ll be repairing them as fast as we’re allowed to do so,” Ellefsen said. “We have people on site right now taking a look at how we can repair everything as fast as possible. We’re just grateful there was no physical injury to anyone.”
Smith said he doesn’t hold any resentment toward the captain who fell asleep and that he feels the company has worked to make amends.
“Everyone has been real nice and they’re compassionate about our loss. We’re just trying to get through it,” Smith said. “I don’t want to get that guy in trouble. I really have a lot of respect for those guys that can do that kind of work.”
He now says he looks forward to getting back to the old times of seeing the ships passing by and waving hello.
“We see these guys go by all the time, and we wave at them and they honk their horn,” Smith said. “It’s that kind of marine relationship. They come by every day so it’s like I’ve seen that boat for fifteen years. I’ve never shook the guys hand, but he was stuck right there.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 12:28 PM.
