Latest Staten Island Ferry Incident Raises Troubling Questions

This week, the John Marchi lost power as it was set to dock at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island and 15 people suffered minor injuries. The crew did a great job in preventing further injuries, but reports indicate that there has been a troubling spate of problems with the Marchi losing power during its operations.

The Marchi is one of the newest Staten Island ferries, and yet it has lost power on several occasions, including once where it required tugboat assistance to complete a trip. In fact, since it went into service four years ago, it's lost power eight times, which is far more than just the usual teething problems. The NYC DOT isn't exactly saying that there's a problem, and they'd rather focus on the fact that this crew did a great job of preventing a more serious incident.

This week's incident is apparently the result of a blown transformer.

"We know a transformer failed, and things went from there," said Staten Island ferry Chief Operating Officer James DeSimone.

The four-year-old ferry, the John J. Marchi, struck a pier at the St. George Terminal on Wednesday evening. The vessel was taken out of service for repairs.

DeSimone said the ferry fleet undergoes quarterly inspections by the Coast Guard and additional city checks he compared to preventive maintenance.

The transformer wouldn't normally be inspected and would be expected to last about 15 years, he said.

No one quite knows why the one transformer caused a series of failures leading to a complete loss of propulsion.

So far, it appears the problem started when a transformer failed, shutting down the power to one of the motors that drives the propeller. Then other motors shut down, Captain DeSimone said.

“We understand how the one drive could go off because the transformer failed, but not why the other three drive motors powered down,” he said. “It is what we are trying to determine now.” The final results will be sent to the Coast Guard, he said.

The crew passed alcohol tests, which are required after accidents, and results of similar drug tests are pending, according to a spokesman for the Transportation Department.