U.S. Coast Guard investigators are still examining damage Friday to a Princess Cruises ship that crashed into Pier 27 early Thursday morning.
“At this time, we do have a team from our Port State Control shop; they are still assessing the damage on board the vessel and doing significant testing to make sure the ship is safe to sail,” Lt. Junior Grade Benjamin Wathen said.
The Coast Guard’s Port State Control is a division of the military branch that inspects ships in order to verify a ship’s condition and ensure that its equipment is in compliance with international regulations.
The ship is tentatively scheduled to depart to Alaska later today once the inspection is complete, the spokesperson added. The ship was originally scheduled to depart at 4 p.m. Thursday.
The 3,256 guests and 1,161 crew who boarded the ship Thursday remained onboard overnight, according to Princess Cruises.
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No other information about the incident is available at this time, Wathen added, saying the investigation is “still ongoing.”
The Ruby Princess cruise ship’s “port quarter,” which stretches from the front left side toward the back, was damaged after it crashed into the pier during an early Thursday morning incident.
The ship was returning to San Francisco after a 10-day round-trip cruise to Alaska.
No passengers were hurt, and all of the 3,328 passengers and 1,159 crew members were removed from the ship without incident.
A Princess Cruises spokesperson confirmed that Coast Guard officials are performing “an inspection and reviewing the work that has been completed.”
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Bar Pilots said a pilot was involved in the crash.
“We are cooperating with all necessary agencies in looking into this matter and cannot comment further,” the spokesperson said.
The Port of San Francisco did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.