Monmouth County demands answers after ferry collision
Passengers say the Molly Pitcher had barely left the dock when it struck part of the pier’s banking system, shattering several windows on the first level.
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Monmouth County commissioners are demanding answers after they say they learned from passengers, not NY Waterway, about a ferry collision Tuesday morning.
The incident happened on the 6:30 a.m. sailing from Belford in Middletown. Passengers say the Molly Pitcher had barely left the dock when it struck part of the pier’s banking system, shattering several windows on the first level.
Passenger Erika Rech says she heard a series of loud pops as the windows broke, sending glass into the passenger area. She says the ferry never slowed down or returned to the dock, and passengers from the lower level were moved upstairs.
County Commissioner Tom Arnone says he is frustrated that officials were not immediately notified.
"If you hit something hard enough to blow out the windows into the passenger cabin, 100% that your next calls are to make sure that the boat is safe, to the county to let them know that passengers are safe, and what they are doing to resolve or, you know, I don't know how that doesn't warrant stopping to assess what happened."
Monmouth County owns the port and leases it to NY Waterway. Arnone says the county is demanding answers about what happened and whether the ferry was safe to continue its trip to New York City.
