page_title: MV Andrew J. Barberi
section_title: Incident
hierarchical_section_title: MV Andrew J. Barberi / 2010 accident / Incident
caption_attribution_description: English: The moment of the collision between the Andrew J. Baberi and the Staten Island Terminal (May 8, 2010).
context_page_description: The MV Andrew J. Barberi is one of two Barberi-class ferry boats operated as part of the Staten Island Ferry between Manhattan and Staten Island in New York City, besides MV Samuel I. Newhouse. With a capacity of 6,000, she is among the highest-capacity boats in the ferry's fleet. Since her introduction in 1981, she has had a history of incidents, including a 2003 crash that killed eleven people and a 2010 crash that injured thirty-seven.
  Andrew J. Barberi was named after the longtime coach of Curtis High School's football team, who had died shortly before the ship was commissioned. Barberi coached throughout the 1950s, '60s and '70s and was instrumental in the development of scholastic football on Staten Island.
context_section_description: At approximately 9:00 a.m. on May 8, 2010, Andrew J. Barberi left Manhattan on her regularly scheduled crossing to the Staten Island terminal. The weather was calm with light winds, good visibility, and an ebbing tide. Aboard the vessel were 244 passengers, 18 crewmembers, 2 NYPD officers, and 2 concessionaires. As per standard procedure, both the captain and assistant captain were present in the Staten Island-end pilothouse. At 9:16, as Andrew J. Barberi was passing the Kill Van Kull buoy, the assistant captain began to reduce engine rpm and pitch in preparation for docking. The vessel initially responded as commanded, with AIS data indicating that the vessel had reduced speed slightly. Because Andrew J. Barberi was not equipped with a voyage data recorder at the time of the collision, it is impossible to determine exactly when the vessel failed to respond to the assistant captain's commands.
  When Andrew J. Barberi was approximately halfway between the KVK buoy and the Staten Island terminal, the captain asked the assistant captain to reduce speed. The assistant captain replied affirmatively and began to input reduced Pitch commands. As the vessel rapidly approached the slip, the captain ordered the assistant captain to input a full reverse pitch command. The assistant captain complied and input the ordered pitch command. At the same time, the captain increased engine rpm in order to produce more astern thrust. At this moment the assistant captain became aware that the propulsion units were not following his commands, so he repeatedly pushed the control levels downward to repeat his astern command.
  
  In the engine control room, the chief engineer began to notice that the sounds of the engines were not normal for this stage of the voyage. By watching a television mounted in the control room, an oiler became aware of the impending collision and notified the chief engineer. The chief engineer then ordered the engineering crew members to brace themselves for the collision. Up in the pilothouse, the Captain began to sound the whistle and issue the danger signal. The mate issued a brace command over the vessel's public address system and deckhands began to move passengers away from the vessel's bow. At 0918:33, Andrew J. Barberi forcefully collided with the terminal.
  As the collision occurred, many passengers who had not braced for impact were thrown to the floor. Eyewitness accounts of the incident mention that some passengers were thrown against glass doors and windows while others appeared to be thrown into the air by the force of the collision. Some passengers appeared to be emotionally disturbed by the incident and were observed weeping after the collision. Because the terminal's shore side transition bridge was free-floating, it is believed that the bridge absorbed some of the collision's energy. As a result of the impact, the transition bridge was lifted to a high of 5 feet above Andrew J. Barberi’s main deck and shifted back into a security fence. In the terminal, passengers waiting to embark described the collision as earthquake-like, shaking the entire building. Some passengers in the terminal began to run, fearing the vessel would break through the building. Once the vessel came to rest, the assistant captain input a no-pitch, or neutral, command into the propulsion units.
  After the impact, one of the two NYPD officers on board the ferry radioed for assistance. Upon receiving the officer's call, the NYPD's Ferry Security Division began to mobilize police resources to the scene of the collision. The NYPD also notified the USCG and FDNY. FDNY arrived approximately seven minutes later and began to administer first aid and search for any passengers who may have been thrown overboard by the collision. Around 40 passengers were taken to a local hospital for a variety of injuries. The remaining passengers disembarked via a gangway that had been placed between the vessel's main deck and the displaced transition bridge. Below deck, the vessel's engineers began to check the vessel for damage. The only damage was found above t
caption: The moment of the collision between Andrew J. Barberi and the Staten Island Terminal.
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