NTSB: Ship Hit Baltimore CSX Pier While Going Too Fast

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The National Transportation Safety Board says high speed was the probable cause of a shipping accident that did more than $2 million worth of damage to a CSX Corp. coal pier in Baltimore Harbor.

The agency reported on Tuesday that the 477-foot tanker, the Wawasan Ruby, was going 9 to 10 knots in August 2012 when it tried to turn into Curtis Creek and hit the Bayside Coal Pier.

The NTSB says at least four other ships had successfully made the same turn at speeds averaging 3 to 6 knots. Those ships also were assisted by tugboats secured to their vessels, which the Wawasan Ruby lacked.

The tanker was owned by Panama-based Trio Happiness S.A.  It was bound from Florida partially loaded with ethanol.

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