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Water taxi captain talks intercept of runaway barge on Seattle waterfront
For days, we've been waiting to hear from the water taxi captain who corralled a runaway barge along the Seattle waterfront.
SEATTLE - Captain Dan Krehbiel had the odds, and six stories of cargo containers, stacked against him.
While piloting a water taxi across Elliott Bay on Thursday, Krehbiel spotted a barge dangerously adrift. Fearing a potential collision with the Great Wheel or the Aquarium, Krehbiel rerouted his passenger ferry and redirected the runaway barge.
"It was clear that it was headed for the waterfront," said Krehbiel. "I knew by the size of it and the size of us that I wasn’t going to be stopping it by any means, but maybe I could divert its course."
Krehbiel says there is no protocol for navigating problems like this. With no other help in sight, the mariner with more than 30 years of experience turned to instinct.
"A lot of things go through my mind then: where’s it going to hit? What could it do at the waterfront?," shared Krehbiel. "I had passengers on board."
Members of the crew rushed to the bow, while Krehbiel held fast at the helm. High winds were quickly carrying the adrift barge away from the port, past busy ferry lanes toward Pier 57, Miner’s Landing.
RELATED: Barge full of containers breaks loose, strikes pier along Seattle waterfront
"We nudged up to it, kind of bounced off it the first time," recalled Krehbiel. "Then I knew I had to push up against it hard to stay against it."
Krehbiel's fast thinking avoided catastrophe. The barge collided with Pier 66, causing only minimal damage to the Bell Harbor seawall and the ship.
"It's a bizarre thing," said Kreihbel. "It’s not common to have barges break free and blow across the bay."