‘Traumatic’: SF ferry to Alcatraz slams into Pier 31, shattering windows

A ferry carrying passengers on a sightseeing cruise around San Francisco Bay reportedly collided with San Francisco’s Pier 31 on Sunday evening while attempting to dock. 

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Several videos posted on Tik Tok show shattered windows in the dining area on one of the vessel’s decks. Passengers on the ferry told KGO-TV that the vessel’s crash into the pier caused a large jolt that knocked people off their feet. 

“The people that worked there were not making a big deal about it, but you can tell in their face that they were panicking,” Genesis Alcocer, one of the passengers, told the news outlet. 

@gennnalc He had one job!!! It was giving Titantic 😥 #foryoupage #fyp #sanfrancisco ♬ original sound – Genny A

In a statement to SFGATE, Alcatraz City Cruises, which operates various cruises to Alcatraz Island and around the bay, described the collision as a “docking incident.” 

“There are no currently reported injuries, and an investigation of the incident will be conducted to determine it cause,” Cornelius Geary, a spokesperson for the company, said. “Any impacts to service will be provided as additional information becomes available.”

There were 102 passengers aboard the vessel when the impact occurred, and it was traveling at a “low speed,” Geary said. The company has begun the process of refunding passengers, he added.

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Passengers had to wait on board for around 20 minutes before disembarking, according to KGO-TV, and many were shaken up by the crash. Olivia Rios-Acuña, who took her son on the cruise, told the news outlet that she was “terrified” and called the experience “traumatic.”

Samuel Menchaca, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, told SFGATE that fire crews were not called to the scene. SFGATE reached out to the Port of San Francisco but did not hear back before the time of publication. 

Cruise ships have occasionally scraped up against the piers in recent years, such as a large Princess Cruises ship in 2023. That ship, which had 2,677 guests and 1,161 crew members on board, slammed into Pier 27 just before it was cleared for departure on a 10-day cruise to Alaska and Canada. 

This story has been updated.