U.S. Cruise Ship Runs Aground on the Columbia River

[Magogman]

The Associated Press has reported that the U.S. domestic cruise ship "Empress of the North" ran aground Friday, March 23 in the Columbia River east of Portland, Oregon. It sustained some damage but the extent was not known.

The "Queen of the West", a sister ship pulled alongside to take off the reported more than 250 passengers and crew.  A tug wedged a barge between the ships to provide safely and stability during the transfer.  The ship's owner, American West Steamboat Co., based in Seattle, Washington, bused the passengers to a hotel until it could be determined whether or not the ship could continue its weeklong cruise on the Columbia River which began at Astoria, Oregon.

Plans are to pull the Empress of the North off the sandbar with a tug.  There was no oil leakage and the ship was not in danger of sinking.  The 100 meter ship is modelled on the old sternwheelers of the 1800's which used to ply the Columbia River far inland.  This is the second grounding for the Empress which also ran aground in 2003.  That grounding was blamed on human error.    Multnomah County sheriff's officials speculated that wind and choppy waters may have caused the Empress to veer off course.

For those not familiar with the Columbia River it is one of the largest rivers in North America with headwaters in the Canadian Rockies and its mouth near Astoria, Oregon.  Several huge dams and reservoirs on both the Columbia's mainstem and tributaries generate tremendous amounts of hydroelectricy and the river is a main source of irrigation water for the arid region of eastern Washington and Oregon.  Some of these dams, such as the Grand Coulee Dam are among the largest in the world.