The St. Johns River Ferry was out of service after crashing into a dock. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on July 3, 2025 at 4:05 pm
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The May 4 accident that caused St. Johns River Ferry service to shut down for 39 days was the result of human error on the part of its 72-year-old captain, investigators determined.
There is evidence of prior problems with the throttle on one of the Jean Ribault’s two engines, but the investigation revealed that no mechanical breakdown or failure was involved in this incident, a report by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority shows.
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In the report, Capt. William C. Baldwin testified that he believed that he properly engaged the controls for Engine B to depart from Mayport. But when he tried to reduce power on Engine B, he testified that its throttle did not respond.
At that point, the Jean Ribault was still stable as Engine A was pushing the ferry away from the dock. So the captain reacted to the lack of throttle response by moving the Engine B throttle back and forth, but continued to receive no response, the report says.
“At this point, Captain Baldwin should have checked to make sure that the B console B throttle indicator light was still lit or potentially attempted to gain control of B engine by switching control to the A side,” the report states. “This action removed the counter force of the A engine and allowed the B engine to propel the vessel to the dock where it struck the Mayport Landing ramp bridge causing substantial damage.”
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No one was injured by the impact, but the crash caused $670,000 in damage to the ramp.
The report made several recommendations, including a refresher course for ferry captains on docking techniques and drills in how to deal with throttle issues.
Baldwin has more than 50 years of experience as a captain. He is employed by HMS Ferries Inc., which operates the ferry for JTA.
