Pilot Errors May Have Caused Boat Crash, Say Investigators

Pilot error may have been the cause of a whale watching boat crash in Boston Harbor over the weekend.

The Coast Guard says none of the crew members or the two captains on duty of the Massachusetts tested positive for alcohol about two hours after the crash.

The Coast Guard's investigation into why the 87-foot-long vessel carrying 174 passengers left the shipping channel Saturday remains ongoing.

Several passengers told the Boston Herald that the boat veered out of the channel when a barge approached.

William Spence, president of Massachusetts Bay Lines, Inc., said in a statement that the captain immediately radioed a distress call when the ship hit an object and took on water about a mile and a half from shore. The company offered no other comment Sunday.

The vessel itself was moored on Sunday in Chelsea after being towed there on Saturday.

Crews worked to remove oil from the vessel before taking it out the water to make repairs.