Ferry passengers back on land after malfunction strands them on Lake Erie

MARBLEHEAD, Ohio (WTVG) - Passengers on a ferry were stuck on Lake Erie for hours Saturday after their boat malfunctioned, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Goodtime I, based in Sandusky, was stalled between Kelleys Island and Marblehead. Crews were working on getting it back to port throughout the evening.

Coast Guard officials said it was towed back to the Jackson Street Pier at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Nobody was seriously hurt and the ferry wasn’t taking on water, officials said. It’s unclear how many people were on board.

The ferry lost forward propulsion, officials said, so it couldn’t move forward. An investigation is underway to figure out what went wrong.

Two small U.S. Coast Guard boats were on the scene, along with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2023 WTVG. All rights reserved.