RedactedNarrative: On Thursday, August 25, 2022, at approximately 1949 hours, I, OFC. of the Maryland Natural Resources Police, was dispatched to a vessel taking on water in the vicinity of the Riva Bridge on the South River. I arrived on the scene via NRP Vessel 011. I observed the three male occupants wearing PFDs on the vessel that was taking on water, along with two good Samaritan vessels standing by for any additional assistance. After further discovery, there were eight occupants in total on the vessel at the time of the incident. Prior to my arrival five occupants were transferred onto a good Samaritan vessel and taken to Mike's Crab house. There were no injuries involved with this incident. All of the occupants are listed below.
  
                          After further investigation, Operator was operating his 2006 32' SeaRay Sundancer, at the entrance of Broad Creek on the South River, Edgewater, MD, Anne Arundel County. He explained that the kids had dropped a football in the water and he put the twin engine vessel in reverse at a slow speed. While in reverse to retrieve the football, the depth became very shallow, approximately 3'. 
  
  His motor outdrives went into the sandy shoal. He immediately turned off the motors and after realizing that the boat was taking on water, he dropped his anchor to stay in place. The vessel continued to take on water, which resulted in both 350 MerCruiser motors, Kohler generator, and all of the vessels batteries/electrical being completely submerged. 
  
  The vessel remained on the bottom with the vessel slightly sinking below the waterline. Five of the occupants were then transferred to a good Samaritan boat as stated above.
  
  TowBoat US and Honey Badger Hauling arrived on scene to lift the vessel and take it to be pulled out for damage assessments. While working on pumping the vessel out, we were able to manually lift the engine compartment, where we discovered that the port exhaust hose was completely separated from the hull fitting. This caused the water to pour in at a high rate. TowBoat US and Honey Badger Hauling employees worked together to pump the vessel out and the vessel was later towed to Discovery Village boat ramp for removal and storage to be assessed in the near future by the insurance company. 
  
                          A safety inspection was conducted on the vessel, and all required USCG safety equipment was present as shown in the attached boat accident report. After furthering the investigation, it was determined that this incident was merely a faulty exhaust hose that came loose likely due to wear and tear, and not related to the slowly backing aground. The damages/salvage were estimated by TowBoat US and the vessel owner, and initial assumptions on cost amounts, is upwards of $100,000. This will be adjusted once the vessel owner meets with his insurance company. As stated by operator, all occupants were aft of the helm at the time of the incident. 
  
                          All events occurred in Anne Arundel County, MD.
  