On 08/31/2023 at approximately 10:16 AM, I, Ofc. of the Maryland Natural Resources Police received a call for service about a boat accident that occurred on 08/25/2023 between 10:45 and 11:45 PM. The caller was later identified by driver’s license and reported that he was operating his vessel when he collided with Carrs Wharf in the Rhode River.

At approximately 11:16 AM, I met with Subject at his vessel. Subject’s vessel was identified as a 2003 51-foot Viking powerboat with a Maryland registration (and redundant Coast Guard documentation # 1146978). The vessel bore no certificate of number or Maryland display use sticker on its hull and Subject had the Maryland certificate of number/sticker and Coast Guard Documentation onboard his vessel. 

Subject filed a claim through his insurance (Chubbs North America Policy) and a marine surveyor had been at his vessel earlier that morning to document the damage to his vessel. I conducted a safety inspection of Subject’s vessel. All required items were on board. Subject said he had over 500 hours of boating experience, had not taken a boating safety course, and said that he had consulted the weather before his use of the boat on 08/25/2023.

Subject said he had 4 passengers on his vessel at the time of the accident. Subject told me he had taken the boat to the Jetty restaurant in Kent Island and was heading into the Rhode River Marina in Bear Neck Creek of the Rhode River to drop his passengers off at approximately 11:00 PM on 08/25/2023. He advised he was traveling 12-14 knots and had his navigation lights on as he was navigating around Carrs Wharf at the entrance to Bear Neck Creek. He then saw a small Jon boat under 16 feet in length with unknown persons onboard in the channel of the wharf that had no navigation lights. He reportedly swerved to his starboard side to avoid a collision but collided with the end of the dock at Carrs Wharf.

His vessel sustained a hole in the starboard side of the hull about 4 inches from the bow. The hole appeared to be 3 inches by 2 inches. A large fiberglass gouge was observed from the hull fracture leading aft along the starboard side. The gouge was approximately 3 feet long by 1 foot wide and ¾ inch deep. From the gouge leading aft, a scrape that was approximately 6 feet long and 1 foot wide was observed. The scrape was brown. Above the scrape at the blue boot stripe on the starboard side and under the foremost window was a gouge approximately 3 feet wide by 4 inches high (pictures attached to this report).

Subject said that he had not been drinking/under the influence at the time of the accident and did not know any notification should be made about the accident. I asked Subject if he had notified Anne Arundel County Parks about the damage Carrs Wharf sustained. He said he went back to the wharf and did not observe any damage. Under NR 8-724, a boat accident of over $2,000 is required to be reported within 10 days. Additionally, the operator shall give the name, address, and identification of the operator’s vessel to the owner of any property damaged.

Subject said that his navigational GPS was on at the time of the accident, but his radar unit was off. When asked why his radar was off, Subject said he had it on but turned it off while entering the Rhode River. His 4 passengers were all in the cockpit of the vessel at the time of the accident.  The collision threw all persons onboard to the port side of the cabin and no injuries were reported. Subject said his propellers likely sustained damage after the accident as it drifted into shallow water adjacent to Carrs Wharf and hit bottom. Subject could not provide an estimate for the damage and only said the marine surveyor told him that the vessel would not be “totaled,” but the damage would be in the tens of thousands of dollars. He said his boat was insured for a value of $243,000. I provided several Witness Statements (NRP-425A) for Subject and his passengers to fill out.

I then went to Carrs Wharf and documented the damage to the pier (pictures attached to this report). The two pilings closest to Bear Neck Creek at the T-head of the dock had numerous scrapes and gouges. There was fiberglass and white paint embedded in one of the pilings. The deck strut between the two pilings was snapped in half and a metal sign on the bulkhead of the dock was partially hanging. The bulkhead under the middle piling had an approximately 5-inch-long scrape.  Additionally, both pilings had gouges approximately 6 inches above the deck of the pier. The closest piling to Bear Neck Creek’s gouge was approximately 2 feet high and 1 foot wide. The center piling gouge was approximately 5 inches high and 5 inches wide. I emailed the superintendent of Anne Arundel County Parks pictures of the damage as well as the insurance claim information and boating accident report number. They will have an engineer survey the damage and update me when an estimate is obtained. 

A Coast Guard boat accident report is attached to this report.

This case is open and pending further investigation and charges against Subject.

All events occurred in Anne Arundel County.

1001 Carrs Wharf Rd
Edgewater                     