THE DALLES, Ore. — A passenger and two crew members suffered minor injuries late Thursday when the sternwheeler cruise ship Empress of the North went aground on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, the Wasco County Sheriff’s Office said.
The three were treated and released at Mid-Columbia Medical Center.
The ship, based in Portland, had 58 passengers and 68 crew members.
It was completed earlier this year by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders Inc. on Whidbey Island and spent the summer in use for Alaska tours. It will spend the winter on the Columbia River.
Third mate Travis McKeown said the ship developed steering problems near Frenchies Landing near The Dalles, 80 miles upriver from Portland.
The ship worked free on its own power and was able to make it to a barge dock, where it tied up.
The sheriff’s office said a visual inspection of the hull turned up no leakage.
The ship departed Clarkston, Wash., near the Idaho border, Wednesday afternoon and was en route to Stevenson when it went aground. The sheriff’s office said it got the call at 10:16 p.m.
It had been scheduled to dock at Stevenson at about 11 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard released the ship Friday to be inspected at a Portland shipyard.
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