Friendship Damages Pier On Its Return To Salem

SALEM, MA —The Friendship of Salem returned to its namesake city Monday with a bang. Scratch that — make it a loud crack. The ship was towed to Salem from Gloucester, where it had spent most of the past three years undergoing routine maintenance. As the Friendship came into Salem around 1:45 p.m. Monday, it overshot Pedricks Pier and nearly hit land, then crashed into the pier.

While the Friendship sustained only cosmetic damage, photos posted on social media Monday afternoon show bent pilings on the pier.

The ship was returned to the water in Gloucester Thursday. It was the first time since the Friendship had been in the water since it was put in dry dock in July 2016 for a haul out.

A haul out is when a ship is taken out of water for inspections, repairs and repainting. The Friendship's haul out started on July 5, 2016 and was performed by Boothbay Harbor Shipyard and Gloucester Marine Railways Corporation on Rocky Neck in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Built in 1996, the Friendship is a replica of the Salem East Indiaman Friendship that was launched in 1797 and a popular Salem tourist attraction. The original Friendship made 15 voyages during her career to Batavia, India, China, South America, the Caribbean, England, Germany, the Mediterranean, and Russia. The British Sloop of War HMS Rosamond captured the Friendship as a prize of war in September 1812, ending her tenure as an American merchant vessel.