Woman Gives Birth on Washington Ferry, Captain's Second Birth While at the Helm: ‘Exceptionally Good News'
Baby Arlo was born aboard the Samish on Tuesday, Aug. 6, weighing 7 lbs. and 1 oz. at birth, according to Washington State Ferries
Crew members and passengers on a Washington State ferry “leapt into action” when a woman went into labor on the ship, and ultimately gave birth.
Washington State Ferries said the “healthy baby boy was born” aboard the Samish ferry around 3:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Aug. 6, as the vessel was about to leave Lopez Island to Anacortes.
Tom Tripp, a passenger on the boat, told CBS affiliate KIRO-TV that the boat suddenly came to a stop near the Lopez pier, after which an important announcement was made.
The passengers were asked if there was someone with medical training on board who could assist with an emergency, Tripp said. But it wasn’t initially clear why the help was needed.
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Behind the scenes, crew members and passengers worked together to help the mom through labor “until EMS arrived,” according to WSF.
Meanwhile, other members of the crew quickly made sure that an ambulance had space to meet the ship at the dock, NBC affiliate KING-TV reported.
“I could tell something was wrong and so we weren’t going to leave until we figured it out,” Captain Noah Landau said.
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About an hour later, another announcement was made, according to KIRO-TV: “It’s a baby boy!”
Friday Harbor residents Candice and Justin are now the parents of little Arlo, who weighed 7 lbs. and 1 oz at birth, WSF said in an update on X (formerly Twitter).
WSF also shared a photo of the newborn, who is apparently “doing great” following the ordeal, as are his parents.
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“Not only was it not bad news, but exceptionally good news,” Tripp told KIRO-TV. “Grumbling about schedule disruptions and wrecked plans just sort of evaporated.”
Meanwhile, Landau told KING-TV this is not his first experience with a pregnant individual on his ship. This happened to be the second time a baby was born on a boat while he was at the helm.
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