Ferry runs aground, passengers evacuated

PORTLAND – The 96 passengers aboard a Portland-based ferry were safely evacuated during the night after the 84-foot vessel ran aground in Casco Bay.

The Coast Guard dispatched two rescue boats to assist the Bay Mist, which was reported hard aground around 10 p.m. Friday about a half-mile southeast of Basket Island.

The passengers were transferred to another ferry, the Island Romance. There were no reports of injuries.

There were no signs of a puncture to the Bay Mist, which refloated five hours later on the incoming tide and was escorted by tug to the ferry dock in Portland.