Restaurant versus US Navy!

Fergus’ Ark restaurant, an ex-banana boat and floating casino, dropped anchor in Wilmington, Cape Fear in 1952. It quickly became a local favourite.

First Collision: The Submarine Incident

Less than 3 years later, in 1955, the US Navy opened hostilities on seafood when a manoeuvring submarine collided with the moored restaurant!

Second Collision: The USS North Carolina Incident

The US Navy wasn’t done waging war on the hospitality sector. On October 2, 1961, it was the turn of USS North Carolina to hit Fergus’ Ark restaurant! The bow of the battleship got stuck in the muddy riverbed when tugs tried to move it to its berth, causing the stern to swing around in an arc. Guns from the stern’s turret poked into the walls of the Ark’s galley, but apart from that, damage was once again minor!