A Princess Cruises ship gave new which means to “misplaced at sea” when it skilled an surprising occasion whereas docked in Tromsø, Norway, on September 29, 2024.
Throughout a 14-night “Seek for the Northern Lights” voyage, the Caribbean Princess ship’s moorings traces snapped, inflicting it to float away from the dock.
A video posted by a passenger confirmed the ship drifting, saying each gangplanks grew to become submerged within the water.
“We’ve simply snapped our mooring traces right here in Tromsø and we’re floating freed from the dock,” the visitor shared on X. “The gangplanks each ended up partially submerged.”
“Fortunately, nobody went within the water, and the scenario was dealt with professionally and rapidly by the crew,” the visitor continued.
Whereas the ship’s crew acted swiftly and ensured everybody remained protected, a tugboat was known as to tow the vessel again to its place. No additional points have been reported.
Swedish media indicated Tromsø police have been additionally known as and that climate situations could have contributed to the breakage of the mooring traces.
The port, positioned in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle and also known as the “Gateway to the Arctic,” was experiencing rain and temperatures within the excessive 30s and minimal winds of about 7 miles per hour on the time of the incident.
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No accidents have been reported among the many 3,140 passengers or the 1,200 crew aboard the 112,894-gross-ton ship. It has continued its journey to extra Norwegian ports and can return to Southampton, England, on October 8, 2024.
Mooring Line Incidents Not Unprecedented
Mooring line failures are uncommon however not solely exceptional. The occasion involving the Caribbean Princess echoes an identical incidence in January of this 12 months when a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the 140,000-gross-ton Norwegian Prima, additionally broke free from its moorings throughout debarkation in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
In that case, climate situations have been a contributing issue with excessive winds inflicting the mooring traces to snap, briefly leaving the ship adrift earlier than tugboats intervened to stabilize it.
In June 2023, one other Norwegian ship, the 145,655-gross-ton Norwegian Breakaway, additionally skilled a breakage when sturdy winds triggered the traces to interrupt in Civitavecchia, Italy.
The truth that nobody was injured in the course of the occasion in Tromsø is a testomony to the ship’s crew and native dock personnel care. As soon as tugged again to the port, the Caribbean Princess was resecured and will keep its schedule.
No different ships have been in port the day Caribbean Princess broke freed from its mooring. The ship was docked at Kai 21 port at 9 a.m. and departed at 9:44 p.m., a couple of minutes forward of schedule.
The Port of Tromsø welcomes greater than 40,000 cruise passengers annually and is one in all Norway’s busiest ports. In 2023, the nation closed in on almost 3,950 cruise calls, besting its 2022 numbers by virtually 500.
Caribbean Princess’s name in Norway was its final of the 2024 season, though the port will proceed to welcome different cruise traces, together with Silversea, Fred Olsen Cruise Traces, AIDACruises, Cunard, and others.
Following its return to England subsequent week, the ship will journey to Civitavecchia on a 12-night voyage after which reposition to Port Canaveral, Florida, for a winter within the Caribbean, the place temperatures and winds will likely be extra gentle and hopefully much less disruptive of moorings.
