Norwegian cruise ship crashes into docks in Puerto Rico
A Norwegian cruise ship smashed into the docks in Puerto Rico, sinking the pier.
Video shows the Epic cruise liner veering towards the San Juan docks, destroying two mooring points in the process.
The vessel departed from Port Canaveral in Florida on 9 February for a seven-day cruise around the British Virgin Islands.
However, technical issues onboard meant the ship had to divert to Puerto Rico.
Footage filmed from above captures the moment the liner slowly crashes into first one mooring point, then another, both of which are submerged below the water.
Norwegian Epic crashes into San Juan doc @CruiseNorwegian #EpicFail @CNN @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/YNbwOjAsrQ
— TweetsWithTito (@dunard2)
Holidaymakers were alerted to “a power failure of some sort with the engines” on Monday night, passenger Michael Miano told Click Orlando.
“As Norwegian Epic was manoeuvring into Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a local pilot onboard and the help of two tug boats, prevailing winds caused the ship to veer towards the pier, damaging two mooring points at Pier 3 East,” the cruise line said in a statement.
“No one was injured and the pier remains operational.
“The ship sustained minimal, superficial damage to the hull, which does not affect the safe operation of the vessel.“
Changes have been made to the scheduled itinerary in response to the disruption, with the ship no longer calling at Tortola or St. Thomas.
“All services aboard the ship remain fully operational,” a Norwegian spokesperson said.
It’s not the first time a cruise ship has done some damage.
In 2017, the 4,290-tonne vessel Caledonian Sky caused “irreparable damage” in Raja Ampat, an idyllic island chain in the west of Indonesia’s Papua province, when it crashed into one of the world’s most spectacular coral reefs.
The ship, owned by British company Noble Caledonia, was hosting a bird-watching trip when it veered off course, running aground during low tide and ploughing into the coral.
