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Cruise ship with thousands on board collides with oil tanker, leaving passengers injured.

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A P&O cruise ship has collided with an oil tanker off the coast of Spain, injuring some passengers on board.

There were thousands of cruise-goers on-board the Britannia, the flagship of the P&O fleet when it was battered by a storm off the coast of Palma de Mallorca on Sunday.

Footage posted on social media shows the ship swaying in the gale-force winds and breaking free after the mooring holding it snapped.

The ship was then blown by the winds towards the other vessel.

Some cruisegoers were injured by falls, or flying debris.

There have been 74 mph winds and torrential rains in Mallorca, with an amber weather alert in place across the island on Sunday.

A technical assessment after the crash found a lifeboat was damaged and could not be repaired.

P&O said 321 guests would be flown home early as the ship headed back to Southampton, UK, with fewer people on board as this is what is required under maritime law.

The Britannia has capacity to carry 3647 passengers and P&O said the vessel was “close to capacity” at the time of the collision.

Passenger Ricky Stubbs said he and his children were about to disembark at the time of the crash.

“We were at the stairwell next to the sunset bar,” he told The Guardian.

“A loud crash came from the bar and the door flung open with people running in. Within seconds there was more crashing followed by chaos as people were trying to escape the onslaught of wind and rain.

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“People were being ushered in by other guests and staff. You could clearly see some had injuries due to either falling over or debris flying around, and people were distraught.”

“A couple of minutes later the captain came over the speaker asking all guests to return to their rooms until further instructions.”

“Huge respect for the captain and all the staff as they managed to stay calm and keep everyone updated. The captain made announcements every 10-15 minutes once we were back in our cabins and they did a great job in a stressful situation.”

Fellow passenger Russ Dawson, from East London, was on his balcony when he noticed the weather had turned stormy and the “sky turned black.”

“I saw this boat start to turn around and I said ‘That’s going to crash into us,’” he told the BBC.

“There was a bang when it hit the boat and there was screaming and shouting and panic.”

He has been offered 20 percent off his next cruise but said it “didn’t come close” to making up for the situation.

A P&O Cruises spokesman told news.com.au the ship was involved in a weather-related incident while docked in Mallorca, with a small number of individuals sustaining minor injuries.

The injured were being cared for by the on-board medical center.

“On Sunday 27 August, P&O Cruises Britannia was impacted by severe weather when alongside in Palma de Mallorca,” the spokesman said.

“Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia’s lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired on board.”

“We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board.”

“A limited number of guests and crew on board have been advised that they will be leaving the ship and will be returned to Southampton (or their starting point) by flight and transfer.”

“The guests remaining on board will be able to enjoy the entertainment and activities scheduled for the remainder of their trip.”

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P&O Cruises ship collides with oil tanker, injuries reported

A P&O Cruises ship collided with an oil tanker in Spain on Sunday.

The line’s Britannia ship broke from its moorings due to strong wind in Palma de Mallorca, the Balearic Islands Port Authority said on X, formerly Twitter . The collision took place around 11 a.m. local time.

A P&O spokesperson said the vessel was involved in a “weather-related incident,” but did not confirm the collision. A “small number of individuals sustained minor injuries” and received care from the ship’s medical center, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The area saw strong thunderstorms beginning in the late morning on Sunday, with reported wind gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour, according to AccuWeather.

Britannia visited the port as part of a two-week, round-trip cruise from Southampton, England that departed Aug. 18, according to CruiseMapper . The itinerary also included stops such as Cadiz and Ibiza.

The cruise line’s third-party surveyor confirmed that one of the ship’s lifeboats “sustained structural issues” and could not be repaired onboard, a P&O spokesperson said in a subsequent statement. Maritime regulation required that the ship return to Southampton with fewer people.

“A limited number of guests and crew on board have been advised that they will be leaving the ship and will be returned to Southampton (or their starting point) by flight and transfer,” the spokesperson said. “The guests remaining on board will be able to enjoy the entertainment and activities scheduled for the remainder of their trip."

Guests who were asked to leave will get a pro-rata refund of their fare for the days they missed and a 20% cruise discount to be used in the future.

The collision left a hole in the oil tanker’s hull but did not cause any discharge into the water, the Balearic Islands Port Authority said.

Cruise ship medical facilities: What happens if you get sick or injured (or bitten by a monkey)

The incident comes just weeks after Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 ship broke from its moorings in Italy due to strong winds this month. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Prima was also blown from its mooring ropes due to unexpectedly strong side winds in Belgium earlier this summer.

Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert known as The Cruise Guy, told USA TODAY in July that those types of incidents are “very rare” but have occurred in extreme weather.

Weather conditions at each port are monitored for safety before arrival, he added. “The cruise lines are always assessing these matters and mitigating the risks,” Chiron said in an email at the time. “If it's (deemed) unsafe, they take appropriate action so passengers can focus on their vacations. Unfortunately, they don't control the weather.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].

Passengers on a cruise described the sheer chaos that broke out when their ship collided with an oil tanker: 'There was screaming and shouting and panic'

• Tourists on board a cruise recounted the moments their ship struck an oil tanker on Sunday.
• The 3,647-passenger ship was blown away from port by a vicious storm while docked in Mallorca.
• Strong winds caused the ship to break its moorings and drift into the nearby tanker.

Passengers on a cruise ship swept away from port are sharing what happened in the dramatic moment their vessel struck an oil tanker in the Balearic Islands.

The Britannia, a vessel under P&O Cruises, drifted into the tanker on Sunday after its moorings broke during a storm along the coast of Palma in Mallorca. The Britannia has a 3,647-passenger capacity, and is 1,082 feet long . 

One tourist on board, Ricky Stubbs, told The Guardian that he and his family were on a stairwell near the sunset bar when the ships collided.

"A loud crash came from the bar and the door flung open with people running in," he told the outlet. "Within seconds there was more crashing followed by chaos as people were trying to escape the onslaught of wind and rain."

Stubbs said he could "clearly see" some passengers had sustained injuries, and that people were "distraught."

Minutes later, the captain told guests over the ship's speakers to return to their rooms, Stubbs told The Guardian.

Russ Dawson, another passenger, told the BBC that the storm kicked up suddenly and that the sky "turned black."

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He was on the balcony of his cabin when the cruise vessel and tanker crashed, per the outlet.

"There was a bang when it hit the boat and there was screaming and shouting and panic," Dawson told the BBC.

A Welsh passenger, who was not named, told Wales Online that she, her partner, and two children were "browsing on our phones in bed and heard the big horn after the bang."

"It was panic stations, I was bawling my eyes out," she said, per the outlet. "We went out onto our balcony and could see debris in the ocean and all the damage to the side of the boat and our lifeboat."

A video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed the view from port as the Britannia's moorings appeared to snap while the ship was pulled away by winds.

—Insider Corner (@insidercnews) August 27, 2023

"A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre," a P&O representative previously told Insider in a statement.

One of the Britannia's lifeboats was damaged, meaning the cruise was required to return to Southampton with a "reduced number of people onboard," and some passengers and crew were told they had to leave the ship, per the statement.

The BBC reported on Tuesday that 321 passengers were scheduled to fly back to Southampton.

Watch: The rise and fall of the cruise industry

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NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

British tourists ‘left in tears’ after P&O cruise ship crashes into oil tanker

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Panicked British tourists onboard the P&O ship that crashed into an oil tanker in Majorca say they were left in tears.

The packed cruise ship broke free from its moorings in Palma and collided with the smaller vessel nearby yesterday morning after a storm hit the island.

Some of the thousands of Brits on board were left with minor injuries and were being cared for by medical staff, P&O said.

The £473m boat, called the Britannia, remained in Palma overnight while the damage was being assessed.

Passengers said they heard a large bang when the crash happened at around 11am and saw debris floating in the water. The captain then went on the ship’s loudspeaker to say ‘this is not a drill’.

Speaking yesterday, one woman onboard the ship with her partner and two children told Wales Online : ‘We were docked overnight in Palma and the wind was so strong our anchors broke and we blew out into another ship.

‘We were up browsing on our phones in bed and heard the big horn after the bang. It was panic stations, I was bawling my eyes out.’

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Another passenger, Gary McGuinness, told The Mirror he and his seven-year-old daughter Kasey had stepped off the ship to go out for the day when he noticed a ‘wall of water and wind’ heading towards them down a concrete jetty.

‘It looked like a sort of ferocity that you would be unable to stand up in. it looked like a sort of ferocity that you would be unable to stand up in,’ he said.

The pair then went back onto the ship, and according to Gary ‘about eight seconds later’ the boat broke free of its moorings’.

He thinks the walk-way they had just stepped across may have fallen into the sea.

A witness, meanwhile, described seeing the ship ‘carried to the other side of the harbour like it was a straw’.

‘Something must surely have been damaged. It went like a missile to the other side.’

A spokesperson for P&O Cruises, owned by Carnival, said yesterday: ‘P&O Cruises Britannia was involved in a weather-related incident while alongside in Palma de Mallorca.

‘A small number of individuals sustained minor injuries and are being cared for by the onboard medical centre.

‘To allow our technical teams to make an assessment Britannia will remain alongside in Palma de Mallorca tonight with onboard entertainment and activities scheduled.’

The Britannia set sail from Southampton on August 18 for a Mediterranean cruise.

The ship can carry up to 3,647 passengers and 1,350 crew, is 330 metres long and weighs 143,000 tonnes, according to the company’s website.

Heavy rains and winds have swept across parts of the Balearic Islands, including Mallorca, and Catalonia in northeastern Spain.

Flights from Barcelona airport were delayed throughout Sunday because of the high winds.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Hundreds of passengers to be flown home after P&O cruise liner 'crashed into petrol tanker'

More than 300 passengers will leave the ship after a small number of people were injured during a "weather-related" incident off the coast of Mallorca on Sunday.

Monday 28 August 2023 20:56, UK

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More than 300 guests who were on board a P&O cruise liner which reportedly crashed into a petrol tanker will have their holiday cut short and be flown home.

A small number of people were injured in the "weather-related" incident in Mallorca on Sunday - with footage taken by a passenger showing fierce gusts sweeping across the waves from the ship's window.

The P&O ship, which moored off the coast of the Spanish island, will return to Southampton on Friday morning with a reduced number of passengers, a spokesperson for the company has said.

They added that this was because one of the ship's lifeboats had "sustained structural issues" and therefore maritime regulations meant it would have to return to the UK.

The ship, called Britannia, was carrying thousands of passengers but 321 of them will now leave the ship and be flown back to their original starting point.

The nationality of those who will return is not clear but some will be flown to Southampton.

The rest of the guests will conclude their trip on Friday as planned.

Storm in Palma Mallorca breaks it’s moorings and pushes P&O Britannia into another ship and onto rocks. Ship not compromised and being pushed back into position by tugs pic.twitter.com/0RbdQIhPRT — Stephen Marsh (@millermanuk) August 27, 2023

Port authorities in the Mallorca capital Palma said Britannia had collided with a petrol tanker.

In a statement, P&O said its Britannia ship "was impacted by severe weather when alongside in Palma de Mallorca" on Sunday.

"Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia's lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired onboard," it added.

"We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board."

The spokesperson said "a limited number of guests and crew" had been advised they would be leaving the ship and would be flown back to their starting point.

Read more UK news: Passengers face severe delays after air traffic control fault Glitch 'remedied' but flights cancelled - air traffic control chaos latest

P&O Cruises had earlier told Sky News on Sunday that the ship was involved in a "weather-related incident" alongside the port in Palma.

The company added that a "small number of people" sustained minor injuries and were being treated by their onboard medical team.

Britannia, which entered service in 2015, is 330 metres long and weights 143,000 tons, according to the company's website.

It has 13 guest decks and an operating capacity of 3,647 guests and 1,350 crew.

• Cruise News

P&O Cruise Ship Accident: 231 Guests Fly Home After Collision

Andrea Santillan

• August 29, 2023

Due to high winds on Sunday, a P&O cruise ship accident occurred when its flagship Britannia collided with a fuel tanker off the coast of Spain. To comply with global maritime safety regulations, the cruise ship had to reduce its capacity after a lifeboat was damaged in a collision.

How the P&O cruise ship accident happened

When the P&O cruise ship accident happened off the coast of Palma de Mallorca on Sunday, an amber alert was issued because of torrential rains and extreme winds traveling up to 75 miles per hour.

At approximately 11 a.m., the P&O Britannia broke free from the dock, and all 143,000 tons crashed into a nearby oil tanker. A few passengers suffered minor injuries, and a lifeboat was damaged.

Lifeboat and emergency equipment damaged

Though both vessels sustained minor damage, inspections revealed that the cruise ship’s overall structure remained intact. However, the same could not be said for one of the ship’s lifeboats. According to P&O, one of its lifeboats experienced structural damage, reducing the cruise ship’s ability to address emergencies adequately.

P&O Cruises said in a statement, “Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia’s lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired onboard.”

231 guests fly home

The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) maintains that cruise ships should be able to accommodate a certain percentage of passengers and crew with their lifesaving equipment.

Since the Britannia will not be able to satisfy this requirement after a lifeboat was left incapacitated, it will have to reduce its passengers by 231. 

While the remaining guests will continue their cruise before disembarking in Southampton,  UK on September 1, “a limited number of guests and crew” have been informed that they will be flown back to their points of origin.

P&O apologized for the weather-related incident , “We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board.”

At full capacity, the Brtannia can carry 3,647 passengers. The cruise line said it was “close to capacity” during the accident. 

Britannia was on a cruise that left Southampton on August 18 and is scheduled to return on September 1.

Its subsequent 14-night Northern Europe and Scandinavia itinerary will depart on September 1 as planned.

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VIDEO: P&O Britannia crashes into oil tanker amid Mallorca storm

Amidst a powerful storm on Sunday morning (August 27th), the cruise ship Britannia , operated by P&O UK from Southampton England , faced a maritime incident while docked in Palma de Mallorca . The adverse weather conditions prompted the ship to break free from her moorings, resulting in a collision with a nearby freight ship.

Passengers onboard recounted the events of the storm, describing how the vessel was pushed towards the shore by tugboats while they were confined to their cabins. Minor damage was reported on the cruise ship, primarily on deck 5 . Despite the chaos, the ship's captain kept passengers informed about the situation.

Visual documentation of the incident, captured by passengers, provided a tangible record of the encounter. The storm disrupted an ongoing emergency drill, causing the ship to detach from the dockside moorings, damaging tethering lines, water hoses, and the walkway.

In this narrative of maritime turmoil, Britannia's interaction with the storm echoed a previous incident involving Cunard 's RMS Queen Mary 2 , which also faced challenges due to adverse weather conditions . 

Britannia's current cruise is 14 days, round-trip Mediterranean from Southampton. The itinerary started on August 18th and ends on September 1st, 2023.

For more Britannia incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page .

One dead, four missing after two cargo ships collide in North Sea

Rescue vessels are searching for survivors in the area where the accident happened, German authorities say.

One person has died and four others are missing from the crew of a cargo ship that sank after colliding with another vessel in the North Sea, according to German authorities.

Two other crew members were rescued after the collision early on Tuesday, German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) spokesperson Christian Stipeldey said.

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The accident happened about 22km (13 miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland and 31km (19 miles) northeast of the island of Langeoog, the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) said in a statement.

Several ships are currently involved in a rescue operation in the area, the agency said.

“The emergency services are doing everything they can to rescue the missing people,” German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said in a statement.

“My thoughts are with the crew members, their relatives and the rescue teams who have been in action since early this morning.”

The ship, Verity, was sailing under a British flag and was on its way from Bremen in Germany to the British town of Immingham.

The other ship, Polesie, was under a Bahamas flag and travelling from Germany’s Hamburg to La Coruna in Spain.

Polsteam crew in good condition

The Verity, owned by the British company Faversham, was the smaller vessel with a length of 91 metres (about 300 feet), compared with the 190-metre-long (623 feet) Polesie – owned by the Polish shipping company Polsteam.

Krzysztof Gogol, a spokesperson for Polsteam, confirmed there were 22 crew members on board and said they were uninjured and in “good physical condition”.

Shortly after the collision, the Polesie stopped and took part in the search and rescue operation, Gogol said.

Rescue cruisers, an emergency tug, a pilot boat, a police patrol boat and a helicopter are helping with the search, according to the CCME.

A P&O cruise ship that was in the area, the IONA, has also been involved, the CCME added.

“On board the IONA, people can also receive medical care; there are doctors on board,” it said.

The search was taking place in difficult weather conditions, with strong winds and waves reaching as high as 3 metres (10 feet), the agency said.

• International

March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

By Helen Regan , Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Rachel Ramirez , Elise Hammond , Aditi Sangal , Tori B. Powell , Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kathleen Magramo , CNN

Ship suffered a total blackout before the collision with bridge, pilot association official says

From CNN's Yahya Abou-Ghazala

The pilot of the ship that crashed into the Baltimore bridge Tuesday did “everything that he could have done” to slow the ship and keep it from drifting toward the bridge, said Clay Diamond, executive director and general counsel of the American Pilots Association.

Diamond has been in close communication with the Association of Maryland Pilots over what unfolded on the Dali cargo ship in the moments leading up to the crash. 

 “Just minutes before the bridge, there was a total blackout on the ship, meaning that the ship lost engine power and electrical power, it was a complete blackout,” Diamond told CNN. 

At that point, according to Diamond, the pilot did “everything that he could have done” to both slow the ship down and keep it from drifting to the right, toward the bridge.

The pilot quickly gave a string of orders, calling for a hard rudder to port — as far left as possible — and for the anchor to be dropped.

Additionally, Diamond said, the pilot was the one who contacted the pilot dispatch office to shut down traffic to the bridge. 

“Those were all the appropriate steps but it happened so quickly and with so little lead time ... neither one of those maneuvers were enough,” Diamond said. 

Diamond pointed out that while the lights on the boat could be seen turning back on — likely due to an emergency generator activating after the initial blackout — the ship’s engines never got running again. 

Maritime pilots, who are required to be licensed, temporarily board a ship and help guide the vessel as it maneuvers through local waters. Pilot training programs are extensive and rigorous, according to Diamond, requiring years of experience navigating ships on the water, classroom simulations, and working under the supervision of licensed pilots. 

Authorities will make their "best effort" to recover the missing people to help families find closure, official says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Recovery efforts will be focused to find the missing people to provide closure to their families, said Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of Maryland State Police.

"At this point, we do not know where they are. But we intend to give it our best effort to help these families find closure," he said at a news briefing on Tuesday evening.

Conditions have made it dangerous for first responders and divers to be in the water, official says

Conditions have changed and made it dangerous for first responders and divers to be in the water around the collapsed Baltimore bridge, Col. Roland L. Butler Jr., secretary of Maryland State Police, said at a news briefing on Tuesday.

This comes as authorities announced they're moving from a search-and-rescue operation to a recovery phase for the missing people.

"The changing conditions out there have made it dangerous for the first responders, the divers in the water," he explained. "We will still have surface ships out overnight."

Elaborating on the changing conditions, he said: "The last thing we want to do is put divers in the water with changing currents, low temperatures, very poor visibility, and so much metal and other an unknown objects in the water. All it takes is one object to strike an individual and all of a sudden we have a first responder trying to recover another first responder."

He said divers are expected to be back in the water at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday when "we'll find ourselves in a better position to understand the dynamics of what we're dealing with, and to address the issues in a much safer manner."

The post was updated with more details on Butler's remarks.

Authorities only have information on 6 missing individuals, Coast Guard says

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

The Coast Guard is only aware of six missing individuals following the bridge collapse in Baltimore harbor, Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said at a Tuesday news conference.

No information to support that there were additional vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed

From CNN's Elise Hammond

A Maryland law enforcement official said while there is a "distinct possibility" that there could have been more vehicles on the bridge when it collapsed, they have not found any evidence to support that.

"As unfortunate as it may be, it's a distinct possibility. However, we don't have any information to support that at this point," Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said.

Authorities have been able to find three passenger vehicles , a cement truck and a fifth vehicle submerged in the water using infrared and  side-scan sonar technology , Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace previously told CNN.

Radio traffic captured how authorities stopped traffic and worked to clear the bridge seconds before the impact.

Divers from various state and local agencies brought in to help with search

From CNN's Piper Hudspeth Blackburn

Dive teams from various state and local agencies were brought in to assist in the search-and-recover operation after the collapse of the Baltimore bridge, Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said at a news conference.

Sonar was also used as part of the search and rescue operation, he added.

"From the outset, we’ve moved all those resources in,” Butler explained. “We’re doing our best in some very difficult times and difficult conditions.” 

The headline has been updated on this post.

Coast Guard is suspending its active search

The Coast Guard is ending its active search and rescue operation for the six unaccounted people who were on the Francis Scott Key Bridge when it collapsed.

Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said that based on the length of time since the bridge collapsed and the water temperatures "we do not believe that we are going to find any of these individuals still alive."

The bridge collapsed at around 1:30 a.m. ET after a container ship hit the pillar. The active search-and-rescue efforts were suspended around 7:30 p.m. ET, Gilreath said.

Gilreath emphasized the Coast Guard is not leaving, but said it is “just going to transition to a different phase.”

The path to rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge will be "long and expensive," Maryland senator says

From CNN's Sarah Engel 

US Sen. Chris Van Hollen described Tuesday as a "tragic day" in Baltimore during an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer Tuesday evening. 

Van Hollen praised workers who stopped traffic after receiving the ship's mayday signal.

"The effort goes on to search for those who are missing," Van Hollen said , but added "the immediate issue besides the search and rescue is opening up that channel."

"I understand there are about four ships in the port that can't get out, I understand there were about 20 ships that were waiting to come in," Van Hollen said. 

Van Hollen said there are thousands of workers employed at the Port of Baltimore, and "tens of thousands more depend on what is one of the most vibrant ports in the country, the biggest port for automobiles."

According to Van Hollen, Maryland plans to access the Emergency Relief Fund within the Federal Highway Administration, though that won't be enough to rebuild the bridge — "That will be long and expensive," Van Hollen said.  

Van Hollen said he is in communication with his Senate colleagues and plans to work with the House on relief efforts.

6 presumed dead after bridge collapse, the Baltimore Sun reports  

From CNN's Michelle Watson and Danny Freeman 

At least six people are presumed dead following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse Tuesday in Baltimore, according to reporting from  The Baltimore Sun .

Jeffrey Pritzker, executive vice president of Brawner Builders called the news “a terrible, terrible, unforeseen tragedy.”

Two people were pulled from the Patapsco River, the Baltimore fire chief  previously  said Tuesday.

Earlier, family members of workers who were on the bridge at the time of the collapse spoke with CNN at Brawner Builders construction agency, where they were picking up vehicles belonging to their relatives.

CNN has reached out to Brawner Builders for comment.  

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Photos Show Damage to Scorpio Tanker After Collision with Cruise Ship

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Some new photos and video from the Besiktas Shipyard in Turkey show the extent of damage sustained by a handymax tanker following its collision with a cruise ship late last month in the Dardanelles Strait.

[contextly_sidebar id=”BqSMwXOk1UeIgwn2iEX1Tpnn9jTtjnQD”]As gCaptain reported previously, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT STI Pimlico collided with the Celestyal cruise ship Celestyal Crytal early on June 27th as the vessels were underway in the Dardanelles Strait near Gallipoli, Turkey.

The cruise ship sustained some minor damage to its bow, but as you can see the tanker was badly damaged in the collision, which caused some of the ships flammable naphtha cargo to spill into the water.

No injures were reported among the tanker crew or the the 852 passengers and the 382 crew on board the cruise ship.

Besiktas Shipyard says that scope of repairs will include the replacement of steel, blasting and painting of affected ballast/cargo tanks, renewal of damaged main deck outfitting, electrical systems and piping. 

The 38,000 DWT STI Pimlico was built in 2014 and is owned by Scorpio Tankers.

The vessel arrived on Monday at the shipyard in Yalova, Turkey, just outside of Istanbul and across from the well known Tuzla Shipyards area. 

The Dardanelles strait connects the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and the Bosporus.

As you can see the damage is centered around the tanker’s port beam and deck area.

Besiktas Shipyard did not specify how long the repairs will take.

All Photos (c) Besiktas Shipyard

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Texas A&M Galveston to close for days after barge slams into bridge to island

A barge slammed into a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into the bay, forcing a shutdown of the span and prompting the university on the other side of the bridge to close its campus through the weekend, officials said.

Texas A&M University at Galveston said Wednesday evening that the campus on Pelican Island would be closed Thursday through Sunday , citing an " extended outage of the bridge through the weekend," according to the university announcement.

Aerial images showed that a section of a rail line alongside the bridge appeared to have collapsed, with slabs of concrete piled on the barge.

No injuries were immediately reported at the Pelican Island Causeway after the incident, which unfolded shortly before 10 a.m. CT, the city of Galveston said in a statement .

Two operators were on the barge at the time of the impact, said Spencer Lewis, a spokesperson for the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management.

Lewis said that one of the operators fell into the water but was immediately rescued and that the other remained on the barge and was eventually rescued, as well. The Texas A&M marine unit rescued the operators.

The bridge, which was closed earlier Wednesday, had been reopened as of 7 p.m. CT to slow vehicular traffic, and a large line of cars was trying to exit Pelican Island, Lewis said.

The bridge is open only for outbound traffic, he said.

About 200 people were on the island at the time of the incident, and “substantially more than half” have been evacuated, Lewis said.

About 450 people — most of them students — live full time on Pelican Island. Faculty members and other workers make up the rest of the residents, he said.

Texas A&M University at Galveston is offering accommodations to students and faculty members who live on Pelican Island — which is also home to a fishing pier, a naval museum and other industries — but it also encouraged those who stay on campus to prepare to leave if necessary.

The university, which held its graduation ceremony last week, briefly lost power on campus earlier Wednesday, but it was restored quickly, the school said.

Classes scheduled for Thursday and Friday will either be canceled or held remotely, the school said in its evening update, and it encouraged employees to work at alternative locations. Dining services will remain open until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The barge that hit the bridge was “carrying a base petroleum product,” the Coast Guard said in a statement .

The city said: “The collision has resulted in an oil spill in the bay. The U.S. Coast Guard is responding and will determine the extent of the spill, as well as initiate the containment and cleanup processes.”

The accident is the latest to plague American bridges and highways.

A container ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 6, killing six people .

The Fort Madison Toll Bridge , which turns 97 in July and connects Fort Madison, Iowa, with Niota, Illinois, over the Mississippi River, was struck by a barge Thursday .

Two weeks ago, Interstate 95 in Connecticut was closed after a tanker truck filled with gasoline burst into flames and forced the closure of the one of the Eastern Seaboard's most important thoroughfares.

In late March, a family out fishing on the Arkansas River captured video of a barge hitting a bridge near Sallisaw, Oklahoma. And in April, more than two dozen barges broke loose from moorings and floated down the Ohio River in Pittsburgh, striking the Sewickley Bridge .

Galveston fire spokesperson Marissa Barnett said barges go under the bridge multiple times a day.

She pushed back against any comparisons between the Baltimore bridge collapse and Wednesday's incident.

“People have asked if this is like the Baltimore bridge. This is not that,” she said.

CORRECTION (May 15, 2024, 9:24 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the last name of the spokesperson for the Galveston County Office of Emergency Management. He is Spencer Lewis, not Jones.

David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Rebecca Cohen is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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Trending topics, baltimore bridge collapse: frequently asked questions.

The following is the May 7, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Baltimore Bridge Collapse: Frequently Asked Questions.

From the report

Introduction At about 1:30 a.m. on March 26, 2024, the MV Dali , a container ship departing the Port of Baltimore, struck a support tower of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD, causing the bridge to collapse into the Patapsco River. The bridge is a segment of Interstate 695—Baltimore’s beltway—and spans the Patapsco shipping channel into the harbor.

A pothole repair crew of eight was on the bridge at the time of the collision. Two have survived; one with injuries. Authorities were able to stop traffic over the bridge right before the vessel strike. There were 23 mariners aboard the ship, and none sustained injury. A Unified Command and Joint Information Center have been established by the U.S. Coast Guard and Maryland state officials to coordinate their response and disseminate information on the incident. Who Owns and Controls the Ship? The Dali is being chartered (leased) by Maersk, a Danish shipping firm that provides container shipping services worldwide in addition to other types of shipping. The ship is managed by the Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both based in Singapore. The ship’s crew are from India. It is flagged and homeported in Singapore and was classed (meaning certified as meeting construction and maintenance standards) by a Japanese firm, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). The multitude of nationalities involved in operating and administering the ship is typical of the industry.

The ship was built in 2015 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea with a MAN-manufactured engine. It is almost 950 feet in length and about 160 feet in breadth with a capacity to carry 10,000 TEUs of containers (a TEU is a 20-foot container). It could be considered an average-sized container ship today but would be considered a large ship compared with the fleet in the late 1970s when the bridge was built. The ship had sailed from Asia through the Panama Canal and had called at Norfolk and New York before its Baltimore port call. When it struck the bridge, the ship was departing Baltimore for Sri Lanka. How Do Ships Navigate Through Harbors?

A preliminary report stated that the ship lost power as it was approaching the bridge, meaning the ship may have lost propulsion. Two Baltimore harbor pilots were aboard the ship; harbor pilots navigate ships in and out of harbors because they have expertise with local navigation conditions. Even when harbor pilots are at the helm, the captain of the ship and the shipping line (Maersk) remain responsible for the safety of the vessel. Tugs typically assist in moving ships into and out of their berths (docking and undocking) and rarely escort ships through harbors as an emergency safety measure. This ship released the tugs before reaching the bridge, as is reportedly normal in the harbor.

How Common Is It for Ships to Lose Power?

Loss of propulsion is a known and recorded occurrence in shipping. An annual review of marine incidents for vessels with a connection to the European Union (EU; EU-registered or EU-owned vessels or incidents occurring in EU waters) found that loss of propulsion surpassed vessel-to-vessel collisions as the leading cause of marine casualties from 2014 to 2022.

Could Tug Escorts Have Prevented the Collapse of the Bridge?

Some observers have raised the question of whether tugs escorting the ship under the bridge could have prevented the ship from hitting one of the towers.   After the ship reportedly lost power, the pilot called for tug assistance moments before striking the bridge, but by then it was too late for the tugs to reach the ship again.   Tugs have the ability to push ships in a desired direction and even stop ships over some distance, but they must have sufficient engine power and have other design features specifically for this purpose.

Some harbors require tug escorts but they appear to be exclusively for tankers of liquid bulk cargoes, such as oil, chemicals, or liquid natural gas (LNG). The requirements are not intended to specifically prevent bridge strikes but rather to prevent any event that might result in a spill, such as a tanker grounding. Tug escorts are a federal requirement in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and in Puget Sound, Washington. 11 The State of California requires tug escorts of tankers in its harbors per state regulation. However, requiring tug escorts can introduce additional risk exposure simply due to the mere presence of more vessels on the water. For instance, in January 2023, one of five tugs assisting an empty tanker into the Port of Corpus Christi accidently got caught in the tanker’s propeller.   The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) forthcoming report on the MV Dali strike may provide insights into the safety benefits and drawbacks of tug escorts.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court distinguished federal regulations concerning the safe operation of tankers in harbors from nonfederal requirements that can be imposed if they do not conflict with federal requirements and are based on “the peculiarities of local waters.”

State proposals concerning ship safety could also interfere with international treaties that have established global standards. While local requirements for tug escorts are allowed, ports may be reluctant to require them because of their cost and the heightened competition for containerized cargo.

Download the document here .

U.S. Naval Institute Staff

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Cruise ship drags dead whale into New York, prompting investigation

The collision with the 44-foot-long, endangered sei whale could have been avoided, experts said.

A cruise ship arrived in New York Harbor with a dead sei whale pinned to its bow, a revelation that has spawned a federal investigation and has led biologists to examine the whale’s carcass to determine the cause of death.

The MSC Meraviglia was returning Saturday from a Bermuda cruise when it sailed into the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal with the 44-foot-long sei whale affixed to its front. MSC, a Geneva-based cruise line, confirmed the incident “with deep regret” in a statement and said it had immediately notified authorities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating.

On Wednesday, the whale was towed to Sandy Hook, N.J., for a necropsy. According to NOAA, officials discovered broken bones in the right flipper, tissue trauma in the right shoulder blade region and a belly full of food. Biologists took samples for biotoxin and histopathologic analyses. NOAA spokeswoman Andrea Gomez said the tissue and bone samples can help biologists determine whether the whale died before the collision with the ship or because of it.

The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society is leading the whale examination. Results from the exam could take days to weeks, said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager with the International Fund for Animal Welfare .

Based on the findings released so far, Andy Rogan, science manager at Ocean Alliance , a whale research and conservation nonprofit, said the cruise ship probably caused the whale’s demise. If so, it would have been a sudden death.

“Whales are huge animals, but compared to a ship that size, it’s still a massive impact. So much weight and power is hitting that whale,” he said. “It’s almost certain that a ship strike killed that whale.”

According to NOAA, vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the biggest threats to sei whales, an endangered species that inhabits deeper waters off the coastline. Population figures are elusive, but NOAA documented roughly 6,300 sei whales between Florida and Nova Scotia from 2010 to 2013.

Sei whales are feeding during this time of year, and Collins said the whales eat on the surface, placing them in the potential bull’s eye for collisions with a ship’s bow. She said crew members and passengers might not have felt the bump because of the ship’s size. The MSC Meraviglia weighs 171,598 tons; sei whales weigh up to 50 tons.

“It really is a tragic case where this strike likely happened and everyone was oblivious until they came into port,” Collins said. “They likely don’t even know exactly where they struck the whale, either.”

NOAA urges boaters operating along the East Coast to cruise slowly, stay alert and report any sightings of right whales or dead, injured or entangled whales. In its statement, MSC said it follows comprehensive measures to avoid accidents with marine life, such as training deck officers with the Ocean Research & Conservation Association and adjusting itineraries in regions populated by whales.

Collins said voluntarily reducing vessel speeds can help avoid run-ins. However, she said, cruise ships and large tankers prefer to move briskly because they are on tight schedules.

Macinzie McFarland, a spokesperson for Cruise Lines International Association, said in an email that cruise ships take several measures to protect marine mammals, including whale observation training for crews and reducing vessel speed.

“The chance of mortality with a vessel strike goes down pretty substantially as you reduce the vessel speed,” Collins said.

Cruise lines also rely on technology such as underwater radiated noise management systems and specially designed hulls, propellers and noise suppression devices that minimize underwater vibrations. .

Marine outlets, agencies such as the Coast Guard and the Whale Alert app share information about whale sightings and locations.

Rogan said there is no “silver bullet” for ships to avoid whales, but advances in technology can help lower the threat. He said hydrophones can pick up whale acoustics, information that NOAA could then disseminate to vessels. At a recent workshop, Rogan said, he learned about infrared cameras that can detect whales within a 360-degree range, particularly in front of a vessel.

Rogan urged the public Thursday to share its outrage about the incident with government agencies and with the cruise line. Collins said she hoped the incident would inspire the cruise industry to act as a better steward in the waters it shares with vulnerable marine life.

The MSC Meraviglia, she noted, is headed next to Canada, a critical ground for North Atlantic right whales, including mothers and their newborn calves.

A previous version of this article misstated the maximum weight of sei whales. It is 50 tons, not 10 tons. The article has been corrected.

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Living at sea: Travelers on a 9-month world cruise are going viral on social media. For some travelers, not even nine months was enough time on a ship; they sold cars, moved out of their homes and prepared to set sail for three years . That plan fell apart, but a 3.5-year version is waiting in the wings.

Passengers beware: It’s not all buffets and dance contests. Crime data reported by cruise lines show that the number of sex crimes has increased compared to previous years. And though man-overboard cases are rare, they are usually deadly .

The more you know: If you’re cruise-curious, here are six tips from a newcomer. Remember that in most cases, extra fees and add-ons will increase the seemingly cheap price of a sailing. And if you happen to get sick , know what to expect on board.

US Coast Guard says Texas barge collision may have spilled up to 2,000 gallons of oil

G ALVESTON, Texas (AP) — Early estimates indicate up to 2,000 gallons of oil may have spilled into surrounding waters when a barge carrying fuel broke free from a tugboat and slammed into a bridge near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday.

The barge crashed into a pillar supporting the Pelican Island Causeway span on Wednesday. The impact caused the bridge to partially collapse and cut off the only road connecting Galveston to Pelican Island, the Coast Guard said.

Video shows splotches of oil had spilled from the barge into Galveston Bay. Jeff Davis of the Texas General Land Office said during a news conference Thursday that early cleanup efforts have not identified any impacted wildlife.

The barge has the capacity to hold 30,000 barrels, but was holding 23,000 barrels — approximately 966,000 gallons — when it struck the bridge, Rick Freed, the vice president of barge operator Martin Marine, said at the news conference. Freed said the only tank that was compromised in the crash was holding approximately 160,000 gallons, which is the “complete risk.”

“We’re pretty confident there was much less oil introduced to the water than we initially estimated,” Coast Guard Capt. Keith Donohue said.

“We’ve recovered over 605 gallons of oily water mixture from the environment, as well as an additional 5,640 gallons of oil product from the top of the barge that did not go into the water,” Donohue said.

The Coast Guard said earlier that it had deployed a boom, or barrier, to contain the spill, which forced the closure of about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) of the waterway.

A tugboat lost control of the 321-foot barge “due to a break in the coupling” that had connected the two vessels, the Coast Guard said.

“Weather was not a factor, at all, during the coupling issue,” Freed said. When pressed for more details on how the two vessels became disconnected, he said: “It’s under investigation right now, and I really can’t disclose anything further until the investigation is through.”

On Thursday, the barge remained beside the bridge, weighed in place by debris including rail lines that fell onto it after the crash.

The bridge, which provides the only road access between Galveston and Pelican Island, remained closed to incoming traffic, but vehicles leaving Pelican Island and pedestrians in both directions were able to cross.

Texas A&M University at Galveston, which has a campus on Pelican Island, urged staff and faculty to leave and said it was closing the campus, although essential personnel would remain.

“Given the rapidly changing conditions and uncertainty regarding the outage of the Pelican Island Bridge, the Galveston Campus administration will be relocating all Texas A&M Pelican Island residents," through at least Sunday, it said in a statement late Wednesday.

Fewer than 200 people related to the school were on the island when the barge hit the bridge. Spokesperson Shantelle Patterson-Swanson said the university would provide transportation and cover the housing costs of those who choose to leave, but underlined that the school has not issued a mandatory evacuation.

Aside from the environmental impact of the oil spill, the region is unlikely to see large economic disruption as a result of the accident, said Maria Burns, a maritime transportation expert at the University of Houston.

The affected area is miles from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which sees frequent barge traffic, and the Houston Ship Channel, a large shipping channel for ocean-going vessels.

The accident came weeks after a cargo ship crashed into a support column of the Francis Key Bridge in Baltimore on March 26, killing six construction workers.

Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.

This story corrects the spelling of the name of a University of Houston's maritime transportation expert. Her name is Maria Burns, not Marcia.

Collapsed Baltimore bridge blasted into pieces in effort to clear wreckage

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Cruise ship arrives at New York City harbor with dead whale caught on bow

The 44ft-long whale corpse was an endangered sei whale, which will now be examined to determine how it died

A cruise ship has journeyed into New York City’s harbor bearing a gruesome cargo in the form of a huge, dead whale sprawled across its bow.

The incident happened on Saturday, according to local US media reports , and the event is being held by some as further evidence of the unfortunate impact on sea life that large vessels can have.

The 44ft-long whale corpse was an endangered sei whale and was caught on the ship’s bow when it arrived at the Port of Brooklyn, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries spokesperson, Andrea Gomez.

The boat involved was the Meraviglia, which docked in New York before sailing on a journey to ports in New England and Canada. It is owned by Geneva-based MSC Cruises .

“We immediately notified the relevant authorities, who are now conducting an examination of the whale,” officials with the cruise line said in a statement, who added that the company had regulations in place to avoid collisions with whales and other animals at sea.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of any marine life,” the statement said.

The whale is now the subject of a necropsy to try and determine how it died, notably if it was already dead when hit by the cruise ship. Sei whales are one of the largest whales and are a protected species.

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