Royal Caribbean cruise ship gashes hull in Mexico
Thu Apr 21, 2005 03:26 PM ET

MIAMI, April 21 (Reuters) - A Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) cruise ship hit a pier at a Mexican port, putting a 42-foot (13-meter) gash in its hull, but not injuring any passengers or crew members, the company said on Thursday.

The accident happened on Wednesday as the Grandeur of the Seas was docking in Costa Maya in the southern part of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Winds of 17 mph (27 kph) and a stiff current contributed to the incident, the company said.

Royal Caribbean, the world's No. 2 cruise group, said it expects to complete later on Thursday a full evaluation of the repairs the ship needs and the time it will take to complete them.

"The ship has a football-shaped puncture in the bow on its starboard side that is approximately 42 feet (13 meters) long and 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide at its widest point," the company said in a written statement. "The puncture is in the first deck approximately 5 feet (1.5 meters) above the waterline."

Grandeur of the Seas left New Orleans on Saturday carrying 2,030 passengers and 740 crew members. The Miami-based company said it was making plans to return passengers to New Orleans if the ship were unable to return to the city this weekend.

[ 04-21-2005: Message edited by: joe at travelpage ]

Here are a couple of photos just sent to me from the ship.

Rich

[ 04-21-2005: Message edited by: Linerrich ]

Here's another angle of the hole in GRANDEUR.

[ 04-21-2005: Message edited by: hi Seas ]

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Originally posted by CGT:
This is RCCL right? (I don't nessecarily pay attention to their ships and names).

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Originally posted by hi Seas:
GOS is a "Vision Class" vessel which is about 74,000 tons.

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...ok, I get out...

Grandeur of the Seas Update
1 p.m.
April 21, 2005

Royal Caribbean International's Grandeur of the Seas struck the pier in Costa Maya, Mexico, at approximately 1 p.m. (E.S.T.) Wednesday, while the ship was docking in 15-knot winds and a 3-knot current, which contributed to the incident. All guests and crew members are completely safe, and none were injured in the incident. The ship has a football-shaped puncture in the bow, on its starboard side, that is approximately 42 feet long and five feet wide at its widest point. The puncture is in the first deck, approximately five feet above the waterline.

The ship is safely docked and otherwise fully operational with all amenities. Royal Caribbean immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities regarding the incident and is fully assisting in their investigations.

A team of technical experts, including regulatory authorities, have arrived at the ship. Their full evaluation of repairs, including the amount of time needed to complete them in Costa Maya, is expected at approximately 6 p.m. (E.S.T.) today. Based on all the information now available, Royal Caribbean is currently making contingency plans to assist guests in returning to New Orleans by either Saturday or Sunday with complimentary flight arrangements - should the ship be unable to return to New Orleans this weekend. If that were the case, guests who have additional vacation time are welcome stay onboard and return with the ship.

The Grandeur of the Seas' seven-night sailing scheduled to depart on Saturday, April 23, will be delayed in its departure. Guests booked on that sailing are being contacted now. Details regarding its departure date and time will be available later this evening.

She's quite nice looking I think.. {I'm not sure how to post}

[img src=http://images5.fotki.com/v62/photos/4/49195/774382/DSC00331-vi.jpg img]

[ 04-21-2005: Message edited by: hi Seas ]

Just press the image button and paste the URL of the image in the box which appears. It should then look like [IMG]url of image[/IMG] in the text box.

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PamM wrote:
...15kt winds doesn't seem much.

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There was also a 3 knot current (which I assume was in the same direction of the wind) that made things tricky. We also have to remember that these ships are like huge sails and it doesn’t take much to blow them around. As I have never been to Costa Maya, I don’t know if they have tugs available there. I can only assume they don’t. I know for a fact here in Adelaide if there are winds of this speed tugs are encouraged and sometimes depending on the vessel, its length and draft it is obligatory. Maybe the captain in this situation (through his many years of experience) thought that it wouldn’t be a problem.

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Originally posted by bulbousbow:
As I have never been to Costa Maya, I don’t know if they have tugs available there.

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