A collision involving a cruise liner and a cargo ship occurred in the Cape Town Port on Friday morning, Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed.
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Ambience, the vessel of Ambassador Cruise Line, found itself involved in a berthing incident for a scheduled visit in Cape Town, three days after departing Durban.
Ambassador said that the collision occurred just before 6am on Friday morning when its cruise ship Ambience collided with Grey Fox, the container ship, in an attempt to birth at the Port of Cape Town.
Large waves and strong winds may have been one of the reasons for the collision between the cruise liner and the cargo ship.
Ambassador said, ‘Despite the assistance of two tugs and a pilot, Ambience was unable to maintain position in strong, gusting winds and made contact with the container ship, which was already alongside. Both ships report only minor damage, and there is no water ingress or pollution.’
‘No injuries have been reported to either guests or crew, and Ambience is now safely alongside, close to the cruise passenger terminal,’ Ambassador concluded.
According to News24, a crowd of tourists could be seen getting off the cruise liner, with a Bulgarian individual saying, ‘There was an announcement made earlier this morning inside the ship of a slight incident that happened. The announcer said that the ship knocked into a docked vessel at the harbour due to the very strong winds.’
Jaykant Shah, a US tourist, said, ‘I was asleep, but when the knock hit, it immediately woke me up because the boat moved awkwardly.’
Shah further reiterated that staff members said no one was injured and the boat had minor dents.
The 245-metre cruise ship was built in 1991 and can carry 1 400 guests, with its last refit happening in 2022.
The boat has been cleared and will depart from Cape Town at 11pm.
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Picture: Ambassador Cruise Line