Cargo Ship Bounces Into Royal Caribbean Cruise Vessel Embedding Itself In The Stern

A cargo ship hit Royal Caribbean’s (RCL) Mariner of the Seas cruise vessel on Wednesday as it was docked in Freeport, Bahamas, lodging itself in the stern of the boat.

The incident had the Mariner of the Seas captain announcing to passengers, “a boat bounced into us on our stern,” said Allie Hubers, a passenger on the ship and contributor for the Royal Caribbean Blog, which is not affiliated with the cruise line.

In a statement obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Royal Caribbean said that there were no injuries and that there was little damage to the cruise ship.

“A cargo vessel made contact with Mariner of the Seas while the ship was docked. No one was injured on board, and Mariner experienced minimal damage. The ship will continue on its itinerary as planned,” the cruise line said.

Passengers on the Mariner of the Seas ship said the Tropic Freedom cargo ship, which is a 3,800 gross ton container ship, came alongside the edge of the harbor when it hit the concrete edge of the dock, and crashed into the ship, according to Cruise Hive.

The Tropic Freedom was then lodged in the cruise vessel, which shook the entire ship, passengers said. A hole was apparent in the ship where the bridge wing of the cargo ship cut into the Mariner of the Seas, Cruise Hive said.

The cargo ship has since been freed from the cruise vessel, reports indicated.

The Mariner of the Seas ship is scheduled to sail three-, four-, and five-night cruises out of the Port Canaveral, Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The ship left Port Canaveral on Wednesday for Grand Bahama.