Cruise Ship Collides With Freighter
Norwegian Dream Collision
December 10, 2007
A cruise ship collided with a freighter in Montevideo's harbor, sending some of the freighter's cargo overboard and closing the port.
The 1700 passengers of the cruise ship, Norwegian Dream. The crews of both vessels were unhurt in the accident according to the Navy in Chile.
Both ships received minor damage
and an initial assessment indicated
the cargo ship had lost five of its containers and several cars.
Norwegian Dream had some damage above the waterline
Norwegian Dream was on the second day of a 14-Night South America cruise that began in Buenos Aires, Argentina when the collision took place.
The cruise ship was suppose to continue on the voyage to Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, cruise Cape Horn, then onto Ushuaia, Argentina, Punta Arenas, Chile, Cruise Chilean Fjords, with several more stops in Chile.
Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Lines
Ship: Norwegian Dream
Built: 1992
Refurbished: 1998
Registry: Bahamas
Size: 50,764 Gross Tons
Length: 754
Passengers: 1,748
Crew: 700
Webcam: > Here
Norwegian Dream was anchored off Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, and is expected to return to the dock overnight where it will remain while repairs are conducted prior to resuming its voyage.
The ship will miss two ports of call before repairs are complete, and passengers were being offered alternate shore excursions before it resumes sailing to Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost city.
Navy divers were searching for the cars that fell of the cargo ship. The cargo ship was being pulled by a tug at the time of the accident.
Norwegian Dream was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 1992 as Dreamward.
In 1998, the vessel was lengthened by inserting a 40 meter long section into the hull of the ship. Following this refit, the vessel was named Norwegian Dream.
On August 22, 1999, the vessel was involved in a collision with a cargo vessel near Dover, England. Mistakes by an officer on the Norwegian Dream were determined to be the primary factor in the accident. (photo above). That case is here
UPDATE: DECEMBER 14, 2007
Passengers have organized a protest after being delayed again from leaving port.
Passengers say Captain Nenad Mogic “never reported on the situation” and the overall attitude of the crew towards the passengers was unacceptable.
About 250 passengers protesting on the dock were angry that the ship was still in port getting repairs and now three ports of call were going to missed, minimum.
The passengers say excursion were organized for passengers to amuse themselves, but then the passengers had to pay for them. They also say the monetary compensation is unacceptable.
The passengers were allowed to make a free three minute phone fall home to tell loved ones they were safe, but the calls could not be made from the cabins. This resulted in long lines to wait to use phones in public areas of the ship.
Attorneys who were on the cruise vacationing drafted a letter to the captain and the cruise line demanding further action. The letter addressed to Norwegian Lines demanding compensation for the lost time and money including several specific points, mainly that the cruise arrives in Valaparaiso by December 23 as scheduled; a voucher for each passenger equivalent to a 14 days cruise valid for five years; 300 US dollars on board credit and a return ticket to home from the departing port.
The appropriate action in this situation is to cancel the next cruise, and give these passengers the cruise they paid for. Instead, passenger now aboard are being penalized for the mistakes made during their cruise.
The cruise line orginally said that the ship would be delayed two days, this is the fifth day.
Divers have been unable to locate the brand new pick-up trucks that went into the water off the cargo ship during this accident. Several other cruise ships unable to enter the harbor have been diverted to other ports, causing grief to thousands of other cruise ship passengers.
