Key West Port Closed After Cruise Ship Crashes into Mooring

The Mallory Square port of call in Key West, Florida will be unusable for at least three months after a cruise ship struck a mooring amid heavy winds last week.

Citing City Manager Jim Scholl, the Miami Herald reported Silversea Cruises‘ Silver Spirit was leaving port at around 6:30 p.m. local time on November 27 when the sustained winds caused it to crash into a “mooring dolphin,” a large concrete block atop pilings that keeps ships away from the pier when docking.

No injuries were reported and the 608-passenger ship sustained minimal damage.

“The ship wasn’t damaged that bad but that mooring dolphin is destroyed,” said Scholl. “It was able to get underway. The Coast Guard cleared them to go.”

Liz Acar posted footage of the incident to Facebook. “The Silversea’s Silver Spirit cruise line got into trouble trying to leave the harbor,” she wrote. “It got part way out then drifted back in and hit one of the pilings and torqued it.”

The cost of repairs isn’t known, however, Scholl estimated it could be around $500,000. Divers inspected the damage earlier this week and Silversea sent an insurance consultant to Key West, according to the Herald.

Fortunately, Key West has two other ports of call, including the Outer Mole Pier at the Truman Waterfront Park and another at the Margaritaville Resort.