Two cruise ships collided this morning in Vancouver, but there were no injuries in the accident.
At 6:50 a.m, the Oosterdam, a Holland America Line cruise ship, was docking at Canada Place when it hit Nieuw Amsterdam, another Holland America ship.
It was a minor collision and no injuries occurred. The ship itineraries were not affected and disembarkation proceeding this morning as usual.
Susan Carrusca was having breakfast with friends on the Nieuw Amsterdam when she felt a jolt and heard a loud scraping.
“There was this incredible jolt of the ship and we saw something go splashing into the water. Then we heard this loud, sort of scraping sound at the side of the ship at the back,” she told City News 1130. “And then we heard all of the servers went to look, and they said ‘Oh, we’ve been hit.’ Then the captain came on the speaker and he said ‘Evacuate the stern of the ship.’”
“Because the ships dock stern to stern, it looked as if the stern of the Oosterdam was heading straight toward the window at the back of the ship,” Carrusca said. “I kind of wondered for a minute, is it going to stop?”
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Here’s the moment two cruise ships collided near #CanadaPlace this morning. Shot by a passenger on-board. @CityNewsVAN @BT_Vancouver @NEWS1130 #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/VtE1hCsU4X
— Ashley Grace Burr (@AshleyBurr_) May 4, 2019
There was some damage to both ships above the waterline though Oosterdam’s was more minimal than that of Nieuw Amsterdam’s damage. Six staterooms near the rear of Nieuw Amsterdam require repairs which are currently underway.
Those who are booked in the damaged staterooms for today’s upcoming seven-day voyage to Alaska on the Nieuw Amsterdam will be moved to other staterooms.
Danielle Jang with the Vancouver Port Authority said of the incident, “Some minor damage was caused to both of the ships. No injuries or pollution as a result, and our cruise operations are continuing normally at this point.”
“Transport Canada will be working with the cruise line, Holland America, to assess the damage.”
