Celebrity cruise ship breaks away from dock in Juneau, Alaska
Strong winds broke loose a Celebrity Cruises ship from its moorings in Juneau, Alaska. The captain maneuvered the ship back to the dock.
- High winds caused an expedition cruise ship to collide with another vessel in Ushuaia, Argentina.
- The Atlas Ocean Voyages’ World Voyager ship struck the docked Viking Octantis on January 5.
- No guests were on board the World Voyager at the time, and no crew members were injured.
Windy weather caused an expedition cruise ship to collide with another vessel in Ushaia, Argentina.
Video footage uploaded to YouTube by Ushaia24TV appears to show Atlas Ocean Voyages’ World Voyager ship rotating before its bow hits an aft corner of Viking Octantis, which was docked at the time.
“Earlier this week World Voyager experienced an incident while in port in Ushuaia due to high wind conditions,” Atlas told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “No guests were on board at the time and there were no injuries to crew. The vessel was inspected and is currently sailing her itinerary.”
The incident took place on Jan. 5. World Voyager is currently sailing a 10-night Antarctica cruise, according to CruiseMapper.
Viking did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Carl Erickson, AccuWeather Director of Forecasting Operations, said the conditions were “blustery” on Jan. 5, with some heavy rain at the port.
“Weather observations from the airport in Ushuaia, near the port, reported winds gusting to 54.1 mph (47 kt) shortly after 2 p.m.,” he told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. “Heavy rain briefly dropped visibility below one mile. Strong winds returned around 4 p.m. with a gust measured at 47.2 mph (41 kt). Gusty winds lingered into the evening and overnight hours.”
The incident is not the only one of its kind in recent months. A Celebrity Cruises ship broke from its moorings in Juneau, Alaska, in June in a “sudden wind squall,” the line’s parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, said at the time. A Norwegian Cruise Line ship also separated from the pier in Catania, Sicily, amid strong winds the previous month, causing a guest to fall off the gangway into the water.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].
