Ambassador Cruise Line's cruise ship Ambience was involved in a collision in Cape Town Harbor on Friday. (Included)
- A cruise ship collided with a docked cargo ship in Cape Town port on Friday.
- Strong winds and large waves may have played a role in the incident.
- The cruise ship can carry 1,400 guests.
A cruise liner collided with a container ship in Cape Town Port on Friday morning.
Ambassador Cruise Lines has confirmed that its ship Ambience was involved in a berthing accident while arriving in Cape Town for a scheduled visit. I left Durban three days ago.
Strong winds and large waves were seen at the port, which may have played a role in the incident.
According to the ambassador, the incident occurred just before 6 a.m. when the Ambience made “contact” with the container ship Gray Fox, which was attempting to berth.
“Despite the assistance of two tugboats and a pilot, the Ambience was unable to maintain its position in the strong winds and collided with a container ship that was already alongside. Both vessels reported only minor damage. “There was no water intrusion or contamination,” the ambassador said.
“There are no reported injuries to guests or crew, and Ambience is currently safely alongside the cruise ship terminal.”
The boat has been cleared and is scheduled to depart at 23:00.
The 245 meter long cruise ship was built in 1991 and last refurbished in 2022.
It can carry 1,400 guests.
News24 understands that the ship was not at the cruise terminal at the time of the collision.
Donald Cow, a spokesperson for V&A Waterfront, which manages the cruise terminal, referred News24 to Transnet Ports Authority.
When News24 arrived at Cape Town's cruise terminal, Makers Landing, a large number of tourists were seen disembarking.
Vania Barzaiska, a Bulgarian tourist, said: “Early this morning there was an announcement on board that there had been a minor accident.The announcer said that due to very strong winds the ship had collided with a ship moored in the harbour.'' “I was there,” he said.
She said she felt a “cute little bump” but didn't think anything of it until the announcement was made.
“We just had such a great time cruising and didn't care about the knocks,” she added.
American tourist Jaykant Shah said, “I was asleep, but I woke up right away when I heard a knock because the boat was moving awkwardly.''
Staff said there were no injuries and the boat had minor dents, Shah said.
The Port Authority declined to comment and referred News24 to Transnet Port Authority.
However, Transnet Ports Authority had not commented by the time of publication.