• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
Cruise ship AIDAperla broke away from its berth in Le Havre, France, on September 8th after strong winds affected the port, resulting in contact between the vessel's stern and the quay wall.
The incident occurred at ~4:00 p.m. as an unexpected storm front brought strong wind gusts to the area. Several mooring lines at the forward section of the ship reportedly broke or came loose, allowing AIDAperla to move away from the berth. Weather records indicated wind gusts of ~35 mph in Le Havre that afternoon.
Both passenger gangways were pulled away from the ship during the incident and fell into the water. Around 500 passengers who were ashore on excursions were temporarily unable to return to the vessel while it was being secured.
Tugboats were dispatched to assist AIDAperla and guide the ship back to its berth. Port authorities later confirmed that the vessel had been secured and passengers were able to reboard. No injuries were reported aboard the ship or on the quay.
Mein Schiff 3 was berthed nearby and was also supported by tugboats during the period of difficult weather conditions. Its departure was delayed by ~2 hours.
AIDA Cruises confirmed that AIDAperla had made contact with the quay. The ship remained in Le Havre while technicians, port authorities and representatives of the classification society conducted inspections.
The disruption resulted in the cancellation of AIDAperla's scheduled September 9th call at Zeebrugge. The ship's next planned port of call is Rotterdam on September 10th, followed by its scheduled return to Hamburg on September 12th.
AIDAperla, which can accommodate ~3,286 passengers, is operating a 7-night cruise that departed Hamburg on September 5th. The itinerary included a call at Southampton before the vessel reached Le Havre.
