Carnival legend collides with rccl ship!

[FargoCruiser]

If they were leaving port wouldn't a Mexican pilot be sailing the ship at the time or do they only do that coming in?

 

I'm sure Carnival will have the pieces flown to Belize tonight and installed tomorrow at port. By tomorrow night nobody will know it ever happened.

I believe a harbor pilots job is to advise the captain how to leave port, where the channel is located, etc... But the captain remains in control of the ship while leaving port. If I'm incorrect about that, I'm sure someone here will advise.:)

 

I agree, I was on Freedom of the Seas a few years ago when it struck the refueling barge while in MoBay. The next day in Labadee, the crew had their paint barge out there cleaning & repainting and by the end of the day, you'd never know anything happened there.

[Timmys_mom]

Yes...It would be one of their pilots.

By the way...Looking at the denting (slight) and the scrubbed paint it will be noticed. think I'll go down to Channelside at the Tampa pier this weekend and watch them do some painting.....:D:D

Be sure to post pics!

 

The next day in Labadee, the crew had their paint barge out there cleaning & repainting and by the end of the day, you'd never know anything happened there.

This is similar to the events following the party I threw my senior year in high school when my parents were out of town...... :p 'cept it was in Maplewood, not Labadee.

[OZjones12]

I think they were sending a message! LOL

[DocF]

There has been some speculation on both this and the other thread on the incident about responsibility.

 

First, there is no question that Carnival is the liable party. It was their ship that hit a moored vessel.

 

Second, although the ship was under the command of a pilot or, if they have them on Cozumel, a docking pilot; the Captain is still ultimately responsible for the safety of his command and the consequences of the maneuvering of the ship.

 

Third, of course all parties involved on both ships were immediately tested for drugs. It is an unfortunate fact that drugs so pervade modern society that this is automatic for incidents such as this.

 

Fourth, this is speculative, but I suspect Carnival will now sue the pilot service at Cozumel to try and recover damages. I doubt they will succeed as the standard contract for pilotage in most ports includes a hold blameless clause.

 

Fifth, this is also speculative, if the winds were high enough that the bow and stern thrusters could not control the ship, who failed to call for tug boats to assist?

 

Finally, I have no idea what the corporate policy is, but I do know of a ship owner, long deceased, who had a policy that any Captain that damaged one of his vessels was fired on the spot. This was A. E. Goodrich, head of the Goodrich Line on Lake Michigan. The only exception to his policy was made when Gerald Stufflebeam put the Iowa aground approaching Chicago in fog. For some reason, he was kept on and rose to become Fleet Captain. Gerald Stufflebeam went on to head the Michigan State Ferrys at the Straits of Mackinac (operated prior to the opening of the bridge in 1957). We need to keep a watch on this to see how Mickey Arison and Gerald Cahill react.

 

Doc

[KuffMUp]

No. Carnival will do the right thing. They will give them some WHITE vinyl skirting off of some of our mobile homes to screw over the dent and cover it up right.

[Guest TropicOne]

Here is a link to the article.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=68500121.blog

[mixjock]

There has been some speculation on both this and the other thread on the incident about responsibility.

 

First, there is no question that Carnival is the liable party. It was their ship that hit a moored vessel.

 

Second, although the ship was under the command of a pilot or, if they have them on Cozumel, a docking pilot; the Captain is still ultimately responsible for the safety of his command and the consequences of the maneuvering of the ship.

 

Third, of course all parties involved on both ships were immediately tested for drugs. It is an unfortunate fact that drugs so pervade modern society that this is automatic for incidents such as this.

 

Fourth, this is speculative, but I suspect Carnival will now sue the pilot service at Cozumel to try and recover damages. I doubt they will succeed as the standard contract for pilotage in most ports includes a hold blameless clause.

 

Fifth, this is also speculative, if the winds were high enough that the bow and stern thrusters could not control the ship, who failed to call for tug boats to assist?

 

Finally, I have no idea what the corporate policy is, but I do know of a ship owner, long deceased, who had a policy that any Captain that damaged one of his vessels was fired on the spot. This was A. E. Goodrich, head of the Goodrich Line on Lake Michigan. The only exception to his policy was made when Gerald Stufflebeam put the Iowa aground approaching Chicago in fog. For some reason, he was kept on and rose to become Fleet Captain. Gerald Stufflebeam went on to head the Michigan State Ferrys at the Straits of Mackinac (operated prior to the opening of the bridge in 1957). We need to keep a watch on this to see how Mickey Arison and Gerald Cahill react.

 

Doc

 

Winds were reported by a blogger with gusts up to 60 knots, though that seems a little high if the weather was good enough for people to watch from outside decks.

[deborahjo]

Went over to the RCCL board just to see what they were saying. To bad they have alot of children over there. Cannot believe some of their rude comments.

[LorrieB]

Winds were reported by a blogger with gusts up to 60 knots, though that seems a little high if the weather was good enough for people to watch from outside decks.

I don't care how many knots the wind was blowing. If I had a balcony, I'd be on it. That's what duct tape is for!!!!!

 

and then of course, don't forget about the kids!!!!!!!

 

[sbnuggie]

John Heald Blog Post is up about the incident:

 

http://johnhealdsblog.com/2009/10/01/a-touching-blog/#more-11427

[KuffMUp]

As expected, the immature children over on the RCCI board has used this incident as a reason for a good ole fashioned Carnival bash session. So I am having a little fun over there with this old ID. Man, it must suck having that mentality, kinda like bashing Pepsi on a Coke forum. You gotta have a lot of free time on your hands and empty space in your brain.:D

 

Yes and you seem to be describing yourself. From the RCCL boards:

 

LOL, good one! But remember a two for one beer special wouldn't do well on Carnival because everyone sneaks alcohol on board because they are too poor to afford it on the ship. LOL. That welfare check only goes so far and they dont accept food stamps either!

[KuffMUp]

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

 

I'm so glad that those stoopid loosers on Carnival crashed into the Royal boat! I bet the little idiots cried. Maybe now they will get a better job so they can afford a real cruise. Actually, I think the Legend's Captain was just jealous and did it on purpose LOL!

 

Naw, somebody hacked my account, see. I'm a good ole boy just like you, now lets get back on topic. Let's talk about how fat CCL pax are, or maybe question why they put toilets in their state rooms when they are obviously used to slop buckets.

 

Seems you are the one doing the bashing.

[Bevo/Boomer]

has anyone checked to see if the captin was texting???

[DGP1111]

Winds were reported by a blogger with gusts up to 60 knots, though that seems a little high if the weather was good enough for people to watch from outside decks.

 

But wouldn't those people in the pics be on balconies opposite the direction of the wind?? It would be calm for them, I'm assuming.

[mixjock]

But wouldn't those people in the pics be on balconies opposite the direction of the wind?? It would be calm for them, I'm assuming.

 

After reading John Heald's blog it makes much more sense, a storm did happen and was probably severe. Also 50 knots is much more realistic than 60 knots which is what John reported. 60 knots would be gusts of 70 mph.

[Chacooe]

Here are some pictures from John's blog of the damage to the Carnival Legend.

 

 

[Chacooe]

Here is John Heald's account of what happened (this is from his blog today).

 

I am sure many of you have already read about the incident yesterday as the Carnival Legend left Cozumel …………. and I am sure that one or two of the reports may be a little …………. ummmm ………fictional……..so as I was there from beginning to end…………..I thought you might like to know exactly what happened. So, grab a cup of tea, take a seat and let us begin.

 

And we start with the only humorous part of this event and it really is true because I got a call from the Cruise Director Jen around 6:10pm and when she called…………….guess what ………… yep……………I was in my cabin…………in my underpants.

 

Anyway, Jen told me that I should come to the bridge as we were experiencing problems. Luckily my cabin is on deck 8 so I had a short walk and as soon as I arrived I could see what the problem was. The first thing that struck me was how angry the sky was. I had been on my balcony an hour or so ago and the sky was blue and the sun was as hot as Megan Fox’s bottom.

 

But now…….oh my goodness how things had suddenly and dramatically changed. It was noisy, dark and horrific. I could hear the thumping of rain crashing down against the ship and the wind was howling as though hundreds of wolves were outside baying for our blood. The sky was as dark as an Ed Wood movie and the sea, even within the protection of the harbor looked like it had been given the good news with a huge egg whisk……….. And was full of foreboding swells.

And the result of all this weather was that we were getting closer and closer to the Enchantment of the Seas which was docked in Cozumel on the opposite pier.

 

The captain was fighting the 50 knot winds with all his might using the thrusters and engines at full power. He was calm……….but at the same time you clearly see the look of concern and anguish in his eyes as he battled the elements. But I think he knew that this was one battle he wasn’t going to win and so he told Jen to make an announcement top have all the guests standing on the port side open decks and balconies to leave the area immediately and head back inside or to the middle or starboard side of the vessel………Jen made this announcement calmly and clearly and it’s a good thing she did………….because moments later we touched……not Jen and I…………I mean the Carnival Legend touched the Enchantment of the Seas.

 

And it was a touch, a brush, a tickle. The words collision or hit or crash don’t describe what happened at all. There was no bang or jolt, just a ………what’s a good word for it?………I know………a shudder or a shiver. The first thing I noticed was the look of anguish in the captain’s eyes and one repeated on the faces of all the officers on the bridge. But the captain continued the battle against the wind and managed to push us away again from the RCI ship. At this point it was hard to distinguish between the flashes of lightning that shot angrily out of the sky and the flashes of hundreds of cameras as guests on both ships recorded this incident for prosperity, for Facebook, twitter and YouTube.

 

At this point I wanted to grab the mic and talk to the guests on the PA system but it was not my ship so I gently suggested to Jen that she make another announcement repeating the request for guests to move away from the port side in case we touched again………not Jen and I……….the two ships……….and to just talk to the guests, keep them calm and informed. In moments like this there is no such thing as too many announcements and the one voice they want to hear from is the cruise director, it’s a voice the guests recognize and hopefully trust.

 

Well, after 20 more minutes of high winds the captain managed to reverse us away from the pier to a distance of maybe 1,000 meters from both the RCI ship and our sister ship Carnival Imagination which was also docked in Cozumel.

There was much relief all around……….and now the inspections began to discover what damage had been done. First of all I suggested to Jen that she make an announcement telling guests that all was well and that we were going to stop here so the ship’s command could assess the situation. She did…….and once again she did so calmly and professionally. I also suggested that she get as many of her Entertainment Staff out and about as possible in case guests had concerns or questions.

 

During the next 20 minutes the reports began to filter back to us on the bridge. Mr. Guna, the hotel director, had mobilized all of his management superbly and the first news was the best news because after checking a few times with the ship’s medical center there were no serious injuries ………the medical center was quiet.

 

Well, the damage could have been a lot worse. There is lots of broken glass on deck 3 port side where the ships “met” and we also have a bent railing and one damaged life raft. There is also broken glass in the guest relations back office but amazingly no damage at all to guest cabins or entertainment areas. The life raft has already been replaced as we of course always sail with extras and the ship’s crew is already starting to replace the broken glass.

 

As for the RCI ship……well…she sailed away from Cozumel on time…….the two captains spoke as did the bearded Safety Managers from both companies and I am sure apologies and fruit baskets were sent by Carnival to RCI.

 

For about two hours we inspected the damage and a pilot boat from the Cozumel sailed around us looking to see if there was any structural damage to the Carnival Legend. Then, after the inspections were completed and permission given by the Mexican authorities the ship sailed to Belize from where I am writing this blog to you now. Today, we will be joined by a safety team from Carnival Cruise Lines and a Lloyd’s inspector who together will give a thorough inspection of the vessel.

[deborahjo]

Do you think the breathalizers were pulled out? Sorry just joking espically leaving Coz. LOL

[GregD]

Do you think the breathalizers were pulled out? Sorry just joking espically leaving Coz. LOL

 

actually your right. One of the first things they do in an maritime investigation is to do drug tests.

[DarthGrady]

Here are some pictures from John's blog of the damage to the Carnival Legend.

 

 

Obviously the captain is not a perfectionist like I tend to be. I would have to walk up to that one lonely remaining pane of glass under the rail and kick it out. A thing worth doing, is worth doing right.

[ilionite65]

deborahjo

 

Regarding your comment about the children and the rude comments on the Royal board, aren't you the pot calling the kettle black?

[jhale]

seems like the weather here in Texas, one minute sunny, the next wind and thunder. sounds like the captain did all he could to prevent it, it could've been a lot worse and thnk goodness it wasn't. call the ding doctor, get it fixed, and sail on :)