Viking Sky position, adrift off Norway Coast and evacuating Passengers & Crew

[Silkroad]

8 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

You folks understand the Captain took that vessel into treacherous waters knowing he didn't have FULL engine power - one engine out for maintenance and he took 900 souls into treacherous waters not having his full compliment of power.  That is called arrogance.

 

See if Viking offers to replace computers and other personal belongings that were tossed around in the cabins while the PAX were waiting at the lifeboat stations...

We certainly don’t know anything of the sort, and, since you weren’t aboard, you don’t know either. 

 

Wouldn’t one’s travel insurance cover damaged belongings?

[Daniel A]

6 minutes ago, ABoatNerd said:

Daniel A - excellent analysis.

Without full power, taking this vessel to sea is suspect.

This will be a key element in the litigation to follow. 

Given the weather, a vessel without full power engages an enhanced risk and  creates a liability risk.

This file is getting more interesting by the moment, but the folks are safe and that is the key. 

Yes, the fact that there was no loss of life and only injury to their customers, is a good thing.  The helicopters were brought in to rescue the injured first.  News reports quoted Viking claiming 20 injured and taken off the ship first.  Some of the folks are safe and some others weren't.

[just_dont]

I saw a news report relating that Torstein Hagen met the ship and met with the passengers and crew.  He reportedly promised full reimbursement to the passengers along with a free future cruise.  If accurate reporting, I can't think of much else he can do.  But we all have companies that don't suit us and we all have the ability to spend our money as we see fit.  Just wanted to pass on this info.

Likely involving a waiver, which I imagine the vast majority of passengers would be more than happy to accept. I haven't heard any accounts of passengers eager to sue.


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[jagsfan]

3 hours ago, C1nnabar said:

 

That number includes the crew. 

I could have sworn early on I saw 1300  passengers. Thought crew was in addition. 

930 pax is a pretty small ship, today. 

 

[jiminyC_fan]

9 minutes ago, Richard2 said:

None of us has enough information to either condemn or exonerate anyone. This has become nothing more than a massive trolling opportunity. 

I was trying to figure out what to say in this regard and you said it perfectly.  I think people need to sit back and let the experts do their job.  Assuming and putting blame on the situation when the facts aren't even known seems a bit premature and judgmental.

[Dekksguten]

1 minute ago, just_dont said:

I haven't heard any accounts of passengers eager to sue.


 

It is also highly unlikely that one would be looking at a huge payout. Large compensations are rarely awarded in Norwegian courts. 

[kathy49]

2 minutes ago, just_dont said:

Likely involving a waiver, which I imagine the vast majority of passengers would be more than happy to accept. I haven't heard any accounts of passengers eager to sue.


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I consider it in very poor taste to already by discussing that to these passengers and then I do believe "the waiver" at a time where these people are still vulnerable.  You do not live thru an experience like that with titanic type events(the stuff crashing around) and need some time to think. It seems they want to settle that right away. I think many of these passengers are pretty smart and will wait. 

[Jim Avery]

2 minutes ago, jagsfan said:

I could have sworn early on I saw 1300  passengers. Thought crew was in addition. 

930 pax is a pretty small ship, today. 

 

930 passengers is full load.  There were actually a few less than that number.  Viking Sky (and her sisters) are 48,700 gross tons.  Not so long ago that was a large cruise ship.  To me a small ship is SeaDream.  4,500 GT and 110 passengers.  Viking Sky is a nice sized ship capable of ocean crossings. 

[Cruzin-K]

30 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

To be fair to Viking, aren't they giving each pax a refund and a free cruise?  Pretty good customer service.

 

Not necessarily.

 

Don't know how Viking does it, but when my Royal Caribbean cruise was canceled at the last minute we got a full refund plus a future cruise credit equal to what we paid, less taxes & fees. So those of us who booked early at lower rates got a MUCH lower credit than the ones who  booked later at higher rates (almost double), for the same class of cabin.  So, not everyone was treated the same when it came to the future cruise credit (not a "free cruise").  We were all out $0 for cruise fare, but people in balcony cabins probably received anywhere from $1100 to over $2000 each in the form of a credit for the same class of cabin.  If I'd had a working crystal ball, I'd have booked and paid for a suite and would have been sitting on a $5,000 credit for being out of pocket nothing for the original cruise.  Then I could have had four "free" cruises instead of one that ended up still costing me $200 out of pocket (plus my FCC) for an outside cabin. Royal Caribbean's compensation sucked. I hope Viking does much better considering what those passengers went through.

[Pratique]

43 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Maybe there is nothing wrong with the ship or crew.  But it's the lawyer's job to ask.  But does anyone know, does Viking have an arbitration clause in their contract?

I'm no expert but I'm under the general impression that Europe provides stronger consumer protection than the U.S. especially when it comes to pre-dispute arbitration clauses. Also, it doesn't seem reasonable to me that the cruise line can arbitrate away claims relating to their duty to provide safe passage.

[AmazedByCruising]

1 minute ago, kathy49 said:

I think many of these passengers are pretty smart and will wait. 

 

And then sue? For what? Unexpected moving furniture which the brochure said nothing about? Resemblance to the Titanic?

[Jim Avery]

2 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

And then sue? For what? Unexpected moving furniture which the brochure said nothing about? Resemblance to the Titanic?

Much of these speculations are covered in the Passenger Contract.  If you have never read a cruise ship Passenger Contract fine print, do so.  Very interesting.  Back when QE2 was pre Carnival the Cunard Passenger Contract still had a clause about submarine attacks.  Remember the Lusitania?  Mechanical breakdown and weather are very well covered in the fine print.

[roothy123]

Here's Sky in Molde. 

[Pushka]

5 minutes ago, Pratique said:

I'm no expert but I'm under the general impression that Europe provides stronger consumer protection than the U.S. especially when it comes to pre-dispute arbitration clauses. Also, it doesn't seem reasonable to me that the cruise line can arbitrate away claims relating to their duty to provide safe passage.

Yes, Europe has exceptional consumer rights and protection of those rights. 

[Pratique]

3 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

And then sue? For what? Unexpected moving furniture which the brochure said nothing about? Resemblance to the Titanic?

We don't know the precise nature of everyone's injuries or how those injuries were sustained. Not everything is necessarily attributable to an act of God. For example, if the ship was not in compliance with maritime regulations or if there is a design flaw that can be attributed to certain injuries, then there might be a basis for a suit. Not saying there was any such issue, but we simply don't know at this point.

[sbrayr]

I located this source of information regarding distance to striking an underwater reef ("rocks"). The US news was merely sharing what had been stated below. The quote appears in the blog of a UK sailor at the link below the quote.

"Norwegian Coast Guard officer Emil Heggelund told newspaper VG that the ship was 100 meters (328 feet) from striking an under the water reef and 900 meters (2,953 feet) from shore when was able to anchor in Hustadvika Bay. For context, as the ship is 228 m (748 ft), it was less than a half a ship-length off the rocks before it was able to anchor."

http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2019/03/update-cruise-ship-viking-sky-underway-after-extremely-close-call/

[cruiserchuck]

12 minutes ago, Dekksguten said:

It is also highly unlikely that one would be looking at a huge payout. Large compensations are rarely awarded in Norwegian courts. 

 

The terms and conditions (according to the US website) provide in part:

 

"All disputes arising under the Passenger Ticket Contract Terms and Conditions or related directly or indirectly to the cruise itself, including without limitation claims involving personal injury, illness or death arising during or from the cruise, are governed by the laws of Switzerland, exclusive of conflicts of law provisions and all such disputes must be litigated if at all in and before a court located in Basel, Switzerland to the exclusion of the courts of any other jurisdiction. "

 

As such, it does not appear that Norwegian courts would be involved.

[kathy49]

22 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

And then sue? For what? Unexpected moving furniture which the brochure said nothing about? Resemblance to the Titanic?

depending on what is found out in an investigation they could be sueing for many  things....not a proponent of frivolous lawsuits at all and really don't get the flippant comment.

Edited March 25, 2019 by kathy49
insert

[uksimonusa]

6 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Yes, Europe has exceptional consumer rights and protection of those rights. 

The European Union has exceptional consumer rights, BUT Norway is not a member of that Union, nor is Switzerland

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by uksimonusa

[jagsfan]

6 hours ago, fragilek said:

Scottish person here - went all the way to Finland to see them - saw just the green lights kind.  Then later in the year (about 4 years back) saw an amazing display of all colours from my balcony overlooking the sea and mountains in the distance - Was the most amazing thing I have ever seen - And live mid Scoltand on the coast south west of Glasgow.

My daughter in law and granddaughter flew from Florida to Iceland in January.  

They lived everything they did, including swimming in the Blue Lagoon. 

The only disappointment was the Nirthern Lights. They only saw a bit of green. 

I’ll tell them next time, Scotland!

[cepeterson]

7 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Will you take your children on  the same Viking cruise until the report comes out?

 

Our children have children, so I guess we won’t be taking them along when we board the Viking Sky on May 6 in Stockholm. We are eagerly anticipating sailing with the Sky’s extraordinary crew, well proven under very challenging circumstances, not of there own making.

 

By the way, all that other speculation is just that, speculation, and certainly sounds like many “contributors” are assuming facts not yet in evidence.

 

Not a lawyer, but teach business and finance to lawyers.

[TLCOhio]

From the London/UK Times late this afternoon, they had this headline: “Britons winched to safety from stricken cruise ship in Norway” with a picture of the Viking Sky being docked in Molde, Norway.  

 

Here are some of their story highlights: “British passengers described the ordeal today of being winched up to helicopters from a stricken cruise ship in howling wind and heaving seas on a treacherous stretch of the Norwegian coast.  Derek Browne, from Hampshire, said the rescue had been frightening. 'I’d never been in a helicopter before. There were a lot of high winds, hovering overhead and the winchman came down and we were then collected up and so I shut my eyes as we arrived into the helicopter and there were 15 of us for about a 20-minute ride.'  Some 200 Britons were among 915 passengers and 458 crew aboard the two-year-old luxury ship. About 20 injured passengers were taken to hospital while others suffered minor injuries, mainly caused by loose furniture and fittings which careened across the decks as the vessel rolled violently in waves up to 25 feet high. There were many Americans and Australians among the passengers.”

 

From this Times story, here is more on the recent history with these Viking ships:  "The cruise line, which was arranging for passengers’ homeward flights, has suffered other recent engine failures. The Viking Sea, one of six identical ships, suffered an engine problem in December of 2016 which kept her stuck in Barcelona. In 2016 she temporarily lost power in Malta. In August of 2015, the Viking Star lost power in an engine after leaving Tallinn and the cruise was cancelled."

 

Full story at:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/britons-winched-to-safety-from-stricken-cruise-ship-in-norway-rjg9mrjs8

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 44,629 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta. 

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

 

From the UK Times, here is their visual of ship being docked in Norway.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

[Daniel A]

18 minutes ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

And then sue? For what? Unexpected moving furniture which the brochure said nothing about? Resemblance to the Titanic?

The PAX wouldn't need to sue if they were treated fairly in the first place.

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

 

Maybe there is nothing wrong with the ship or crew.  But it's the lawyer's job to ask.  But does anyone know, does Viking have an arbitration clause in their contract?

 

The Terms and Conditions (on the US website) do not contain an arbitration clause.  

 

https://www.vikingcruises.com/terms-conditions/index.html

 

[Atocha Shipwreck Gal]

4 hours ago, gretschwhtfalcon said:

 

Thanks for your kind words. We all hung together, supported and helped one another. The relaxed attitude and camaraderie here at the hotel has almost been like a reunion of old friends!  Still I woke up many times last night reliving the experience of seeing all the slack go out of that winch line as my feet were suddenly lifted off the ship. You KNOW it’s gonna happen but still......Guess some folks would pay for something like that?  More exciting than ANYthing that was on the optional shore excursion list!!!

 You are just an amazing person! Your positive attitude is so refreshing!