Non-Viking excursions

[Heidi13]

14 hours ago, LadyImpactOhio said:

You may may not have heard, and I hate to be the bearer of this news. But a Viking river ship hit a tour boat on the Danube in Budapest and sunk it. No one on the Viking ship injured, but 7 are dead on the tour boat and quite a few are missing. The captain of the Viking ship was arrested. It happened In a storm with fog while both boats were going under a bridge at the same time. 

It happened on Wednesday evening, but suggest starting a new thread if you wish to discuss this incident, rather than hijack this thread. Not all information you provided is accurate, as per my marine journals.

[LadyImpactOhio]

3 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

It happened on Wednesday evening, but suggest starting a new thread if you wish to discuss this incident, rather than hijack this thread. Not all information you provided is accurate, as per my marine journals.

I wasn’t trying to hijack this thread. It was an aside to a friend of mine because I didn’t think it was worth a new topic.

 

Nothing I said was inaccurate. There is a passenger on the Viking ship on that site that can’t be named who was on deck and was an eye witness.

 

That is all.

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, LadyImpactOhio said:

I wasn’t trying to hijack this thread. It was an aside to a friend of mine because I didn’t think it was worth a new topic.

 

Nothing I said was inaccurate. There is a passenger on the Viking ship on that site that can’t be named who was on deck and was an eye witness.

 

That is all.

The incident happened about 21:00 on Wednesday 29th May. The Budapest weather data and maritime journal reports and films do not confirm your 2nd hand reports from a passenger on the Viking Sigyn. Therefore, while you are quoting an eye witness, professional reports do not substantiate the information you posted.

 

Budapest weather between 18:00-24:00  is reported as rain showers/partly cloudy, temperature about 16C, wind 6 kts, barometer 1005.1 mb. Under no circumstances do these conditions represent a storm, so I can only assume a passenger was considering the relative wind on the ship rather than the true wind.

 

From the films I have seen, both on mainstream news and my marine journals, visibility was most definitely not restricted (foggy). Yes, it was night and raining, but most definitely not fog. With 40+ years at sea, I probably have seen more fog than most.

 

With respect to the Captain. Yes, he has been arrested by the local authorities, but has not been charged with any offense. I believe he has subsequently been released, but cannot leave the city. They have up to 30 days to charge him with an offense. 

 

I have watched the films extensively, from many sources and have an opinion, but it is based solely on a brief film clip of the collision, it does not include any Bridge audio or film of the approach to the Bridge. Therefore, my opinion is based on scanty information and will not share it on a public forum. 

 

I also note that prior meteorological conditions had produced both extreme high water levels and current flows. As a smaller and older vessel, did the other vessel have sufficient power to be sailing in those conditions? Only an official investigation will answer that question.

 

The other factor to consider is the Collision Regulations on the Danube River and any passing arrangements made between the 2 vessels. Again, only the official investigation will determine the actions of both vessels and any agreements for passing. Only then will fault, if any, be determined.