NCL Escape Damage to Ship

[Mikel1733]

My son and family got off the Escape today after a Western Caribbean itinerary.  He said when the ship was trying to dock at Harvest Caye, Belize the ship had a collision with the dock.  They thought they were going to have to tender off the ship but the Captain decided to try and dock on the other side which was successful.  They didn't think much about until today when the got to Miami they were met at the dock by a company that does underwater scuba repair.   Just wondered if anyone else had heard anything?

 

[www3traveler]

9 minutes ago, Mikel1733 said:

My son and family got off the Escape today after a Western Caribbean itinerary.  He said when the ship was trying to dock at Harvest Caye, Belize the ship had a collision with the dock.  They thought they were going to have to tender off the ship but the Captain decided to try and dock on the other side which was successful.  They didn't think much about until today when the got to Miami they were met at the dock by a company that does underwater scuba repair.   Just wondered if anyone else had heard anything?

 

Probably a precautionary measure.  Just checked Her webcam and She is underway on this week's cruise.

[mking8288]

Thanks for posting. This is news to some of us here on CC.  Photos ??  how badly damaged or one of those fender bender, scratches & dents - non.structural ones that never compromised maritime safety.  

 

But, the ship was deemed sea worthy to make the trip, journey from HC back to Miami just fine.  I would't worry about it - scuba divers probably went below the waterline for safety inspections.  Unlike aircrafts, the captain cannot simply walk around with a flashlight to run the checklist from the dock/pier - or risk the life safety of 6,000+ souls - without getting an independent assessment.  

Edited February 2, 2020 by mking8288

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, Mikel1733 said:

My son and family got off the Escape today after a Western Caribbean itinerary.  He said when the ship was trying to dock at Harvest Caye, Belize the ship had a collision with the dock.  They thought they were going to have to tender off the ship but the Captain decided to try and dock on the other side which was successful.  They didn't think much about until today when the got to Miami they were met at the dock by a company that does underwater scuba repair.   Just wondered if anyone else had heard anything?

 

I haven't heard anything. When I was on the Breakaway last month, it was not possible to dock on the other side of the pier. There were streetlights and a large fence which would have obstructed gangways. Breakaway had the dock and an Oceania ship was using tenders. 

[chengkp75]

Any time there is an allision like this, the classification society will require an underwater survey at the soonest possible time.  The class society was notified at the time of the allision, and required that the ship's engineers survey all areas near the impact spot from the inside, and to determine if any tanks below the waterline in the area had increasing levels (indicative of a hole in the tank), and if all looked good, the ship was cleared to sail to Miami as the first possible spot to schedule an underwater exam.  Even if there are a few dents, if they are not considered serious, they will not be dealt with until the next drydock.

[Coastalbreezes]

I was on board also and according to the captain what happened was that when attempting to dock, one of the fenders on the pier broke making it impossible to complete the procedure on that side of the pier -- not a "collision".  An Oceania ship was also at HC that day and they had to tender their guest to the island.

[Paul Bogle]

4 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

I was on board also and according to the captain what happened was that when attempting to dock, one of the fenders on the pier broke making it impossible to complete the procedure on that side of the pier -- not a "collision".  An Oceania ship was also at HC that day and they had to tender their guest to the island.

 

I'm curious what the Captain meant by "that side of the pier"? Docking at Harvest Caye can only be done on one side of the pier so I do not follow. Did he perhaps mean one side of the ship? Did the ship spin 180 degrees and dock on the opposite side?

[Sammae]

We were on board as well. At the technical chat in the atrium, the captain stated that one of the fenders was already missing from the pier (which you can see if you look for it) and when they tried to dock, the thing (don’t remember the term) holding one of the other fenders broke. They ended up pulling out from the pier, assessing the situation, and attempted reversing in. They were able to dock safely that way.
 

Big ship and only two fully functioning fenders on the dock. I’m impressed they managed to get us tied off safely!

[stobe1]

15 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Thanks for posting. This is news to some of us here on CC.  Photos ??  how badly damaged or one of those fender bender, scratches & dents - non.structural ones that never compromised maritime safety.  

 

But, the ship was deemed sea worthy to make the trip, journey from HC back to Miami just fine.  I would't worry about it - scuba divers probably went below the waterline for safety inspections.  Unlike aircrafts, the captain cannot simply walk around with a flashlight to run the checklist from the dock/pier - or risk the life safety of 6,000+ souls - without getting an independent assessment.  

 

 

The captain? Lol. That's what I have a first officer for. Especially if it is raining or cold outside.

 

😁

Edited February 2, 2020 by stobe1

[Coastalbreezes]

20 hours ago, Paul Bogle said:

 

I'm curious what the Captain meant by "that side of the pier"? Docking at Harvest Caye can only be done on one side of the pier so I do not follow. Did he perhaps mean one side of the ship? Did the ship spin 180 degrees and dock on the opposite side?

I stand corrected. We did reverse in.

 

[Proud Dance Mom]

Just got off a 14 day cruise on the Bliss.  We were unable to dock @ Harvest Cay, we had to be tendered.  Was told that a ship had had a collision with the pier, and there was damage underwater to the pier making us unable to dock.

[Landl cruiser]

We were on the Escape last week and we had to tender.   No mention of any damage to the ship .

[mscloyd]

We were on the Escape when the "incident" happened (1/28/20).  We were docking early and didn't even know anything happened as we were on the port side of the ship.  Went up for a quick breakfast and realized that we were not completely docked yet so took our time over breakfast.  Then they made an announcement that while attempting to dock there was an incident and a fender was damaged.  They said that we were going to have to tender in and it would be an hour-long process and would take a long time. They had everyone who had an excursion to meet in the main dining room and everyone else was supposed to wait in their rooms or public areas.  They were scrambling around to figure this all out and really did an amazing job (brought racks of towels into the dining room, set up a table with coffee and breakfast pastries, etc.). Then they decided to try to turn the ship around and back into the dock. I am pretty sure that the damage was something on the ship itself, otherwise how would backing in help? I looked up "fender on cruise ship" and it says it is a bumper to absorb shock so I am assuming it was a bumper attached to the ship.  Anyway, it was amazing to watch - most people can't even dock a small boat that smoothly.  We arrived late and some excursions had to be cancelled or rescheduled for a later time. I'm sure it was frustrating for some people. We were lucky that our excursion went as soon as we arrived. We couldn't see the starboard side that day, but the next day we docked on the starboard side and we didn't see any kind of damage to the ship itself.

[BirdTravels]

13 minutes ago, mscloyd said:

We were on the Escape when the "incident" happened (1/28/20).  We were docking early and didn't even know anything happened as we were on the port side of the ship.  Went up for a quick breakfast and realized that we were not completely docked yet so took our time over breakfast.  Then they made an announcement that while attempting to dock there was an incident and a fender was damaged.  They said that we were going to have to tender in and it would be an hour-long process and would take a long time. They had everyone who had an excursion to meet in the main dining room and everyone else was supposed to wait in their rooms or public areas.  They were scrambling around to figure this all out and really did an amazing job (brought racks of towels into the dining room, set up a table with coffee and breakfast pastries, etc.). Then they decided to try to turn the ship around and back into the dock. I am pretty sure that the damage was something on the ship itself, otherwise how would backing in help? I looked up "fender on cruise ship" and it says it is a bumper to absorb shock so I am assuming it was a bumper attached to the ship.  Anyway, it was amazing to watch - most people can't even dock a small boat that smoothly.  We arrived late and some excursions had to be cancelled or rescheduled for a later time. I'm sure it was frustrating for some people. We were lucky that our excursion went as soon as we arrived. We couldn't see the starboard side that day, but the next day we docked on the starboard side and we didn't see any kind of damage to the ship itself.

You broke Harvest Caye. 

[Comi.uy]

Is there any ETA on the repairs? We'll be on Harvest caye next May and hope to not have to tender...

[mscloyd]

We sailed without incident. I don't think it was anything major and I know someone else who was on the same ship a couple of weeks later.  Nothing to worry about.

[Liljo22]

1 minute ago, mscloyd said:

We sailed without incident. I don't think it was anything major and I know someone else who was on the same ship a couple of weeks later.  Nothing to worry about.

Thanks.  I think we all are more worried about having to tender at Harvest Caye.  Takes away the advantage of getting back to the ship for lunch.  

[mimi5461]

Can we say that we will be able to dock at the pier?  Arriving at the end of March.  Thank You

[arestep]

Looking for any updates on dock versus tendering at Harvest Caye.  We were planning an independent shore excursion and advised by the local tour operator to expect a two hour time to get to Placencia due to tendering at Harvest Caye.  Two hours on either side will limit what we can do there.  

 

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,

Alan

[BirdTravels]

On 3/4/2020 at 9:58 AM, mimi5461 said:

Can we say that we will be able to dock at the pier?  Arriving at the end of March.  Thank You

There was a post yesterday that they are still tendering at Harvest Caye.