MSC Orchestra, which will homeport in Durban, South Africa later this year for the summer cruise season, has collided with her sister ship MSC Poesia in Buenos Aires.
While leaving port, MSC Orchestra appears in video footage posted on social media, to get caught by the wind and is pushed sideways toward MSC Poesia, which was still alongside.
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A tug at the stern of MSC Orchestra can be seen trying to swing her free, but the two ships crash into one another nonetheless.
A bunker vessel appears to have been refueling MSC Poesia at the time of the incident, suggesting the captain of MSC Orchestra may have averted an environmental incident by swinging the stern out.
The two 92,000-gross ton, 2,500-passenger, ships are almost identical to MSC Musica, which is cruising roundtrip from Durban during the current South African cruise season.
Neither ship suffered serious damage and no injuries were reported among passengers or crew, according to a statement from MSC Cruises, which said an investigation is ongoing.
#SouthAfrica-bound #MSCOrchestra and #MSCPoesia collided in port in Brazil on Wednesday – MSC says no passengers or crew were injured and both ships were cleared to sail shortly afterwards. pic.twitter.com/waoZOIeOa5
— Shaun | Cruise Arabia & Africa (@CruiseArabia) February 23, 2019
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“Due to reasons we are still investigating, the ship deviated from its course while maneuvering out of the port and lightly grazed the forward part of MSC Poesia, which was docked alongside,” the cruise line said.
“While this may have been noticed by some passengers, there was never any risk for guests or crew on board, and there was no impact for the environment,” the statement added.
Although both cruise ships were cleared to sail after the incident, MSC Cruises said the itinerary of MSC Orchestra was amended so that repairs could be made to her boat deck, which took the brunt of the impact.
MSC Poesia and MSC Orchestra suffered only minor damage in the incident according to MSC Cruises
“As a result of this graze and for operational reasons, we have adjusted the itinerary of MSC Orchestra. Yesterday, the ship made a first port call in Punta del Este in Uruguay,” said MSC Cruises.
“While guests had the opportunity to visit the city and enjoy some free time ashore, the ship received some technical maintenance and minor repairs,” it added.
This incident comes just a few days after Norwegian Epic damaged part of a cruise dock in Puerto Rico due to engine failure. In April last year, the MSC Armonia collided with the cruise pier in Roatan, Honduras, causing significant damage.
In January, MSC Musica spent two days outside Cape Town harbor waiting for winds to subside so that she could make port, at the time the cruise line said the conditions were too dangerous to attempt to dock, this is likely what they were afraid might happen.
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