Viking river cruise ship badly damaged in collision with tanker near Antwerp

Sometimes it just isn’t your day, and for Viking Cruises, it hasn’t been their month. Just a few weeks after one of their ocean cruise ships had to be evacuated in high seas, one of their river cruise vessels has now collided with a chemical tanker.

Viking Idun was carrying 171 passengers when she collided with the chemical tanker Chemical Marketer just after midnight on Monday morning near the town of Terneuzen on the Western Scheldt.

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The accident caused severe damage to Viking Idun, especially on her bow, and ripped a large hole in the side of the chemical tanker, but according to Viking Cruises no passengers were hurt.

“No guests were injured. The ship sustained some damage near the bow and is currently docked in Terneuzen with all guests,” the statement said.

“While damage of the ship is being assessed, guests will continue with a modified version of the itinerary. We hope to have the ship in operation in time for its next departure on 4 April. If that should not be so, future guests will be accommodated on another Viking longship,” it added.

Images posted on social media showed extensive damage to the interior of the ship as well, with broken glass, and tables and plates broken and strewn across the floor.

Aboard the Chemical Marketer, the damage was all inflicted above the waterline, preventing any risk of pollution.

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The incident took place on the seventh day of a 10-day river cruise while the ship was cruising from Antwerp to Ghent.

Viking Idun is a 135-meter inland cruise ship or river cruise vessel, one of more than 60 in the Viking River Cruises fleet.

It’s unclear what caused the accident, but it is being investigated by local authorities.

Tammy Miller, a passenger on-board Viking Idun, said that while the incident had been scary, the crew of the ship had been “amazing” and “top-notch” throughout the voyage and in the wake of the accident.

This latest incident comes just a few weeks after Viking Sky suffered engine failure in high seas off Norway and almost onto the rocky coast, necessitating the evacuation of her passengers.

During that incident, the crew of Viking Sky were also widely praised by passengers aboard the ship.

An investigation into that incident by Norwegian officials found that low oil pressure had caused her engines to automatically shut down.

The low oil pressure was caused by the rolling and pitching of the vessel in 26-foot seas, even though oil levels were within the parameters recommended by MAN, the ship’s engine manufacturer.