Video: Brand new MSC Grandiosa collides with pier in Sicily just weeks after launch

MSC Cruises brand new MSC Grandiosa, the first ship in the Meraviglia Plus class, collided with the corner of a pier in Palermo, Sicily, on December 30^th, damaging both the pier and ship, reports Maritime Bulletin.

MSC Grandiosa was attempting to dock in the port Monday morning when her stern swung to starboard, striking the pier on the aft port quarter. In a video shared online, part of the pier can be seen crumbling and breaking away, but the damage to the ship appears less severe.

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“MSC Grandiosa experienced a light allision in the port of Palermo,” the cruise line said in a statement issued to The Sun. “Due to reasons we are still investigating, the ship deviated while manoeuvring along the quayside and lightly grazed the end of the quay with its aft part.”

“While this may have been noticed by some passengers or bystanders, there was never any risk for guests or crew on board, and there was no impact for the environment,” the statement added. “As a result of this graze, we conducted some minor repair works [but] the itinerary remains unchanged.”

MSC Grandiosa docked and spent the day in Palermo and while her departure in the evening was slightly delayed, she was able to complete her cruise itinerary without further incident. The ship was mid-way through a 7-night roundtrip cruise from Barcelona.

“MSC Cruises emphasizes that MSC Grandiosa is fully reliable and safe to sail. Our guests’ and crew members’ safety will always be our number one priority,” the cruise line said in its statement.

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The accident came almost two months to the day since the ship was launched. MSC Grandiosa entered service on October 31^st and is due to the deployed in South America after her winter season in the Mediterranean.

MSC Cruises describes Grandiosa as its “most innovative ship to-date,” with space to accommodate up to 6,297 passengers and 1,700 crew members, with 11 restaurants, 21 bars and Cirque du Soleil at Sea performances among its attractions.

This is the third such incident for MSC Cruises over the past 12 months. Back in February, the cruise ships MSC Orchestra and MSC Poesia collided in port in Buenos Aires, while in June the ship MSC Opera collided with a river cruise ship in port in Venice.

The first was caused by high winds while the second was reportedly due to mechanical failure. For the wider industry, there have been similar incidents as well. Back in May, two Holland America ships hit each other in the Port of Vancouver and just two weeks ago two Carnival Cruise Line ships collided in port in Cozumel.

Did you know?

All the incidents above were actually allisions not collisions?

According to gCaptain, “A vessel collides with another moving vessel…. A vessel allides with a fixed object (unless it is submerged) and is presumed at fault”, while Merriam-Webster describes allision as “the running of one ship upon another ship that is stationary —distinguished from collision”.

We use ‘collision’ though, because most of our readers are not maritime experts and would think allision was a typo.