Witness recalls cruise ship collision in Vancouver harbour
The Port of Vancouver was the scene of a cruise ship collision Saturday morning
A passenger aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam cruise ship recalls the moment the boat was hit by the Oosterdam Saturday morning.
The Oosterdam, a Holland America ship, was berthing near Vancouver's Canada Place early Saturday when it collided with another Holland America vessel, the Nieuw Amsterdam, which was already docked.
Angela Hagen told CBC she heard "lots of crunching" and the "breaking of things" as the ships came into contact with each other.
She was readying her personal belongs as her six-day cruise from San Diego was coming to an end. Her first thought was that the ship had hit the docks.
"My sister went out on the balcony and said 'we hit the other ship!'" she said.
Hagen had seen the railing was missing from the rooms next to hers. Passengers were asked to leave for a brief time, but were eventually allowed back on to pick up their luggage.
NO INJURIES, ONLY MINOR DAMAGE REPORTED
A statement from Holland America placed the ships' accidental stern-to-stern contact happening at shortly before 7 a.m. PST.
No injuries were reported, and both ships sustained only minor damage from the contact, the majority of which was done to the Nieuw Amsterdam. "All required repairs are well above the waterline and the seaworthiness of both ships is not affected. All appropriate authorities have been notified," the cruise line's statement said.
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The Nieuw Amsterdam departed yesterday on a seven-day roundtrip to Alaska, while the Oosterdam left for Seattle Saturday night.
There was no impact to either itinerary.
Transport Canada will work with the Holland America cruise line to fully assess the damage.
Source: CBC News
