Second Cruise Ship Collides with Boat in Under a Week

For the second time in under a week a cruise ship has crashed into a much smaller boat, leaving passengers in the smaller boat injured. This time it was a cruise ship in Venice, Italy that struck another vessel, injuring 5 people.

Dramatic video of the incident has been released online, which shows the MSC Opera cruise ship blaring its horns as it approaches the smaller ship, which was apparently already docked at VTP cruise terminal. Though the Opera was being accompanied by two tug boats, the ship nevertheless slammed into a river boat. 

MSC officials are blaming the collision on a technical issue. The company’s public relations director, Alyssa Goldfarb, told NPR “Earlier this morning, at around 8.30 AM CET, MSC Opera – while maneuvering towards Venice’s VTP cruise terminals for mooring – experienced a technical issue. Albeit the ship was accompanied by two tugs, she grazed the dock at San Basilio. This also caused a collision with a river boat that was moored there.”

Last week the Viking Sigyn cruise ship struck a smaller vessel, a sightseeing boat called Mermaid, as the two traveled on the river in Budapest, Hungary. Seven people were confirmed killed after the collision caused the Mermaid to sink. 21 people are still missing and are presumed dead.