A Norwegian Cruise Line ship broke from its mooring ropes due to windy weather in Belgium on Saturday.
The line’s Norwegian Prima vessel drifted from the pier in Zeebrugge on the country’s coast because of “unexpectedly strong side winds,” which also caused a gangway to fall into the water, according to a Norwegian spokesperson.
“Thankfully, there are no reported injuries, and all guests and crew remain safe,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “A damage assessment is in progress and as of now, there appears to be no impact to the vessel.”
Norwegian did not specify the wind speed during the incident. The region saw sustained winds on Saturday of around 20 to 30 miles per hour – which is not out of the ordinary – according to AccuWeather, though it did not have data for Zeebrugge specifically. There could have been stronger gusts during rain showers in the area, but AccuWeather did not have information on those.
The ship was on a 10-day sailing from Reykjavik, Iceland, to Southampton, England, at the time, according to CruiseMapper.
“It’s very rare for cruise ships to break free of moorings but has occurred during extreme weather conditions,” Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert known as The Cruise Guy, said in an email.
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He noted that weather conditions at each port are monitored before arrival to gauge safety and any dangers involved.
“The cruise lines are always assessing these matters and mitigating the risks,” he said. “If it’s (deemed) unsafe, they take appropriate action so passengers can focus on their vacations. Unfortunately, they don’t control the weather.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
