Unfinished Cruise Ship Lists, 3 Decks Submerged!

Jason · January 15, 2004

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The "Pride of America," one of the cruise ships Norwegian Cruise Line plans to use in Hawaiian cruises, tilted and partly submerged, Wednesday morning in the German port of Bremerhaven, where it was undergoing a major overhaul.

The Norwegian newspaper Afterposten reported that four people were hurt when the 984-foot ship listed. The paper said police thought a storm might have blown water into openings in the hull.

Because the water at the dock is shallow, twelve of the ship's 15 docks remained above water after it hit bottom. But the listing sent cabin furnishings flying, so it is thought there is significant damage to anything that wasn't nailed down, even if the hull proves not to have been seriously damaged. Additionally, generators and electrical wiring on the lower levels may suffer saltwater damage.

The German news agency DPA said a gale that swept over Bremerhaven before this happened, with top winds of 105 mph, may have caused the sinking but certainly hampered rescue operations.

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When the 90,000 ton cruise liner began to take in water several large steel constructions collapsed on the quay. The ship tipped over a 600 ton crane as it leaned, and the crane damaged two buildings.

When the accident hit 14 people were on board. Three suffered minor injuries and one was hospitalized for general hypothermia. About 100 people were involved in rescue work and searching for other possible victims.

A fireman said the ship looked like "a battlefield", with many cabins full of scattered furniture and fittings tossed by the ship's slide. The bottom three of the ship's 15 decks are now underwater.

The ship, according to a statement from NCL, "is resting on the bottom and is now secure." Which means Pride of America is resting on the sea bed in 11 meters of water. Despite somewhat hysterical media reports, the ship at no point actually sank.

The company, relying on word from the shipyard, says that Pride of America should be refloated in the next few days. At that point, Lloyd Werft will provide a damage assessment and NCL will alert us to potential delay in the ship's delivery schedule. Pride of America had been on target for its scheduled late April delivery to NCL.