A Princess Cruises ship gave new meaning to “lost at sea” when it experienced an unexpected event while docked in Tromsø, Norway, on September 29, 2024.
During a 14-night “Search for the Northern Lights” voyage, the Caribbean Princess ship’s moorings lines snapped, causing it to drift away from the dock.
A video posted by a passenger showed the ship drifting, saying both gangplanks became submerged in the water.
“We’ve just snapped our mooring lines here in Tromsø and we’re floating free of the dock,” the guest shared on X. “The gangplanks both ended up partially submerged.”
“Thankfully, no one went in the water, and the situation was handled professionally and quickly by the crew,” the guest continued.
While the ship’s crew acted swiftly and ensured everyone remained safe, a tugboat was called to tow the vessel back to its position. No further issues were reported.
Swedish media indicated Tromsø police were also called and that weather conditions may have contributed to the breakage of the mooring lines.
The port, located in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle and often referred to as the “Gateway to the Arctic,” was experiencing rain and temperatures in the high 30s and minimal winds of about 7 miles per hour at the time of the incident.
Read Also: How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Cruise Vacation
No injuries were reported among the 3,140 passengers or the 1,200 crew aboard the 112,894-gross-ton ship. It has continued its journey to additional Norwegian ports and will return to Southampton, England, on October 8, 2024.
Mooring Line Incidents Not Unprecedented
Mooring line failures are unusual but not entirely unheard of. The event involving the Caribbean Princess echoes a similar occurrence in January of this year when a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, the 140,000-gross-ton Norwegian Prima, also broke free from its moorings during debarkation in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
In that case, weather conditions were a contributing factor with high winds causing the mooring lines to snap, temporarily leaving the ship adrift before tugboats intervened to stabilize it.
In June 2023, another Norwegian ship, the 145,655-gross-ton Norwegian Breakaway, also experienced a breakage when strong winds caused the lines to break in Civitavecchia, Italy.
The fact that no one was injured during the event in Tromsø is a testament to the ship’s crew and local dock personnel care. Once tugged back to the port, the Caribbean Princess was resecured and could maintain its schedule.
No other ships were in port the day Caribbean Princess broke free of its mooring. The ship was docked at Kai 21 port at 9 a.m. and departed at 9:44 p.m., a few minutes ahead of schedule.
The Port of Tromsø welcomes more than 40,000 cruise passengers each year and is one of Norway’s busiest ports. In 2023, the nation closed in on nearly 3,950 cruise calls, besting its 2022 numbers by almost 500.
Caribbean Princess’s call in Norway was its last of the 2024 season, although the port will continue to welcome other cruise lines, including Silversea, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, AIDACruises, Cunard, and others.
Following its return to England next week, the ship will travel to Civitavecchia on a 12-night voyage and then reposition to Port Canaveral, Florida, for a winter in the Caribbean, where temperatures and winds will be more mild and hopefully less disruptive of moorings.
