Norwegian Epic which is operated by Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has crashed into the pier at the San Juan Puerto Rico port. This comes after the ship was diverted due to power and engine issues. This post has been updated.
Norwegian Epic Crashes into Pier
It isn’t a good time right now for Norwegian Epic after suffering power outages and then crashing into the pier at its diverted port of call of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
We received a statement from an NCL spokesperson:
“Today, as Norwegian Epic was maneuvering into Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a local pilot on board and the help of two tug boats, prevailing winds caused the ship to veer towards the pier, damaging two mooring points at Pier 3 East. No injuries have been reported and guests are currently disembarking the ship as previously scheduled. We are working closely with local authorities to assess the damage. This is all the information we have to share at this time.”
Video footage has been posted on social media which captures the large cruise ship hitting parts of the pier as it arrived on February 12 with the help of two tug boats. The ship hit two mooring point sections of the pier which were completely destroyed and sank into the water.
The ship almost hit a third section but thankfully managed to slow just in time. Prevailing winds apparently caused this to happen. Cruise Hive readers can watch the footage below:
From watching the footage it seems Norwegian Epic just had some scrapes along the hull, but the pier definitely came off in bad shape.
Here are pictures of the hull damage looks like there is no penetration@CruiseNorwegian #CruiseNorwegian #NorwegianEpic pic.twitter.com/pe15jIIHK4
— James Smith (@jksmith311) February 13, 2019
Suffering from Engine Issues
The large vessel is currently on a seven-night eastern Caribbean cruise but that came to a halt yesterday when there was major power failure due to engines, according to the Cruise Law News blog. Many cruisers have been posting on social media and not happy about the situation.
I am currently on the Norwegian epic and we are being rerouted to San Juan Puerto Rico. This is completely unacceptable as we paid for a cruise that goes to Tortola, St Thomas, and Great Stirrup Cay. Tortola and St Thomad have been cut out of the itinerary. James Smith#9095
— James Smith (@jksmith311) February 11, 2019
In another tweet, one guest posted that two engines had failed and a Bravo code was announced during the cruise as well, which apparently involved crew member fighting but this is not confirmed.
This is a warning to all cruise travelers: NEVER book with @CruiseNorwegian. See the screenshot below. #NCLepicfail #ncl #Norwegianepic pic.twitter.com/YWJVfQX8zf
— Trisha Haber (@HaberTrisha) February 12, 2019
As a result of the engine issues, the cruise line canceled the scheduled call in Tortola today and the call in St. Thomas tomorrow. There is scheduled call to Norwegian Cruise Line’s private island of Great Stirrup Cay on Friday, though it’s not known if this will also be canceled.
Norwegian Epic joined the fleet in 2010 and at the time was the largest in Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet. The ship is the only one in its class at 155,800 gross tons and a guest capacity of 4,200 at double occupancy.
The cruise line has stated that they are assessing the damage so we do expect further developments. Guests have been able to disembark the ship to enjoy their time in port. The cruise line has also offered compensation.
Video Footage By: TweetsWithTito (@dunard2)
