MSC Cruises Ship Runs Aground

According to MSC Cruises, the line’s MSC Poesia ship ran aground in the Bahamas on Saturday during a dance-music theme sailing. The company says that the incident happened at 6:50 in the morning while the vessel was navigating the Port Lucaya harbour in the Grand Bahamas. The MSC Poesia had to be dislodged from a reef with assistance from tugboats on the second day of the its “Holy Ship! Voyage” during high tide. The sailing was a three-night electronica festival that featured over 20 DJs.

Boat captains say that the MSC Poesia ran aground in 14ft of water during low tide. Four tugboats were deployed to stabilise and pull the ship free. The issue was criticised by people who say that the vessel shouldn’t have been docked in less than 30ft of water. It’s been claimed that the ship didn’t have a depth finder to help the captain determine how deep the water was while guiding the vessel into port.

Luckily, the grounding didn’t have a big impact on the cruise ship’s itinerary. The passengers were taken into port as planned, and MSC Poesia arrived on Sunday in time for a beach dance party in Little San Salvador. The sailing then ended as scheduled in Port Everglades on Monday morning. MSC Cruises said that the vessel and its guests were completely safe at all times, while all of the equipment and services on board continued operating as usual. The ship will now continue its schedule of itineraries in the Caribbean. MSC Cruises spokeswoman Cheryl Fenske tells journalists that she’s waiting for a damage report in regard to the reef.

There were 1,500 crew and 4,500 guests on board the MSC Poesia. H. Forbes Charter Services was contacted to provide a means of transport for the guests before the ship arrived. President Hadley Forbes says that the mishap was unfortunate, especially when efforts are being made to get the ailing nation’s economy back on solid ground. This incident is a big setback for the cruise industry in Freeport. He noted that there is usually a pilot of the country on board a ship to guide it into port. He doesn’t know what happened this time, as something went terribly wrong.

This is the third time in a week that a cruise ship has ran aground. A public safety spokeswoman told reporters that a pirate-themed ship (Pirate’s Ransom) and the Island Time both ran aground in Florida on December 31. The 100 passengers on the Pirate’s Ransom were ferried to shore by fire and police boats. Authorities believe fog was a factor in the incidents, which happened in Clearwater on the Gulf coast. No injuries were immediately reported.