Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience cruise ship was involved in a collision in Cape Town harbour on Friday. (Supplied)
- A cruise ship collided with a docked cargo ship in the Port of Cape Town on Friday.
- Strong winds and large waves may have played a part in the incident.
- The cruise liner can carry 1 400 guests.
A cruise liner collided with a container ship in the Port of Cape Town on Friday morning.
Ambassador Cruise Line confirmed that its vessel Ambience was involved in a berthing incident while arriving in Cape Town for a scheduled visit. It after departed from Durban three days ago.
Strong winds and large waves were seen in the harbour and may have played a part in the incident.
The incident took place just before 06:00, when Ambience “made contact” with the container ship, Grey Fox, while attempting to berth, said Ambassador.
“Despite the assistance of two tugs and a pilot, Ambience was unable to maintain position in strong, gusting winds and made contact with the container ship, which was already alongside. Both ships report only minor damage, and there is no water ingress or pollution,” Ambassador said.
“No injuries have been reported to either guests or crew, and Ambience is now safely alongside, close to the cruise passenger terminal.”
According to Ambassador Cruise Line, the ships suffered minor damage. (Supplied)
The boat has been cleared and is expected to depart at 23:00.
The 245m cruise ship was built in 1991 and had its last refit in 2022.
It can carry 1 400 guests.
News24 understands the ship was not in the cruise liner terminal at the time of the collision.
Donald Kau, spokesperson for the V&A Waterfront, which manages the cruise liner terminal, referred News24 to the Transnet Ports Authority.
When News24 arrived at the Cape Town cruise terminal, Makers Landing, scores of tourists could be seen disembarking.
The Ambience, owned by Ambassador Cruise Line, arrived in Cape Town on Friday morning after departing from Durban three days earlier. (Chelsea Ogilvie/News24)
Passengers disembarked the Ambience after it collided with the cargo ship, Grey Fox in Cape Town Harbour on 5 April 2024. (Gallo Images/Brenton Geach)
“There was an announcement made earlier this morning inside the ship of a slight incident that happened. The announcer said that the ship knocked into a docked vessel at the harbour due to the very strong winds,” Bulgarian tourist Vania Barzayska said.
She said she felt “a cute little bump” but didn’t think anything of it until the announcement was made.
“We just had such a wonderful time cruising and were oblivious to the knock,” she added.
US tourist Jaykant Shah said: “I was asleep, but when the knock hit, it immediately woke me up because the boat moved awkwardly,” he said.
According to Shah, staff members said no one was injured and that the boat had minor dents.
The Harbour Master’s office declined to comment, referring News24 to the Transnet Ports Authority.
But the Transnet Ports Authority had not commented by the time of publication.