Venice Cruise Crash - An Australian cruiser's eyewitness account
By Cruising With Honey - 23:44
MSC Opera
Cruise crash in Venice
In a video that has since gone viral, Robert can be heard calling for his companions to “brace” as the MSC Opera, the 13-deck high ship and his wife were travelling on, heads on a collision course with a river boat, Uniworld's Rover Contess docked at San Basilio Cruise Terminal, Venice on Sunday, 2 June.
Robert Lauretti spoke exclusively to Cruising With Honey from aboard the MSC Opera which is currently on an 8-night cruise.
“My wife Rita and I, and our traveling companions Michael and Roz, were on our cabin balcony having breakfast, enjoying arriving in Venice,” Robert said.
“I looked up and saw the ship pointed at the pier! I grabbed the camera and starting filming. I watched the tug boat trying to pull us left, but witin 30 seconds, I knew there was no stopping or turning.”
The next minute unfolded “very slowly” however Robert braced for a hard impact.
“My biggest fear was that we’d crush the river boat and that innocent people would be killed,” he said.
“We could see the panic in people running for their lives.
“The fear wasn’t for our safety, but for the passengers on the river boat. I felt safe as we knew the angle it approached was not going to destroy ship, and in fact we were literally on land.
“It all happened slowly, so I knew we would be okay. As it turned out, apart from a metal scrapping sound, we hardly felt a bump.”
In another viral video, people standing on the dock can be seen running away from the huge ship as it mounted the pier before coming to stop.
Four people suffered minor injuries in the crash, including one New Zealander.
“There was no announcement prior, but about 10 seconds before we hit, we heard the captain over the PA say, ‘drop anchor’ and ‘brace’.
“Soon after an announcement came over saying not to worry and that we have had a small accident.”
Robert and Rita, who have three adult children and four grandchildren, said the incident has put a dampener on the couple’s cruise of a lifetime.
“This is our first ever cruise and we only got to enjoy about 20 hours before the accident.
“My wife has been at me over 20 years to get me on a cruise. I have just retired and agreed to cruise as part of a European trip. It might be a while before I decide to cruise again.”
Despite being offered a full refund for their $5600 cruise, including any charges on board, Robert said he was angry that information has been less than forthcoming.
“No other information was given for hours. After a while we were told that we were going to stay at the port for a while, which turned out to be about four hours before we were allowed to dock at our dock around the corner.
“A lot of people didn’t even realise anything was wrong until the horn sounded. The mood on board has been of disbelief and anger.”
“I’m the one that called him [the captain] a d*ckhead. MSC should have been more transparent with what’s happening or what we are to do. They have been terrible at letting us know what is what.”
In a statement released by MSC Cruises, mechanical problems were cited as the cause.
Venice Towboat Association president Davide Calderan said that two towboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the ship, however a cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat.
The incident has sparked a protest and renewed calls for cruise ships to be banned from sailing in the Venetian lagoon. During the 6-month tourist season, nearly 600 ships visit Venice. Critics claim the vessels are causing damage.
Italy's Transport Minister Danilo Toninellihas called for an immediate ban from ships using the Giudecca Canal.
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Chairman Adam Goldstein said they welcomed the statements by the Mayor of Venice demanding an urgent solution that would allow cruise vessels to enter Venice cruise terminal via an alternative route to the Giudecca Canal.
“The cruise industry has worked diligently with the Mayor of Venice, the Veneto Region, the Port Authority and many others, to find viable solutions to allow larger cruise ships to access the Marittima berths without transiting the Giudecca Canal,” Mr Goldstein said.
“CLIA Cruise Lines recognise his views are supported by many locally in the region, and in national government.
“The member lines of CLIA have been actively engaged in discussion about using the Vittoria Emmanuele Canal as a solution for a considerable time, and have been cooperative in simulations and studies that resulted in the Comitatone recommendation.
“We are in agreement with the solution developed by Comitatone in 2018 to utilise the Vittorio Emanuele Canal as the best and most prudent means to move larger cruise ships away from the Giudecca. CLIA cruise lines welcome and will support the urgent implementation of this solution.”
Cruise ships in Venice
Facts at a glance:In 2014 cruise lines enacted a voluntary limit on the size of ships visiting Venice via the Guidecca Canal, which means vessels of more than 96,000 tons currently do not call at the city.
Cruise visitors represent around 5% of overall visitors to Venice.
The number of cruise visitors to Venice has declined since 2014 when ship size limits were voluntarily implemented.
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