Accident on the Rhine involving river cruise ship and tanker

[notamermaid]

On the German lower Rhine at the Wesel bridge a river cruise ship and a tanker collided during last night. Sounds pretty bad to begin with but all in all one needs to say it could have turned out even worse. Unfortunately seven people sustained minor injuries. After medical treatment they could all return to the ship. Both ships showed only minor damage and both have since continued sailing.

 

I hope the affected passengers can still enjoy their trip as much as possible.

 

Here is the report from a German news channel: https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/heute/tanker-und-flusskreuzfahrtschiff-kollision-auf-dem-rhein-100.html

 

If I can find out a bit more I will post it.

 

notamermaid

 

[G.M.T.]

The cruise ship involved was the Avalon Illumination, 7 passengers injured.

 

The damage reports vary from light to severe with €200,000.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the info.

It's fortunate that the injuries weren't more severe.

 

[notamermaid]

Thanks G.M.T.

I assume you got all the info from the "schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten" website. Nice detailed early report.

 

I tracked the Illumination to see which direction she was headed. She was on the downstream itinerary having left Cologne. I assume her next stop would have been Amsterdam. Unless she is on a more unusual itinerary. She is currently docked in Boven-Hardinxveld, which could be a stop for an excursion to Rotterdam, but more likely she is being checked (the damage I mean), as it is a harbour are next to the De Breejen shipyard.

 

Hope all goes well from here for passengers, crew and ship.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by notamermaid
Changed sentence

[Coral]

Not good. Hope the passengers recover quickly and the rest of the passengers can get a vacation of some sort with the rest of their trip.

[G.M.T.]

12 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Thanks G.M.T.

I assume you got all the info from the "schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten" website. Nice detailed early report.

Correct, I have it set up so I get a message on my Handy.

[TMLAalum]

How traumatic for the injured and all the other pax aboard the Illumination!

 

I've emailed our TA to find out what she can in case our cruise on the Illumination departing Nuremberg on 11/7 is impacted due to damage to the ship.

 

Any updated information will be very much appreciated!

[notamermaid]

11 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

How traumatic for the injured and all the other pax aboard the Illumination!

 

I've emailed our TA to find out what she can in case our cruise on the Illumination departing Nuremberg on 11/7 is impacted due to damage to the ship.

 

Any updated information will be very much appreciated!

Oh, she will be your ship! That is certainly a little worrying even though it is a few weeks away.

 

From another local newspaper online site I have learned that the Illumination is on a Budapest to Amsterdam itinerary and was due in Amsterdam this morning. The accident happened shortly after 8pm local time last night. Injuries were cuts and bruises and back and neck complaints, most certainly from the major bump that such a collision causes with some passengers possibly also having fallen over. The passengers and one crew member that had been affected returned from the nearby hospitals within a few hours and the ship was declared fit to sail on fairly quickly as well.

 

Thankfully.

 

Perhaps after damage assessment and minor repair the Illumination can continue the season before going into winter harbour. But I am sure AvalonWaterways will still be processing all the info received before they can make further decisions for the next cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

[TMLAalum]

@notamermaidThanks for the additional info- especially that the Illumination was fit to sail onwards. There seem to be way too many river cruise collisions this year and sadly, the one in Budapest that resulted in the loss of lives.

 

We are in a forward aquarium cabin, which is mostly below the waterline.  Starting to become concerned about escape routes should there be an incident while we're sleeping....

[notamermaid]

I can understand your concern. When you arrive on the ship familiarise yourself with your surroundings, read the info provided and then there is the muster drill. Believe me, from my experience the crew takes this very seriously.

 

I always felt safe.

 

notamermaid

 

[Avalon Waterways]

The Avalon Illumination was struck by a cargo vessel near Duisburg, Germany on the Rhine the evening of October 1.  While there were no major injuries to guests or crew, local emergency response was dispatched to the ship along with Avalon representatives to assist with the care and attention of our guests and crew.  Some guests received medical attention for minor injuries and have returned to the ship to continue their cruise.  The ship did not sustain any significant damage and has resumed sailing to complete her itinerary.

-Avalon Waterways

[TMLAalum]

@Avalon Waterways

So nice that Avalon has been reading this thread and posted with the good news that the Illumination is able to continue sailing!

We have a group of us on the Nuremberg-Budapest November 7th sailing- it will be the 1st river cruise for most of us, including Dh & me,  and the 1st Avalon cruise for 2 couples. We are looking very much forward to it!

Barb

[G.M.T.]

Respect for Avalon Waterways for responding so quickly.

[notamermaid]

Yes, a big thank you to AvalonWaterways for responding here to us.

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

So glad to hear all is well.  Sorry for those who had injuries, but hopefully they will be ok.  I was just checking on the Budapest accident, looks like it is still having a lot of investigation going on as to what happened. 

 

[AF-1]

Thank you Avalon management for keeping the information trail running.  A lot of people on this thread were a little apprehensive and I think your response has calmed things down.

[gog46]

I only recently formally joined Cruise Critic, so I just read this article.  My wife and I were onboard the Illumination when the collision occurred.  It was to be the final night of river cruising, with the next day in Amsterdam for tours and the following day for debarkation.  The collision did occur during a rainstorm and during dinner, so nearly everyone was in the dining area.  The impact was on the starboard side.  Many passengers went to the floor where there was a lot of broken glass and dinnerware.  The impact was significant.  The freight ship struck near the bow and there was a long scratch along two of the dining room windows on the starboard side (a glancing blow - fortunately). 

The cause of the collision has apparently not been made known and is of great interest to the passengers. 

I will give significant credit to the Illumination crew for their quick response and caring attitude.  It was a shocking incident toward the end of a wonderful two week cruise. 

All passengers were given rebates for the final two days of the cruise as well as any paid excursions in Amsterdam - which actually still took place.  We had to be bused from our temporary port call in Gorinchem, near Rotterdam where the ship was inspected and some repairs made.  We returned to Gorinchem later that day and then cruised into Amsterdam.

[Daisi]

Thanks for the follow-up gog46.  Really glad passengers and crew were all ok, and it sounds as if Avalon looked after all very well. It re-affirms our decision that this is the line for us, as we really enjoyed our Rhine cruise and are looking forward to sailing with them on the Danube in 2021.

 

[pully8]

Good to hear an account from a person on board at the time of the incident, and to hear no one was seriously injured. We are always amazed at how much traffic there is on the Rhine and the size of the vessels.

It really is like a highway on land. Glad it had a good outcome for the passengers. 

[dogs4fun]

It seems to me that river cruise ships are involved in more accidents than in the past. Has anyone noticed this or am I just reading more info on river cruising than in the past?

[G.M.T.]

There have always been accidents with river traffic, but because it was nearly only cargo ships involved it was hardly worth mentioning.

 

With the explosion in river cruise ships, accidents have increased and also more reportsing where passengers are involved.