The cruise line that was last week being praised for carrying a record number of passengers is making headlines again today after one of its vessels smashed into the pier in Melbourne.
The incident occurred last night, with witnesses claiming strong winds caused the Spirit of Tasmania II to break free of its restraint, sending it drifting until it was at a 90-degree angle with the Station Pier.
A gush of wind then sent the ship into the pier where damage was caused to the dock and to the front of the vessel.
Pictures shared to social media by passengers and locals showed the extent of the damage to its bridge and the pier ramp.
Damage to bridge of Spirit of Tasmania #melbournestorm @SevenNewsroom pic.twitter.com/2RfmqyTaQ4
— Tracee Hutchison (@traceehutch) January 13, 2016
Tugboats were sent out at around 8.00pm last night to tow The Spirit back in line with the dock where it was then secured.
Due to damages the ship remained in port overnight, and all 650 passengers booked to depart from Melbourne were offered to spend the night onboard if they had no alternative accommodation.
According to ABC News, guests awoke this morning only to be advised that they would need to disembark the vessel.
“They made an announcement at 7.15am this morning, saying that there would be no sailing today and they gave us a hotline number to ring to make alternative bookings.”
John Seaman, a passenger
It looks like Spirit of Tasmania might be broken @SpiritofTas #MelbWeather #Melbourne pic.twitter.com/AHb2cWU0EL
— debbie storz (@senoritatiendas) January 13, 2016
Spirit of Tasmania’s Acting Chief Executive, Stuart McCall, told ABC Hobart that the ship was being inspected and the full extent of damage is expected to be assessed later today.
“We’re going to do our best to repatriate [guests] on a sailing tonight.”
Stuart McCall, Spirit of Tasmania Acting Chief Executive
“Obviously, we’ve had to cancel the sailing last night and the one due to go out of Devonport tonight.
“So there will be some passengers with travel plans affected and we’re doing our best to accommodate them, but unfortunately, with capacity at this peak time of year, it’s going to be difficult to do that.”
All affected passengers will be notified via SMS and/or email ASAP. Stay up to date by reading our media release https://t.co/1QRq9oS8sC
— Spirit of Tasmania (@SpiritofTas) January 13, 2016
In a Facebook post, the company confirmed it would run a double sailing of Spirit of Tasmania I while its sister ship is in repairs.
Passengers were told that they may need to change their night sailing to a new day sailing instead.
Affected cruisers can expect to be contact via SMS or email.
The company said it would provide a full refund to affected guests and apologised for the inconvenience.
