Norwegian Cruise ship hits iceberg in Alaska; rest of trip canceled

[Kennywood]

A Norwegian Cruise Line ship on the way to an Alaskan glacier hit an iceberg over the weekend and is being turned around due to damage, according to reports.

The ship, the Norwegian Sun, smacked into the minor iceberg, also known as a growler, on Saturday and was rerouted to Juneau for inspection.



“On June 25, 2022 while transiting to Hubbard Glacier in Alaska, Norwegian Sun was engulfed by dense fog, limiting visibility and resulting in the ship making contact with a growler,” a Norwegian Cruise spokesperson told Cruise Hive, a blog dedicated to cruise news.

“The ship remains fully operational and is currently on its way to Juneau, Alaska for assessment,” the spokesperson said Sunday.

On Monday, the Juneau Empire reported the ship sustained damage after divers inspected it and it had to return to Seattle for repairs, according to Petty Officer 1st Class Nate Littlejohn, a Coast Guard spokesperson.

He reportedly said “there is high confidence” the ship will make it safely back to Seattle.

An email to Norwegian public relations was not returned Monday night.

One passenger was with six of her relatives for a family vacation that was postponed three years due to the COVID pandemic.

Alicia Amador, of Phoenix, Arizona, told Juneau Empire she heard a “big noise” and then the ship moved as if it struck something. She estimated the iceberg was the “size of a semi-truck.

“The whole boat came to a complete stop from the impact,” Amador told the Juneau Empire. “It was a scary experience.”

She told the newspaper that Norwegian told her Monday the rest of the trip was canceled and the ship would arrive in Seattle on Thursday. She said her family was told they’d be reimbursed.



Source: https://nypost.com/2022/06/28/norwegian-cruise-ship-hits-small-iceberg-in-alaska-reports/

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Isn't a radar supposed help avoid these incidents?

 

[cvjw]

Isn't a radar supposed help avoid these incidents?

Exactly. Didn’t think the captain had to visually look out for icebergs anymore.

 

[Akck]

Isn't a radar supposed help avoid these incidents?

Radar won’t pick up a growler. Many don’t stick out of the water above a couple of feet. Some can be almost fully submerged.

 

[holula]

NCL hasn’t had the best luck with hitting stuff recently since they also grounded a ship a few months ago.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Radar won’t pick up a growler. Many don’t stick out of the water above a couple of feet. Some can be almost fully submerged.

Yes but I thought they would have a sonar especially if they travel in that kind of waters

 

[happycamper47]

FROM cruisehive:

The 78,309-gross-ton, Sun-class vessel was supposed to be arriving in Skagway, one of the northernmost ports of call on its current 9-night itinerary from Seattle, at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, June 26, 2022.

As of 4 p.m. local time, however, the ship is still reported much further south of Skagway, south of Juneau, turning toward the state’s capital. Juneau is roughly 100 miles southeast of Skagway. It comes after the Norwegian Sun hit a small iceberg while transiting to Hubbard Glacier, Alaska due to dense fog at the time, on the previous day of Saturday, June 25.

Here's a link to the enitre story:

https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-ship-hits-iceberg-in-alaska-and-skips-port-of-call/75175

 

[Engineman02]

Yes but I thought they would have a sonar especially if they travel in that kind of waters

With little of it sticking above the water, the radar cross section would be very small if any (radar needs something to bounce off to give a return, and also with the material being ice, with weird angles, there probably was little reflection off the iceberg). And I dont think a cruise ship would have any sonar equipment outside a fathometer, which that is looking straight down so would not detect an iceberg unless they drove over it.

 

[Intr3pid]

Moral of the story: if you want to make headlines, Alaska is not the place to hit an iceberg.

Here is a video link:

Yes but I thought they would have a sonar especially if they travel in that kind of waters

Cruise ships don't carry any meaningful Sonar equipment. They can work off a topology database or a real-time vessel map from another source, but neither is going to report a growler - or a whale, for that matter.