NCL’s 164,998-gt Norwegian Escape grounded in high winds while departing from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic
Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed the grounding in an email, saying "Norwegian Escape made contact with the channel bed as it was departing Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. All guests and crew are safe."
NCL also said the vessel had been successfully refloated.
"In the early morning on March 15, the ship was re-floated and returned to the dock at Puerto Plata, where [it] is currently being assessed for any damages," the line said.
Subsequently, NCL said damage to the vessel, while minor, would require repair and force cancellation of the existing cruise and the cruise immediately following.
"While there is minor damage to the ship’s hull, all guests and crew are safe. The current cruise will be shortened, and the cruise scheduled to embark on March 19 will be cancelled so that the necessary repairs can be made. All guests currently onboard will disembark in Puerto Plata,” NCL said.
On 16 March, the Dominican Port Authority said on Twitter that inspection of the vessel and investigation into the cause of the grounding had led NCL to cancel the remainder of the cruise, disembark passengers and charter flights back to the US, where the cruise originally departed.
"The company has canceled the Norwegian Escape itinerary, whose route began on March 12, because inspections and investigations will take up to 72 more hours, and said itinerary had stipulated a return to Florida for this Saturday, March 19," Dominican Port Authority said.
"Due to cancellation, [NCL] is coordinating the disembarkation of cruise passengers and crew from the Norwegian Escape in Taino Bay, to place them on charter flights back to the US."
The grounding took place during the afternoon, local time, on 14 March, according to NCL.
"Operations on board have not been impacted, and all services and activities continue as scheduled," the company said at the time.
Some of the more than 3,000 passengers on board took to social media to share accounts of the vessel’s grounding and refloating.
One passenger, with the twitter handle @Togho3 posted "#NorwegianEscape is Free! We wiggled our way out at about 12:45 am. Kudos to Captain Giovanni and the amazing bridge officers for working hard, swiftly and most importantly, safely!"
Others posting said that high winds at the time of departure had contributed to the vessel’s grounding and that the grounding happened while pilots were on board the vessel.
One passenger, who has been posting to Twitter frequently about the event, @DisneyTalk101, reported that the vessel had returned to port in Puerto Plata, "hopefully just for an inspection".
A combination of high winds and shallow waters in the port reportedly contributed to the grounding, with the ship’s captain reporting the bow had become entrenched in the sand.
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