A cruise ship smashed into four luxury yachts in Devon yesterday, alarming photographs have revealed.
Dramatic images captured the moment the huge 539ft Saga Pearl II collided with smaller vessels which were moored in the bay as it came in Dartmouth Harbour.
Boat owners “ran from their vessels in pyjamas,” as they tried to escape the oncoming liner, eyewitnesses have said.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident, but all four yachts were superficially damaged.
Dart Harbour Authority said it is now trying to track down the owners of all the boats involved in the incident on Wednesday morning and has launched an investigation.
“During a manoeuvre to turn, the ship clipped four yachts causing superficial damage,” Dart Harbour’s Chair Mark Hubbard said in a statement posted to Twitter yesterday morning.
“No one was hurt in the incident and the harbour office is now making all efforts to contact the owners of the yacht involved.
“Records from the incident are being collated and will be analysed in order to identify exactly why this occurred and what can be learnt.”
Steve McMillan, 54, of Brixham, Devon, who witnessed the incident, said: “The Saga Pearl II collided with four yachts on the way in to Dartmouth.
“She turned in too wide and people were running out of their boats, in their pyjamas on a nearby pontoon adjacent to the yacht club. It really was close.”
The Saga Pearl II is currently on its final season hosting cruises for Saga touring Western Europe including England, France and Spain.
It has capacity for a maximum of 449 passengers and 220 crew members.
A spokesman for Saga said: “The Saga Pearl 2 arrived in Dartmouth this morning under pilotage by the harbourmaster.
“During a manoeuvre she came into contact with four small leisure craft causing superficial damage.
“Nobody was hurt in the incident and the harbour office are making every effort to contact the owners of the yachts involved.
“Damage to the yachts will be thoroughly assessed and any damage caused by Saga Pearl 2 will be rectified.”
Earlier this week a viral video emerged of the terrifying moment passengers on a cruise ship experienced a dangerous storm, with the waves completely covering the window of their cabin during the night.
In the video, the waves crashed against the glass cabin doors, completely concealing the view.
The video caption explains that it was the 6th level of a ship that had seven levels, meaning the waves almost completely covered the ship.
Thankfully the water didn’t breach the doors and no water seemed to leak in or damage the interior of the cabin.
Viewers have been shocked by the waves. One user commented: “Are you in a submarine?” in reference to the complete submerging of the windows.
Another remarked: “You know there’s got to be some drunk idiot on that ship with the balcony doors open. ”
