Watch: Cruise Ship Collides With Concrete Pier In Turkey’s Kusadasi Port

The Celestyal Journey, a 700 ft cruise ship, was hit by a tragic incident while docking at the port of Kusadasi in Turkey.

The cruise ship collided with a concrete pier during its routine arrival last week.

The incident occurred when the ship’s crew misinterpreted the ship’s speed and approached the pier abruptly, which resulted in the collision.

Despite efforts to slow down by lowering the anchor, the ship slammed into the concrete pier through the bow bulb.

The Celestyal Journey hit the concrete pier at 12 p.m. local time while the passengers were trying to dock.

The collision caused minimal damage to the ship and the pier, and no injuries were reported among the 597-person crew onboard.

Passengers could still do their scheduled activities in Kusadasi, a renowned Greco-Roman city.

Video Credits: OM PROD/YouTube

Kusadasi Cruise Port, known for its eight berths for larger ships, remains Turkey’s most popular cruise port.

Officials confirmed that the incident did not interrupt operations.

The vessel comprises 630 cabins, including 149 with balconies, seven luxury restaurants, and eight pubs and lounges.

Currently, it offers seven-night excursions in the Aegean Sea until late October 2024.

Unlike traditional closed-loop routes, the Celestyal Journey’s round-trip sailings overlap, allowing passengers to board and disembark in many different Greek cities, as well as Kusadasi.

Travelers might start their adventure at Crete, Greece, Heraklion, Piraeus-Athens, or Thessaloniki.

The ship’s Aegean Sea excursions will end on October 19. 2024, followed by a 14-day repositioning cruise from Athens to Doha, Qatar.

When the ship arrives in its new homeport, it will make seven-night roundtrip sailings to the UAE.

A Celestyal Cruises spokeswoman confirmed that the Celestyal Journey had encountered a small mishap when docking in Kusadasi.

The ship’s underside made contact with a ferry ramp at the port.

However, no injuries were reported, and the vessel suffered no damage.

An inquiry has been ongoing to discover the reason for the incident, and the Celestyal Journey has resumed its intended route to Crete.

The 1994-built cruise ship Celestyal Journey has experienced various modifications to its name and ownership transfers throughout the years.

Originally named Ryndam for Holland America Line, it was eventually moved inside the Carnival company to P&O Cruises Australia and renamed Pacific Aria.

Its plan to join the Cruise & Maritime Voyages as Ida Pfeiffer in 2021 was cancelled.

Instead, Seajets purchased the ship from P&O in 2020 and renamed it Aegean Goddess.

Celestyal Cruises acquired the vessel in 2023 and renamed it Celestyal Journey.

Later that year, in December 2023, Phoenix Reisen, a German cruise line, chartered the ship.

Reference: Daily Mail

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Source: Maritime Shipping News