MSC Cruises' ship meets Mother Nature in scary situation

MSC Seascape recently faced the wrath of Mother Nature while in the Bahamas. 

Cruise Ships have state-of-the-art navigation and propulsion systems and can usually prepare to handle any weather situation that pops up but sometimes they are vulnerable. They can weather heavy weather, storms, and sea conditions but they have a weak point. 

Related: Royal Caribbean fixed a massive passenger pain point

Ships in general are designed to withstand lots of forces applied to the decks and hulls of the ship and are built to last many, many years. Cruise ships can weather heavy seas including 20-plus-feet swelss and gusts exceeding 50 knots while at sea however, at the dock is a different story.

MSC Seascape recently faced a squall line of wind and rain cutting through the Bahamas and over their exclusive island, Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. 

Seascape left Port of Miami Friday May 29 for a Bahamian weekend cruise to Nassau on the 30 and 31 to Ocean Cay Marine Reserve. While Seascape was at the dock moored around 3 p.m. (lines attached to dock) they took heavy winds on their starboard side and when too much pressure from the winds was applied, the lines exceeded holding capacity.

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MSC Seascape broke its moorings

MSC Seascape was moored for the day for passengers to enjoy the private island and was scheduled to leave at 8 p.m. While passengers enjoyed the day on Ocean Cay, Mother Nature sent a squall line of weather which impacted their day. 

As passengers were heading back to the ship for safety and to get out of the wind and rain, the main bow lines began to snap/break leaving the ships bow to go adrift. 

Immediately the alarm came from the ship and crew sprang into action to secure the ship and hold the passengers back from boarding as the ship unexpectedly pulled away from the dock and gangways leaving everyone stranded. There was a passenger injured but due to the fast-acting crew, there were only minor injuries, and the crew managed the emergency flawlessly as trained.

In my 20-plus years working around ships and ports in the United States Coast Guard, I have a working knowledge and understanding of the dynamic forces that impact ships at sea and while moored at the dock. 

Let’s look at some common questions:

• Cruise ships and weather, how do they deal with the ever-changing and unexpected storms. Cruise ships have weather forecasters on board, crew trained to watch and forecast upcoming weather events that may impact their journey to destinations.
• What and how do they prepare for weather impacts? Cruise lines look at forecasts’ days ahead of their voyage considering what they may face and constantly monitor while at sea or in a port.

“Captains don’t want to put a billion-dollar cruise ship in harm’s way,” is something Come Cruise With Me Executive Editor Dan Kline says a lot.

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MSC Seascape faced a late-breaking storm

In this case with MSC Seascape at Ocean Cay, the ship was aware of a last-minute storm approaching but like on land at home. In rare cases, storms can develop rapidly in hours or even minutes and can exceed expected forecasts. 

In this case, the storm produced heavy wind gusts that put significant pressure on the bow and starboard side where the securing/mooring lines failed, leaving the bow to go adrift. 

The bow of a ship is the lightest part of the ship and therefore more susceptible to being pushed around unless underway. When ships are at the dock, this is their weak point/most vulnerable spot as they are left to the winds, seas condition and currents.

As seen with Seascape, winds can impact the stability and security of the ship. 

When ships are at sea and underway (moving through the water) they have great control and can handle heavy storms and seas with ease. Ships’ hulls direct the water around the ship efficiently and slicing through the water giving great control. 

This is similar to a Nascar racer driving at the Daytona 500, when driving at high speeds, the air/winds over the car apply down pressure giving the car an ability to go faster with more control and stability. However, when cruise ships are docked/moored, or a drift without propulsion, they are in peril to mother nature and the forces of the seas and winds.

Cruise ship mooring lines can hold enormous pressure, but they have a breaking point (MBS) mooring line breaking strength and this is how they are rated. Typically, a 4” mooring line (typically used by cruise ships) made of Dyneema (polyester, nylon, polypropylene) can hold a million pounds of pressure applied and extreme pressures. 

But forces like UV, extreme heat and saltwater can alter or diminish the strength of the lines and its ability to optimally perform under high pressure limits when applied unexpectedly or relentlessly. 

In the case of MSC Seascape, the perfect storm in a sense struck the ship from the side and pushed the mooring lines beyond their limits. This can happen and ships can only prepare for the expected, not something that very rarely happens.

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