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It is rare to hear of deaths at sea and cruising has to be one of the safest forms of travel in the world. I except from this, of course, the Titanic and some of the less well-managed ferries in third-world countries.
So it is a tragedy that the recent accident to the Louis Majesty led to two passengers being killed and fourteen being slightly injured when three freak walls of water, more than ten metres in height, hit the ship on Wednesday. The waves stove in the windows at the front of the ship and also flooded a number of cabins.
The Louis Cruise Lines vessel of 40,876 tons tons, formerly the Norwegian Majesty and fairly recently refitted, was carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew off the coast of northeast Spain when the accident occurred. A Spanish oceanographer said that large waves were common in the Mediterranean but ones of the size that struck Louis Majesty occurred only once or twice a year.
Having been in the shipping industry all my life I can attest that freak waves are very rare. Nonetheless, they do occur and I can think readily of two such incidents in which, fortunately, no lives were lost or people seriously injured.
Despite the accident to Louis Majesty, cruising in my opinion is the safest and most comfortable way to see the world. It can be a totally relaxing and enjoyable holiday and no-one should be put off by this unfortunate accident.
.
It is rare to hear of deaths at sea and cruising has to be one of the safest forms of travel in the world. I except from this, of course, the Titanic and some of the less well-managed ferries in third-world countries.
So it is a tragedy that the recent accident to the Louis Majesty led to two passengers being killed and fourteen being slightly injured when three freak walls of water, more than ten metres in height, hit the ship on Wednesday. The waves stove in the windows at the front of the ship and also flooded a number of cabins.
The Louis Cruise Lines vessel of 40,876 tons tons, formerly the Norwegian Majesty and fairly recently refitted, was carrying 1,350 passengers and 580 crew off the coast of northeast Spain when the accident occurred. A Spanish oceanographer said that large waves were common in the Mediterranean but ones of the size that struck Louis Majesty occurred only once or twice a year.
Having been in the shipping industry all my life I can attest that freak waves are very rare. Nonetheless, they do occur and I can think readily of two such incidents in which, fortunately, no lives were lost or people seriously injured.
Despite the accident to Louis Majesty, cruising in my opinion is the safest and most comfortable way to see the world. It can be a totally relaxing and enjoyable holiday and no-one should be put off by this unfortunate accident.
.
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