In footage recently shared on YouTube, two ships, each operated by a major cruise line, nearly collided in Juneau, Alaska.
YouTube user @TheUndeadKennedy shared the footage the day after the June 16 incident on the Gastineau Channel. The clip captures various cruise ships sailing or stationed at a port on the body of water amid breathtaking views — a misty yet scenic and forested, mountainous backdrop. A Celebrity Cruises Edge-class ship began veering, seemingly unintentionally, toward a Carnival Cruise Line vessel. The YouTube caption identified the latter ship as the Carnival Luminosa.
What Else Is There To Know About The Cruise Ships Nearly Colliding?
As the nearly seven-minute video progressed, the Juneau scene experienced gusts of wind and rain.
The group of people chattering in the background noted that the situation between the two ships seemed amiss. The person recording said, “I don’t think the [Celebrity Cruises] ship is supposed to be doing that.” Meanwhile, another person chimed in, “I think the [mooring] line snapped.” The onlookers didn’t think the Celebrity Edge cruise ship had intentionally left the dock at that time.
Eventually, one of the onlookers observed that the Celebrity Cruises vessel dropped its anchor to stop its backward drift. The group also noticed that the Carnival Luminosa was intentionally reversing, presumably to avoid a collision with the Celebrity Edge.
According to Come Cruise With Me, no injuries were reported after the near collision between the two ships. USA Today further detailed that there was no damage to the Edge ship or change to its passengers’ itinerary.
“The ship drifted from the pier due to a sudden wind squall,” a spokesperson for Celebrity Cruises’ parent company, Royal Caribbean Group, told USA Today in an emailed statement. “Our captain maneuvered the ship back to the dock where passengers and crew boarded to resume the scheduled itinerary.”
Furthermore, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill gave insight to the latter publication on Juneau’s weather on the afternoon of the incident.
“The wind trends show a ramp-up period from a sustained wind of 5 miles per hour (mph) at 2:05 p.m. to a sustained wind of 26 mph and gust to 35 mph at 3:30 p.m., and an abrupt wind shift from a southwest direction to an east to southeast direction,” Merrill reportedly shared via email. “So, the squall brought with it steadily increasing winds and a sharp change in wind direction.”
