Massive cruise ship crashes into dock in Honduras

Vacationers on a cruise ship in Honduras had quite a surprise when the ship veered off course and smashed into the end of the pier as it was coming in to port.

The MSC Armonia arrived at the port of Isla Roatan, Honduras, around 9 a.m. yesterday morning and attempted to dock when it struck and crumbled part of the pier. There were no injuries reported.

Onlookers shared startling video of the massive cruise ship heading in to the port at an angle, looking like it was going to crash. Once the ship was stopped after it hit part of the pier, people gathered to take in the startling sight.

The passengers and crew on board the Armonia were not injured and guests were able to disembark and go about scheduled on shore excursions. MSC Cruise Lines in a statement assured “There was never any risk for guests of crew on board. There was also no impact for the environment.”

The ship was assessed and the damage was deemed minor. After repairs, the ship was cleared by Honduran Port State Control authorities and left port approximately 2 a.m. today to continue onto Belize, its next scheduled port of call.

As for the port, it was evaluated for damage by authorities from the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Environment and Merchant Marine General Directorate. In a statement Kenia Lima, the president of the Board of Directors of Port of Roatan said, “The damages have not been yet quantified by the company. We are in the process of doing that. The primary concern/key interest of all parties at this time is to be able to restore normal operations as soon as possible.”

Most importantly, Lima said, “there were no human losses or damage to the environment, everything else can be repaired."