A Royal Caribbean cruise ship was hit at a slow speed while the ship was docked today.
Mariner of the Seas was docked in Freeport, Bahamas on Wednesday when a cargo vessel made contact with the ship.
It appears the vessel that hit Mariner was the Tropic Freedom vessel.
RoyalCaribbeanBlog writer Allie Hubers was onboard Mariner at the time of the incident, and reported another vessel hit the stern of Mariner.
The Captain of Mariner of the Seas immediately made an announcement that everything is under control.
Ms. Hubers said the Captain told guests, "a boat bounced into us on our stern."
A Royal Caribbean International spokesperson confirmed the incident and that Mariner suffered only "minor damage", "Today, in Freeport, The Bahamas, a cargo vessel made contact with Mariner of the Seas while the ship was docked."
"No one was injured on board, and Mariner experienced minimal damage. The ship will continue on its itinerary as planned."
Ironically, Mariner of the Seas was in Freeport today after a last-minute itinerary change was announced yesterday. Guests were informed instead of a sea day, Mariner was going to visit Freeport so the ship could undergo maintenance. No word was shared what sort of maintenance work was necessary.
Not a collision
If you want to get technical, the impact to Mariner of the Seas was not a collision, but an allision.
Commander Don Goldstein, Retired United States Coast Guard, pointed out that based on the photos he has seen, because Mariner was moored when it was hit by the other vessel, it made for an allision.
"Only the Coast Guard investigators and lawyers use that word, but it mean a moving vessel his a stationary vessel, dock, etc."
