CMV Astoria accidents and incidents

20 July 2020Other Incidents

On July 20, 2020, CMV's parent company SQTL (South Quay Travel & Leisure Ltd) was placed into administration / filed for bankruptcy. The UK-based company traded as "Cruise and Maritime Voyages" (trademarked brand, aka CMV). As Joint Administrators (evaluating SQTL's financial position) were appointed Paul Williams, Phil Dakin and Edward Bines of Duff & Phelps Ltd.

SQTL-CMV's cruisetour packages were protected by ABTA (number V9945). SQTL-CMV's fly-cruise packages are protected by ATOL (number 4619). All CMV cruise bookings (fleetwide/all ships) were effectively cancelled.

In June, SQTL-CMV entered into emergency talks with potential investors and lenders. Unfortunately, the company's efforts to secure funding and stay afloat during the Coronavirus crisis failed. The future of the CMV ships (some SQTL-owned, some chartered) remains unknown.

15 June 2020Crew / Passenger Crimes

On June 15, 2020, around 160 crew (India nationals) started a hunger strike after staging a peaceful protest for being stranded onboard for the past 3 months. At the time, the CMV ship Astoria was docked at Port Tilbury-London (England UK).

The strike addressed India's Government and state officials who refused the crew's repatriation (via charter flights) due to Coronavirus travel restrictions. Although treated properly by the shipowner CMV, the seafarers became frustrated by their Government's lack of assistance as numerous other nationals employed on cruise ships had already returned to their home countries.

03 April 2019Ship Grounding

(CruiseMapper email from Eva Cullen) The Astoria nearly ran aground in Poole Harbour this evening (Wed 3rd April). The ship didn't follow the Pilot and nearly hit the sandbank. The Astoria had to drop its anchor to prevent hitting the sandbank and to allow it to gain control. It had to reverse to get back into the channel. At one point during its reversing we thought it was going to hit the Brownsea jetty. It took some time for it to exit the harbour past the chain ferry. A very unnerving experience to watch!

Note: The incident occurred at the beginning of the 10-day "Scottish Highlands, Islands and Lochs" cruise (itinerary April 3 - 13) roundtrip from homeport Poole (England) with call ports in Northern Ireland (Belfast), Scotland (Stornoway on Isle of Lewis and Harris, Tobermory on Isle of Mull, Fort William, Greenock-Glasgow), Ireland (Dublin) and England (Tresco Island).

According to CMV's official statement, due to strong current and high water in the Poole channel at departure time, the Captain decided to drop anchor at 6:06 pm. By 6.30 pm, the anchor was no longer in use and the ship proceeded without assistance. There was no grounding (contact with the sea bed) and the vessel sustained no damages.

01 February 2009Ship Grounding

(MS Athena) On February 1, 2009, two of the ship's passenger tender boats ran aground off Kangaroo Island (Australia). The accident occurred while the liner was anchored Outer Harbor (Adelaide, South Australia). The first boat carried a total of 54 passengers and crew. The second (with 3 crew) was sent to assist but also ran aground.

Passengers were offloaded and transported via a chartered vessel. The rest of the cruise ship passengers remained stranded at the wharf. After the chartered boat failed to drag the tender to deeper waters, it was decided to wait until high tide. The grounded tender was freed by 9 pm.

03 December 2008Pirates / Terrorist Attacks

(MS Athena) On December 3, 2008, while the ship was navigating in the Gulf of Aden (off Somalia's coast), a couple of speed boats with pirates approached. Fire hoses on the ship were used to prevent them from boarding. All the 450 passengers were evacuated to open decks.

The pirate attack lasted for ~4 hours. Eventually, an aircraft arrived and forced the boats to leave.

23 November 2008Structural and Technical Issues

(MS Athena) On November 23, 2008, the ship-operator Transocean Tours officially canceled the scheduled 123-day World Cruise, allowing the vessel to enter drydock for routine maintenance. The most serious issue was with the liner's main diesel engines.

25 July 1956Ship Collision / Allision

(MS Stockholm) On July 25, 1956, due to heavy fog, while navigating in North Atlantic Ocean, the operated by Swedish America Line ship collided with the ocean liner SS Andrea Doria (operated by the Italian Line).

The collision happened at 11:10 pm, off Nantucket Island's coast. The accident became known as one of the world's worst maritime disasters.

Although most SS Andrea Doria passengers and crew survived the collision, the larger ocean liner immediately started to list to starboard, then capsized and sank in the morning of July 26. Because of the severe listing, half of the liner's lifeboats were unusable. After the ramming, the liner's efficient technical design allowed it to remain afloat for over 11 hours. While all the liner's 1660 passengers and crew were rescued alive, 46 people were killed in the collision.

On July 27, 1956, the severely damaged MS Stockholm arrived in NYC New York. The ship reported 5 crew killed instantly in the collision. Several crew members remained trapped in the vessel's wrecked prow (bow section of the hull).

Despite its damages, MS Stockholm helped 327 passengers and 245 crew rescued from SS Andrea Doria. After the liner sank, Stockholm under its own power arrived in NYC 2 days later.

The ship's crushed bow was repaired during a 3-months long drydock at the cost of USD 1 million.