Fred Olsen Bolette accidents and incidents

August 2022Other Incidents

In August 2022, on Fred Olsen's Facebook page, Peter Deer (the company's Managing Director) announced the cancellation of four voyages due to "high fuel prices and lower bookings).

The canceled voyages were all roundtrips from homeport London-Tilbury (England UK) with the following departure dates/itineraries.

• (October 26) 14-day "Vistas Volcanoes of Azores Madeira" to Ponta Delgada, Horta, Praia da Vitoria, Funchal Madeira, Lisbon
• (November 9) 8-day "Remembrance Beaches Battlefields" to Dunkerque, Antwerpen, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Honfleur
• (November 17) 15-day "Ancient walls of the Med with Malta" to Melilla Spanish Morocco, Cagliari Sardinia, Valletta Malta, Cartagena Spain, Gibraltar UKLisbon, Saint-Nazaire
• (December 2) 19-day "Islands of the Canaries Cape Verde" to Lisbon, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Cape Verde (Praia, Porto Novo, Mindelo), San Sebastian de la Gomera, Funchal Madeira

The ship was scheduled to restart operations on December 21st (13-day "White Christmas in Norway" itinerary).

March 2020Other Incidents

(MS Amsterdam /Coronavirus issues) By mid-March 2020, MS Amsterdam's World Cruise 2020 (129-day itinerary roundtrip from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale Florida) was significantly changed. Due to Coronavirus concerns, the scheduled port calls in Asia (Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Seychelles) were all cancelled as the liner was denied entry in these countries. The ship remained at sea, cruising around Australia, with next planned (non-Asian) call port Mombasa Kenya (Africa) for April 8th.

On March 22, the Grand Voyage was officially terminated in Fremantle-Perth (Australia) where all passengers were disembarked. Each received flight reimbursement of USD 1250. The Grand World Voyage 2020's itinerary as ports and times you can see at the ship's review page (Wiki section).

On April 9, the ship was allowed a technical stop at Port Durban (South Africa) and granted permission to dock for provisioning and refuelling. The Captian previously reported some crew experiencing flu-like symptoms. However, the tests (conducted by South Africa's National Department of Health) came back negative for COVID-19. The vessel was passenger-free, carrying only staff-crew (559). Of those, 7 (5 South Africans plus 2 other) were allowed debarkation.

08 May 2019Crew / Passenger Deaths

(MS Amsterdam /overboard) In the early hours of May 8th, 2019 (~1:30 am), a female passenger was found missing and presumed overboard. The liner was en-route from Glengariff (Ireland) to Fort Lauderdale (Florida USA). The ship returned and conducted a search and rescue operation (SAR). Passengers were informed about the accident ~9 am, when the vessel was cleared from any SAR. The search was assisted by international coast guard vessels (from several countries), but the woman was not found.

The incident occurred at the end of "Holland America World Cruise 2019" (114-day itinerary roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale), during the Transatlantic crossing back to the USA.

02 August 2018Crew / Passenger Deaths

(MS Amsterdam) On August 2, 2018, a 35-year-old male crew was reported overboard while the liner was navigating in Sitka Sound (near Biorka Island). The man (Rezan Monteroso, from the Philippines) started working on the ship just 5 days ago. He was last seen onboard at ~6 pm and was reported missing after not showing up for work. The crew made an extensive shipboard search. USCG was notified at ~9 pm. It commanded the vessel to turn around toward its last known position for search and rescue. A USCG helicopter crew was deployed at ~1 am (Aug 3) to search the area. USCG reported high winds (45 mph / 70 kph), heavy fog and 10-ft / 3 m waves. The liner was released and continued toward Victoria BC. The body was not found.

The accident occurred during 7-day "Alaskan Explorer" cruise (itinerary July 29 - Aug 5) roundtrip from homeport Seattle to Juneau, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria BC (Canada).

18 June 2017Coast Guard Medevacs

(MS Amsterdam) On June 18, 2017, a 79-year-old male passenger with stroke-related symptoms was medevaced off Tofino (BC Canada's) coast. The man was hoisted into a USCG helicopter and transported to Port Angeles, then transported by an ambulance to Olympic Medical Center. The incident occurred ~5 am, on 14-night Alaskan cruise (itinerary June 5-19) roundtrip from homeport Seattle WA, while the ship was en-route from Victoria (BC Canada) back to Seattle.

28 January 2016Ship Grounding

(MS Amsterdam) On January 28, 2016, in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) one of the ship’s tender boats transporting 90 passengers to the beach ran aground (struck a reef). The boat was moving into the passage way when a wave pushed it onto the reef. Another tender tried to pull it off but failed. Local Port Authority sent a tugboat from Avatiu to assist the tender. The incident resulted in the cancellation of all afternoon tours on the island.

February 2015Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) In March 2015, passengers reported a serious illness outbreak on voyage Feb 17 to Apr 6. This was a 48-day World Cruise itinerary segment from Asia to UK (Singapore to Southampton). The ship was almost 3 weeks under sanitation Code Red restrictions, suffering a Norovirus outbreak.

Still, many passengers were reported violating their cabin quarantine (visiting the Lido buffet and other public areas) thus infecting more people on board. The Captain publicly announced there is a possibility the cruise to be cancelled for thorough sanitation. The crew had to work overtime to clean the ship.

During the ship’s overnight stay in call port Mumbai India, it underwent thorough disinfection, including all passenger staterooms. Some of the onboard facilities (including the library, gym, Lido pools and whirlpools) were closed until further notice. Unofficially, over 180 passengers suffered from Norovirus infection.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

December 2012Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) November-December 2012, CDC reported on voyage Nov 11 to Dec 5, a Norovirus outbreak infected 85 passengers (out of 791, or 10,8%) and 6 crew (out of 610, or 1%).

26 November 2011Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

(MS Amsterdam /law news) On October 30, 2015, Seattle WA court jury awarded USD 21,5 million to a Holland America Amsterdam cruise ship passenger who suffered a serious brain injury in a 2011 accident. The lawsuit was filed by Carol Hausman on the behalf of her husband James Hausman (both of US origin).

In 2011, together with their daughter, they were travelling on Around The World Cruise, when on November 26 the man sustained a head trauma after an automatic glass door on Lido Deck 8 struck him on the temple.

The man was diagnosed with mild TBA (“traumatic brain injury”, classified as mild as the loss of consciousness is shorter than 30 min) and “post-concussion syndrome” (complex disorder lasting for a long period of time).

Their lawyers contended that similar sliding door incidents have injured over 30 other passengers across HAL’s fleet in the period 2008-2011. Mrs Hausman testified that following the cruise incident, her husband started having problems with his balance, suffering from dizziness, severe headaches and fatigue, eventually becoming debilitated and selling over 80% of his successful business in Springfield Illinois.

08 November 2011Fire Accident

(MS Amsterdam) On November 8, 2011, the vessel reported a fire in its incinerator room, caused by a hydraulic unit malfunction. The incident occurred at ~3:45 am, and the fire was extinguished by ~4:30 am. No injuries or damages were reported.

December 2009Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) In December 2009, CDC reported on voyage Dec 2 to 23, a Norovirus outbreak affected 54 passengers (out of 1317, or 4,6%) and 8 crew (out of 610, or 1,3%).

May 2009Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) In May 2009, CDC reported on voyage May 23 to 30, a Norovirus outbreak affected 101 passengers (out of 1546, or 6,5%) and 8 crew (out of 587, or 1,4%).

April 2009Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) In April 2009, CDC reported on voyage Apr 2 to 24, a Norovirus outbreak affected 135 passengers (out of 1318, or 10,2%) and 25 crew (out of 600, or 4,2%).

April 2006Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) March-April 2006, CDC reported on voyage Mar 7 to 22, a major Norovirus outbreak affected 130 passengers (out of 1360, or 9,6%) and 8 crew (out of 606, or 1,3%).

On the following itinerary (Mar 22 to Apr 6), from another Norovirus outbreak suffered 76 passengers (out of 1294, or 5,9%) and 8 crew (out of 605, or 1,3%).

19 February 2006Crew / Passenger Deaths

(MS Amsterdam /overboard) On February 19, 2006, a 30-year-old male crew was reported missing and presumed fell overboard. The ship was en-route from homeport San Diego CA to Hawaii, approx 1100 ml / 1770 km northeast of call port Hilo. The vessel conducted a search operation (later joined by USCG assets), but the body was never found. The accident also caused ~1-day late arrival in San Diego.

02 February 2005Other Incidents

(MS Amsterdam) On February 2, 2005, the ship was in South American waters on itinerary also visiting the Falkland Islands and call port Port Stanley. Via its tender boats, the vessel offloaded a total of 936 passengers plus 63 crew for shore exploration, with a departure planned for 5 pm.

At ~1 pm, weather conditions started to worsen progressively, making the shore-to-ship tendering operations impossible. The ship had to leave all its passengers ashore overnight. They found themselves stranded in a small town with only two small-capacity hotels. Local authorities had to convert in a temporary shelter the Defence Force’s drill hall and a school gymnasium to accommodate all people from the ship. When in the morning on the next day weather conditions improved, they all were tendered back to the ship.

April 2004Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) March-April 2004, CDC reported on the voyage Mar 31 to Apr 17, a Norovirus outbreak (gastrointestinal illness) infected 75 passengers (out of 1130, or 6,6%) and 11 crew (out of 585, or 1,9%). All sick suffered from Norovirus symptoms (vomiting, diarrhoea) and were quarantined to their cabins.

October 2002Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(MS Amsterdam) In October 2002, CDC reported 4 times the Amsterdam ship for having Norovirus cruise passengers and crew.

On the Panama Canal repositioning cruise from Alaska to Florida (Seattle to Fort Lauderdale (itinerary October 1 to 22), a major illness outbreak affected a total of 192 passengers (14,3% of all) and 23 crew (3,8% of all).

On the next cruise (itinerary Oct 22 to Nov 1), the affected 41 passengers and 8 crew were offloaded in call ports along the voyage.

On the following itinerary (Nov 1 to 11), a major outbreak affected a total of 163 passengers and 18 crew. On the next voyage (Nov 11 to 21), 64 passengers and 18 crew were reported sick. The next cruise was cancelled for thorough sanitation and cleaning of the cruise ship.