MSC Melody accidents and incidents

29 June 2016Ship Grounding

(MS Qing) On June 29, 2016, due to flooding the vessel partially sank while berthed in homeport Goa India. The sinking accident was caused by harsh weather (heavy monsoon rains). Nobody was on ship at the time it sank (no crew or passengers) so no injuries were reported. According to local media sources, the liner had ~350 tons of diesel fuel and ~20,000 tons of seawater when settled on the seabed.

As of May 2017, the ship was still partially sunk and grounded at its dock.

25 April 2009Pirates / Terrorist Attacks

(MSC Melody / pirate attack) On April 25, 2009, the vessel was on Suez Canal repositioning cruise, en-route from homeport Durban (South Africa) to homeport Genoa (Italy), and carrying around 1000 passengers plus 500 crew.

At ~11:30 pm, while approx 300 km / 190 ml off Seychelles Ilsands, the cruise ship was attacked by 6 Somali pirates on a speedboat. Fortunately, pistol fire from the ship's security forced the attacking boat to retreat. Due to security precaution, the ship's planned course changed, thus altering the scheduled itinerary.

Reportedly, the speedboat drew alongside the liner and fired at the Navigation Bridge with an automatic rifle. Subsequently they attempted to board the vessel. Until the ship's security personnel (Israeli private security team) was mobilized, passengers fought off the pirates by throwing outdoor lounge furniture (tables and chairs) overboard. Later, the ship's security attempted to repel the attackers by using the fire hose, then used pistols.

On April 27, 2009, 9 Somali pirates were captured by the Spanish frigate ship SPS Numancia (F83 class navy vessel).

18 November 2006Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

(MSC Melody / overboard) On November 18, 2006, at ~2 am, a 24-year-old male crew jumped overboard while the ship was off Africa's (Mozambique's) coast. The incident was reported by his girlfriend, who witnessed the jump, so the rescue operation was started immediately. Fortunately, the man (from Samoa) was found and rescued alive. The ship's arrival in homeport Durban (South Africa) was delayed by ~5 hours.

23 September 2003Ship Collision / Allision

(MSC Melody) On September 23, 2003, upon berthing in call port Kusadasi Turkey, the ship hit the docking pier and had to remain in port for several days for repairs.

Note: Actually, this type of marine accident is called “allision” (striking a fixed object) as opposed to “collision” (striking another vessel).