Norwegian Encore accidents and incidents

06 May 2024Crew / Passenger Crimes

On May 7, 2024, a 35-year-old male crew was arrested by the FBI in Juneau. The man (Ntando Sogoni, South African national) was accused of stabbing three people (a passenger and two NCL employees) with medical scissors.

He was charged with ABDW (Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon) within the maritime and territorial jurisdiction, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a US$250,000 fine upon conviction.

According to reports, the man was recently employed by NCL and joined Norwegian Encore in Seattle on May 5th.

According to court documents, on May 6th (while the ship was west of Vancouver Island en route to Alaska), Ntando Sogoni was working when other employees observed him attempting to deploy a lifeboat. He was contacted by the ship's security and escorted to the Infirmary for medical assessment. 

Upon arrival, the man physically attacked a security guard and a male nurse (inside the Infirmary's examination room) then proceeded to and enter another examination room where a female passenger (USA citizen) was being examined. He grabbed a pair of scissors and stabbed the woman multiple times in the arm, hand and face. He also stabbed two security guards who intervened - one in the head and the other in the back and shoulders.

The incident occurred in the beginning of the 7-day "Alaska Glacier Bay, Skagway and Juneau Cruise" (itinerary May 5-12, roundtrip from Seattle WA) visiting Juneau (May 7th), Skagway (May 8th), Glacier Bay NP (May 9th), Ketchikan (May 10th) and Victoria BC Canada (May 11th).

08 November 2022Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

On November 8, 2022, while docked in Fuerte Amador (Panama City), a gangway (mobile structure connecting the ship to the concrete pier) collapsed injuring multiple passengers (reportedly, 11). Six of the injured were ambulanced to a nearby medical facility. NCL also dispatched its CARE Team for additional support.

NCL didn't specify the number of injured, how severe their injuries were, or the reason why the gangway collapsed. Reportedly, as the new dock was not finished, its main gangway was not operational at the time, so a smaller one was used instead. During the morning disembarkation, the number of people using the gangway was restricted to two at a time. During the afternoon embarkation (when the metal structure collapsed), there was no restriction on the number of boarding passengers.

The accident occurred during a 21-day Panama Canal Cruise (itinerary October 23 - November 13, from Seattle to Miami) with call ports in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles), Mexico (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco), Guatemala (Puerto Quetzal), Panama City (Port Fuerte Amador/Nov 7-8 overnight) and Colombia (Cartagena).

18 July 2022Coast Guard Medevacs

On July 18, 2022, while navigating in Chatham Strait (Alaska), at 5:48 am local time (13:48 UTC) the ship contacted the USCG Sector Juneau requesting a medical evacuation for a 64-year-old male passenger suffering from stroke-like symptoms since 4:35 am.

For the medevac, from CG Air Station Sitka was dispatched a Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter to meet the liner. The aircrew arrived on the scene at 7:27 am local time (15:27 UTC). The man was hoisted and flown to Sitka's Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, arriving in stable condition.

The incident occurred at the beginning of a 7-day "Alaska: Glacier Bay, Skagway and Juneau Cruise" (itinerary July 17-24, roundtrip from Seattle WA) with call ports in the USA (Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay scenic cruising, Ketchikan) and Canada (Victoria BC).