Ocean Voyager accidents and incidents

25 October 2016Crew / Passenger Deaths

(MS Victory I) On October 25, 2016, a dead male passenger was found on the ship while it was docked at Reynolds Park (Clay County Port). According to the harbormaster, the man died of natural causes.

February 2016Other Incidents

(MS Saint Laurent) In February 2016, the ship charterer/operator Haimark Line cancelled all scheduled for 2016 cruises to Cuba from Miami (10-night roundtrip itineraries) due to company’s bankruptcy. Haimark Line wasn’t operating any cruises since the cruise ship collision accident in October 2015.

Haimark Line filed for bankruptcy on October 30, 2015, under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code and cancelled all departures scheduled for the ship. In an official statement in Nov 2015, the company blamed the accident for its bankruptcy, citing unresolved insurance issues. The bankruptcy didn’t affect the Haimark Ltd company specializing in Asia river cruises.

18 June 2015Ship Collision / Allision

(MS Saint Laurent) / St Laurent River canal collision) On June 18, 2015, during its first season for Haimark Line, the vessel was en-route to Toronto from Montreal, operating on North American Great Lakes cruise itinerary. At ~9:15 pm, the ship collided with one of the 7 canal locks (Eisenhower Lock, near Massena NY) on St Lawrence River. The river is part of the of St Lawrence Seaway, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.

During the accident, the ship carried 192 passengers plus 81 crew. USG was alerted ~30 min after the collision. The ship carried 274 people and reported a total of 22 injured (19 passengers and 3 crew). They were the first evacuated. Subsequently, all passengers (most of them of French and Swiss nationality) were offloaded. All onboard services remained fully functional. The voyage was chartered by the French cruise tour company Rivages du Monde.

~15 min after entering the lock (which is ~80 ft / 24 m wide), the ship (commanded by Captain Jens Hoybe and assisted by a local pilot) hit the concrete wall. The collision with the barrier resulted in major damage (hull breach – 10 ft / 3 m long gash to the bow). The cruise ship started taking on water. To prevent sinking, the whole Eisenhower Lock chamber had to be completely drained, with its doors shut.

On June 22, the vessel was refloated. It exited the lock chamber (with all its passengers safely offloaded) and the Eisenhower Lock was reopened. At ~4 pm (June 22), the St Lawrence Seaway navigation was resumed. The breached vessel was first towed by a tugboat and then under her own power arrived at the Verreault shipyard (Les Méchins, Quebec) for repairs.

On June 23, the operator Haimark Line canceled the next scheduled cruise (June 26). On July 3, the company canceled a second 10-day cruise (previously scheduled for July 5). The ship resumed service on July 14, leaving from Chicago to Montreal.

The St Lawrence Seaway was closed / out of commission for nearly 2 days (~42 hours), with a total of 7 cargo ships being delayed.

Another major maritime accident in the Eisenhower Lock was the MV Venus (oil tanker) explosion in 1972.

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

18 June 2015Boat Rescue

On June 18, 2015, a total of 19 passengers and 3 of the ship’s crew sustained minor injuries during the St Lawrence river collision accident (see in “Pier collision” above). The injured were evacuated by USCG assets (using aerial ladders) and transported to Massena Memorial Hospital. Most of the injured passengers (17) were released by 2 am (on June 19), and 2 were transported by an ambulance to the Burlington’s University of Vermont Medical Center (fka Fletcher Allen Health Care).