Viking Hermod accidents and incidents

09 July 2022Ship Collision / Allision

On July 9, 2022, while cruising on the Rhine River, the Viking longship Hermod collided with a cargo ship near Speyer (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). Speyer's fire brigade provided 5x vehicles plus 2x rescue boats (19 emergency services total) in addition to a water police boat.

Reportedly, the freighter turned directly into the cruiser's path. Despite the boat's attempt to avoid contact with the vessel (by correcting the course and reversing at full power) the collision happened. It resulted in two passengers suffering mild injuries, while both vessels sustained hull damages - Hermod to the bow (forward-portside), and the freighter to starboard (subsequently run aground).

The accident occurred during a 7-day Amsterdam to Basel cruise (itinerary July 5-12) with call ports Kinderdijk, Cologne/Koln, Koblenz, Rudesheim am Rhein, Speyer, Kehl-Strasbourg, and Breisach am Rhein. The voyage continued as planned as the riverboat's seaworthiness was not impacted.

13 June 2015Ship Collision / Allision

On June 13, 2015, at ~8 am, upon berthing in homeport Lyon France, the Viking longship Hermod backed and hit an underwater object. As a result, all its propellers were damaged and the boat was disabled.

Viking River Cruises canceled the cruise tour but continued on the itinerary by transporting all passengers via buses to all the scheduled port visits along Saone River. All passengers dined on board but were accommodated for 3 days in Avignon hotels. Most of the passengers refused the arrangement and ended the cruise. Reportedly, only about 50 passengers stayed.

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

16 May 2014Ship Grounding

On May 16, 2014, at ~3:30 pm, the Viking longship Hermod left homeport Lyon France, navigating northbound on Saone River. Soon after sounding an alarm, the riverboat ran aground on a riverbank. The boat was reportedly cruising at full speed (around 11 mph / 18 kph), without any indication that the Wheelhouse officers tried to avoid the grounding.

When the vessel grounded, it also broke several trees along the riverbank. Tree branches also broke some of the Sun Deck's bow railings (transparent glass panels). No other damages or any injuries were reported. The itinerary was not affected by the incident.