Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Crewmember Injured After Ship Hits Cable

Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas cruise ship ran into a cable while coming into the Klaksvik port in the Faroe Islands of Denmark, injuring a crewmember during the incident.

Primarily treated onboard, the wounded crewmember was eventually transferred to a local area hospital, along with a member of the line's Care Team.

Royal Caribbean confirmed that the luxury liner came in contact with the cable that extends between Bordoy and Eysturoy Islands. The cable damaged the mast, as well as some equipment on the mast – possibly including the ship’s navigation lights. The crewmember, who was standing outside at the time, was injured by a piece of falling debris; there may have also been passengers outside who witnessed the accident, reports Cruise Critic. 

Luckily, the damage did not affect the seaworthiness of the Jewel of the Seas, which is already heading to its next scheduled port of call in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Royal Caribbean is working closely with the local authorities to determine why the collision occurred and why all the navigational equipment used to plan the cruise - including information attained from the local port authorities and harbor master - indicated that the vessel had enough clearance to pass under the cable.

According to Cruise Critic, passengers learned of the accident from a wakeup call from the captain saying there was a serious accident with an injury.

The MS Jewel of the Seas belongs to Royal Caribbean's Radiance class. The ship was completed in the spring of 2004 with her maiden voyage in May of that year. She is used in several different regions, mainly in the Caribbean. During the summer period, Jewel of the Seas operates in the Baltic and has also sailed to Norway and Iceland.