Three Cruises on Oasis of the Seas Canceled After Drydock Accident

The cruise ship Oasis of the Seas is headed for a shipyard in Cádiz, Spain for repairs after suffering damage in a drydock accident at Grand Bahama Shipyard.

Three sailings departing Port Canaveral on April 7, 14 and 21 have been canceled due to repairs and maintenance. Her next sailing will be a May 5 departure out of Barcelona, the first cruise of her European summer season. 

Affected Royal Caribbean customers will  receive a full refund, a 100-percent credit towards a future cruise and a limited reimbursement for airfare change fees. Any prepaid excursions booked through the cruise line will also be refunded. 

On Monday, the Oasis suffered an unspecified casualty during propulsion repairs in the yard's largest floating drydock, Dock 2. Niklas Sandström, a project manager who was on board Oasis at the time of the casualty, told Finnish media that the vessel took on a list to starboard of approximately seven degrees. A crane on the drydock's starboard side also toppled over onto the amphitheater on the Oasis' stern. 

Eight shipyard workers were hurt in the incident, though none suffered life-threatening injuries. Separately, contractors who were staying aboard the Oasis evacuated onto shore, walking directly underneath the wreckage of the crane to reach the gangway (video at top of page). 

Most media reports have characterized the accident as a crane collapse, but Royal Caribbean described it as an "issue in the dry dock structure." In a brief statement Monday, Royal Caribbean indicated that the dry dock itself may have suffered damage in the incident. "We are aware of damage to the dock structure and to construction cranes. We are assessing damage to the ship," the cruise line said. 

Grand Bahama Shipyard has not yet commented publicly on the cause or extent of the casualty.