The cruise ship Silver Spirit got into trouble last week in Key West hitting a concrete block when trying to leave the harbor.
The accident happened when Silver Spirit was departing from Mallory Square at 6:30 p.m. November 27 when high winds prevented it from turning around to get underway. After which the cruise ship returned to the dock and crashed into “mooring dolphin,” which is a large concrete block atop pilings that keep the ships in a line — and away from the pier — when docking. The collision left some marks on the ship but the mooring dolphin is destroyed which means that ships can’t dock at Mallory.
Luckily no one was injured from the collision, on the ship or at the pier. The vessel was inspected by the authorities and continued its journey shortly after midnight.
A time-lapse video of the incident was recorded by Broadwave Live Cams.
According to Key West officials, the damage caused by the crash is estimated at around half-million dollars and the dock at Mallory Square will not be operational for at least three months. The cruise operator Silversea sent an insurance consultant to Key West to estimate the damages to the pier.
Liz Acar who was at the scene and captured a video of the ship damage on Facebook says that the dock obtained damage to the point that ships are not currently allowed to dock there.
Posted by Liz Acar on Tuesday, November 27, 2018