Passenger dies as storm hits British cruise ship in the English Channel

//Passenger dies as storm hits British cruise ship in the English Channel

An elderly passenger has been killed as a cruise ship was battered by storm-force seas returning from a six-week cruise. Another passenger was seriously injured and has been airlifted to hospital.
The tragedy occurred in the Western Approaches as Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ 22,000-ton Marco Polo was heading to her home port of Tilbury after a cruise to the Amazon, West Indies and the Azores. It is due in the Thames on Sunday morning
Water crashed through a window injuring a number of the passengers. An 85-year-old man and a woman in her 70s were airlifted from the ship. The male passenger later died. A further 14 passengers suffered minor injuries and were treated in the ship’s medical centre..
A statement from the company tonight said: “CMV regrets to advise that earlier today their cruise ship m/s Marco Polo was hit by a freak wave during adverse sea conditions in the south western approaches of the English Channel.
“One elderly passenger has died and a further passenger has been airlifted for further shore-side medical assistance. “The vessel sailed from Tilbury on January 5 and is carrying 735 mainly British passengers and 349 crew.
“Our thoughts are very much with these passengers and their families during this difficult time.”
Marco Polo is expected to sail on Sunday evening for its scheduled 14-night cruise to Norway and the Northern Lights after repairs are carried out to its Waldorf Restaurant on Deck 6.
Another cruise ship that had been due to leave Britain was held in port today (Friday) as a result of Met Office gale warnings and fears of 15-metre swells in the Channel.
P&O Cruises decided to delay the departure of Oceana from Southampton’s Ocean Terminal until Saturday morning when seas are expected to have subsided.
The ship is starting out on a 28-day Transatlantic crossing to the Caribbean, returning to the UK in March.
A P&O statement said: “We are looking at the itinerary but any impact will be minimal. Our change … is due to the adverse weather conditions currently being experienced in the UK and in the Atlantic. The safety of our passengers and crew remains the Captain’s priority at all times.”

By | 2014-02-14T22:37:29+00:00 14 February 2014|Cruise News|2 Comments

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

2 Comments

  1. Phil 15 February 2014 at 2:33 pm - Reply

    I’ve been to about 5 other sites and all the show is the ship tied-up at the dock.
    No photo of a broken window.

  2. John Honeywell 16 February 2014 at 4:36 pm - Reply

    That’s because the pictures you have seen were library stock shots, rather than live. The ship did not return to port until today (Sunday)

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