Crewman injured as cruise ship Jewel hits overhead power cable

A member of crew was injured on board cruise ship Jewel of the Seas today as the vessel struck a power cable when it was entering the port of Klaksvik in the Faroe Islands.
After receiving immediate medical treatment on board, the crewman was transferred to a local hospital, suffering from concussion. He was accompanied by a member of the ship’s care team.
It is understood that the overhead cable, stretching betwen the islands of Bordoy and Eysturoy, remained intact but damage was caused to equipment on a mast and to the mast itself (above). The crewman was hit by falling debris.
The 90,000-ton Jewel was given a ceremonial farewell when it left the Harwich for the last time on Friday after being based in the Essex port for the past nine summers. The ship had called at Le Havre, Portland in Dorset, Cork and Dublin en route to the Faroes.
The vessel is 962 feet (293 metres) long and with 12 passenger decks its highest point is about 160 feet (50 metres) above the waterline. The picture below shows the forward mast is almost as high above the water as the ship’s funnel.
Cruise Critic member TheMiz reported: “We have hit a power line, going into the Faroe Island, scary wakeup call from the captain saying we have a serious accident with an injury. There is some damage to the navigation lights.”
Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said the ship had visited Klaksvik on previous occasions without incident.
She added: “All the navigational tools and charts we use to plan our voyage, including information we obtained from the local port authorities and harbour master in advance of our arrival, indicated we had enough clearance to pass under the cable.”
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A statement also said that “local officials responded to Jewel of the Seas, and after inspecting the damage to the ship concluded that the ship can safely sail.” Its next port of call is scheduled to be Reykjavik in Iceland on Saturday.
The Port of Klaksvik website shows that Jewel of the Seas also visited on June 26. Other visitors this year have included Celebrity Eclipse on July 14 and August 11, and Prinsendam on August 25.
Jewel’s sister ship, Brilliance of the Seas, is due in port next Tuesday, September 11.
Klaksvik is the second-largest town in the Faroes and the island of Bodoy is connected to Leirvik on the larger island of Eysturoy by a road tunnel which was opened in 2006.