Silversea Cruises: Cruise liner collides in Vietnam with cargo ship

The cruise industry’s annus horribilis continues.

CNN reports today that the Silversea Cruises ship Silver Shadow collided Friday with a cargo ship in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay in heavy fog.

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The news broadcaster said a passenger claimed the collision knocked passengers off their feet and punched a hole in the side of the cargo ship.

However Cruise Critic cites a statement from Silversea acknowledging the collision, saying that "there was contact between Silver Shadow and a local commercial vessel” but that it caused only “minor dents” and "guests' safety was never compromised."

A CNN video report on the incident can be seen here:

The ship was on a nine-night cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong, according to Cruise Critic, which said spokesman Brad Bail had claimed that the ship remained fully operational and would embark on its next journey from Hong Kong as scheduled.

However Andrew Lock, the passenger cited by CNN, said the event was in fact more dramatic, above all for the cargo ship. After a fog horn repeatedly sounded, the cargo ship became visible.

"The Vietnamese ship rolled over — at a 90-degree angle. In fact, we thought it was going to capsize. It then righted itself. And with the forward momentum of our ship, it pushed the Vietnamese ship around, so that it actually came down the side, the length of our ship, scraping along the side as it went. And from that viewpoint, we could see just how much damage had been done to THAT ship, and it was substantial," Lock was quoted as saying.

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