Dream hits dock in Nassau

I just watched the video, she was still really moving when she smacked the pier. I know it takes a while to spin up the main props, but there wasn't any prop wash until after the impact. And it didn't sound like there was a lot of wind to blow the ship into the dock.

I agree .... it looks like they either lost control from the bridge or everything went off line. No prop wash OR thruster wash .....

Everything off line in a diesel electric usually means EVERYTHING and the rest of the ship did not lose power so I suspect a problem on the bridge.

I have seen some other BAD things happen when 'bridge control' was shifted from one station to another and done wrong. [typically there are stations on each side bridge wing and the main in the center of the bridge. IME only ONE can be in control and the bridge must tell the system which one is IN control <in 'modern' computer based control systems> }

Example, a few years ago the USCG was introducing the new Great Lakes ice breaker to Coast Guard City, Grand Haven MI. The town was all turned out with band and TV cameras as the new cutter steamed up the channel to the city pier. And suddenly the ship made a hard 90 degree turn and t-boned into a sea wall. WWHHAAAAATTTTTT? https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/new-mackinaw-hits-grand-haven-channel-wall.121103/

It was eventually determined that when shifting control from one position to another it is IMPORTANT to ensure the position of the controls at the 'new station' match the positions at the 'old station' and the builder book recommended returning everything to "0" THEN transfer control ..... this had not been done and the NEW station controls were in a 'hard right' position. OOPS ..... hadn't fully read the owner's manual for the new car yet .....

Just a guess and just one example .. don't dissect this versus that ... not my intent to say THIS happened. But one wrong button pressed can cut off control of the engines and thrusters from the bridge and it takes a bit to determine THIS happened and a bit more to FIX the situation. During this time you drift towards the OOPS and have NOTHING you can do about it!!!!

{technical detail .... a ship's emergency brake is the anchor .... drop the anchor to stop uncontrolled motion. In this case it probably would not have mattered .... everything happened too fast.}

This is what the Dream looks like now as she departed Port Canaveral today after her cosmetic repairs. Apparently she is still fit for duty and sailed away on her next cruise.

This is what the Dream looks like now as she departed Port Canaveral today after her cosmetic repairs. Apparently she is still fit for duty and sailed away on her next cruise.

While I don't see anything that would keep the ship from sailing, from this view I see a bit deeper and steeper wrinkling at the left side of the dent, that may require repair prior to next scheduled drydock. Given cruise lines' fanaticism for appearance, I suspect this will be repaired soon, unlike the NCL ship that had a noticeable dent in her transom for several years.

Just call the Dent Wizard when they get to home port.

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I agree .... it looks like they either lost control from the bridge or everything went off line. No prop wash OR thruster wash .....

 

Everything off line in a diesel electric usually means EVERYTHING and the rest of the ship did not lose power so I suspect a problem on the bridge.

 

I have seen some other BAD things happen when 'bridge control' was shifted from one station to another and done wrong. [typically there are stations on each side bridge wing and the main in the center of the bridge. IME only ONE can be in control and the bridge must tell the system which one is IN control <in 'modern' computer based control systems> }

 

Example, a few years ago the USCG was introducing the new Great Lakes ice breaker to Coast Guard City, Grand Haven MI. The town was all turned out with band and TV cameras as the new cutter steamed up the channel to the city pier. And suddenly the ship made a hard 90 degree turn and t-boned into a sea wall. WWHHAAAAATTTTTT? https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/new-mackinaw-hits-grand-haven-channel-wall.121103/

 

It was eventually determined that when shifting control from one position to another it is IMPORTANT to ensure the position of the controls at the 'new station' match the positions at the 'old station' and the builder book recommended returning everything to "0" THEN transfer control ..... this had not been done and the NEW station controls were in a 'hard right' position. OOPS ..... hadn't fully read the owner's manual for the new car yet .....

 

Just a guess and just one example .. don't dissect this versus that ... not my intent to say THIS happened. But one wrong button pressed can cut off control of the engines and thrusters from the bridge and it takes a bit to determine THIS happened and a bit more to FIX the situation. During this time you drift towards the OOPS and have NOTHING you can do about it!!!!

 

{technical detail .... a ship's emergency brake is the anchor .... drop the anchor to stop uncontrolled motion. In this case it probably would not have mattered .... everything happened too fast.}

on one of our cruises - i'm pretty sure it was on the disney dream (not the wonder), i watched the captain standing in the bridge wing as he docked the ship - i think at castaway cay, but again i'm not sure.

i am sure it was the captain, as we'd just spent time talking with him at a cocktail party the day before (my husband the geek engaged him in all manner of geeky conversations)...

anyway, he was standing facing aft (of course, since they back up to dock) and he seemed to be holding a toggle...

as if he was steering the boat with this toggle...in any case, i assumed that's what he was doing....

of course, my knowledge isn't even zero, it's more like negative regarding ships, so maybe that's not what he was doing..

.

I agree .... it looks like they either lost control from the bridge or everything went off line. No prop wash OR thruster wash .....

 

Everything off line in a diesel electric usually means EVERYTHING and the rest of the ship did not lose power so I suspect a problem on the bridge.

 

I have seen some other BAD things happen when 'bridge control' was shifted from one station to another and done wrong. [typically there are stations on each side bridge wing and the main in the center of the bridge. IME only ONE can be in control and the bridge must tell the system which one is IN control <in 'modern' computer based control systems> }

 

Example, a few years ago the USCG was introducing the new Great Lakes ice breaker to Coast Guard City, Grand Haven MI. The town was all turned out with band and TV cameras as the new cutter steamed up the channel to the city pier. And suddenly the ship made a hard 90 degree turn and t-boned into a sea wall. WWHHAAAAATTTTTT? https://www.michigan-sportsman.com/forum/threads/new-mackinaw-hits-grand-haven-channel-wall.121103/

 

It was eventually determined that when shifting control from one position to another it is IMPORTANT to ensure the position of the controls at the 'new station' match the positions at the 'old station' and the builder book recommended returning everything to "0" THEN transfer control ..... this had not been done and the NEW station controls were in a 'hard right' position. OOPS ..... hadn't fully read the owner's manual for the new car yet .....

 

Just a guess and just one example .. don't dissect this versus that ... not my intent to say THIS happened. But one wrong button pressed can cut off control of the engines and thrusters from the bridge and it takes a bit to determine THIS happened and a bit more to FIX the situation. During this time you drift towards the OOPS and have NOTHING you can do about it!!!!

 

{technical detail .... a ship's emergency brake is the anchor .... drop the anchor to stop uncontrolled motion. In this case it probably would not have mattered .... everything happened too fast.}

I'd like to think it was more mechanical than human error. That just appeared to be too egregious a mistake to be made by an experienced ship's captain.

Back to the matter of who was 'steering'. Back when we used to have a stateroom midships, we could watch the docking procedure and the captain would usually be the one on (what are those wing things called where they can look straight down to align with the dock?) one of those things. If I remember correctly, there is a stick that control can be passed to?

Edited to add: I posted this before I saw alaska_planner post saying the exact same thing.

There’s no excuse for that type of error, and don’t forget the damage to the dock, the Nassau authorities are going to want paying for that.

The watch officer and the Master are both in more trouble than most people realize. Not necessarily resulting in dismissal or even a demotion, but any repeat incident could easily end a career, something known affectionately as a “gypsy’s warning”.

There’s no excuse for that type of error, and don’t forget the damage to the dock, the Nassau authorities are going to want paying for that.

 

The watch officer and the Master are both in more trouble than most people realize. Not necessarily resulting in dismissal or even a demotion, but any repeat incident could easily end a career, something known affectionately as a “gypsy’s warning”.

Maybe, maybe not. We don't have all the information about how and why this happened. I'm sure that DCL will be investigating that in great detail. Only then will they determine what action will be taken.

Sure, it might be a reprimand to the Master or other personnel. Depending on what is found, it might be a change in DCL policy...as happened when a different ship's Master was unable to back in at Castaway so pulled in forward and was later unable to safely leave the dock. This resulted in serious expense to the cruise line as those passengers missed their transportation home and those traveling to PC for embarkation found no ship there!

I'm not implying that there will be no action taken, only that the results of the investigation will never be released to us, nor will we be privy to whatever action is taken. Internal matters will be kept internally, as they should be....until someone opens their mouth inappropriately!

You’re right of course, there could have been a technical malfunction or other unknown factor, but Disney Cruises have made no such statement that I’m aware of, and the ship sailed with no significant delay. I’m going with “lack of situational awareness” and honestly I hope it doesn’t go badly for any crew members, a good management team will use it as an opportunity to improve procedures and not an opportunity to punish employees.

Are you listening Disney ?

I never heard of anything happening to Capt. John after the Castaway incident. I was well known that he was the more aggressive of the captains at that time--he would try things when the others would likely have declared a "missed port" at Castaway....at least that was the opinion on several of the boards. But there was a policy change, requiring all captains to adhere to the new policy. And if the policy resulted in more missed CC days, so be it. As you noted, it was treated as an opportunity to improve procedures and safety...and as far as I've ever heard, no one was penalized for what was obviously a decision which was the responsibility of one person.

Likewise, FWIW, I never heard anything positive happening to Capt. Guus when he headed up the "man overboard" rescue from Carnival. Sure, there may have been a "well done" memo from the office, but it was basically treated as "this is what you train for and you did your job." DCL got plenty of positive review on the boards as the videos made it obvious that DCL accomplished what Carnival could not (Carnival got their lifeboat tangled in the rigging and their search lights looked like they needed new batteries compared to DCL's). And Capt Guus grinned from ear to ear when I complimented him during our cruise a few months later. His only comment was "You knew it was me?" Yes, I recognized the accent on the video. He thanked me for the compliment and said he was just glad that the DCL team could help.

SO...I do believe that DCL has a policy of keeping both good and bad issues regarding personnel as private...as it should be.

And a random thought--while it is obviously totally realistic, the concept of the captain steering a huge ship using what basically looks like a video game controller is too funny.

On recently built ships and recently can be anything in the last 40 years or more ... the control system often provides a 'joy stick' on the side control stations. The joy stick sends 'requests' to the computer and the computer tells the engines / thrusters / pods (if so outfitted) what to do.

When everything is working correctly, all the CONN has to do is jiggle the joy stick to say which way to move and turn a dial to point the bow in the desired direction. Easy ... the computer does all the work!

PROBLEMS HAPPEN FAST when any one component in this system does not behave as expected. This is not my opinion ... this is my experience.

Many years ago I was impressed to observe the VERY upgraded NORWAY being maneuvered away from the dock by the master with one finger on the joystick .... and later watched a Disney Master sail to open water versus docking when the system acted up ..... we did 3 donuts in open water while engineers tried to figure out WHAT was going on .....

Here is a link to youtube of the accident taking place.

 

Wow that's crazy! It's not like they just brushed it, they HIT it!!

On recently built ships and recently can be anything in the last 40 years or more ... the control system often provides a 'joy stick' on the side control stations. The joy stick sends 'requests' to the computer and the computer tells the engines / thrusters / pods (if so outfitted) what to do.

 

When everything is working correctly, all the CONN has to do is jiggle the joy stick to say which way to move and turn a dial to point the bow in the desired direction. Easy ... the computer does all the work!

 

PROBLEMS HAPPEN FAST when any one component in this system does not behave as expected. This is not my opinion ... this is my experience.

 

Many years ago I was impressed to observe the VERY upgraded NORWAY being maneuvered away from the dock by the master with one finger on the joystick .... and later watched a Disney Master sail to open water versus docking when the system acted up ..... we did 3 donuts in open water while engineers tried to figure out WHAT was going on .....

yes, that's the appropriate word - joystick....

it was fascinating to watch him....

For sail away this afternoon, all the damage seems to have been fixed - not just a coat of paint but the entire imprint of the dock on the stern seems to be gone.

For sail away this afternoon, all the damage seems to have been fixed - not just a coat of paint but the entire imprint of the dock on the stern seems to be gone.

I noticed that too. Workers have been busy!

Super sized Dent Wizard to be sure ...... or a BUNCH of BONDO

while 'superficial' in ship terms there was still a sizable area 'bent' with framing - and who knows what else - behind. Just in simple square footage of steel plate this is not something done in a few hours IME. Even with a prefabricated section to replace it takes TIME to cut out the bad and weld in the new, then prep prime and paint .... not to mention what equipment might be on the inside and interfering.

I'm gonna guess fresh paint on the dark hull and camera angle make this almost invisible from 100 feet ..... in auto body words "it buffed out"

I

Over all this is not a big deal to repair. from what I have seen Capt BJ, the area behind the dent is a aft peak tank. Class approved her sailing as is and the either the Bahamian or USCG signed off on that. Of course they tried to paint her up nice. The final repairs will either be done in the next shipyard period or at a operational port like PC. A prebiult insert will be fabricated. The damaged area will be cut out the insert set in place and welded up. Permission may be given to let them weld up the inner frames and fittings during and after she sails. Class to inspect and approve repairs, Its a long day, but doable.

Frankly there will be much more debate and discussion over the damaged and costs to repair the dock!

AKK

Hi, I just joined this forum to relay this response. I was on the Disney Dream when it hit the dock. This was my first cruise ever and as a bit of a mechanical junkie, I was intrigued by the ship and all moving parts. As we pulled into Nassau, I was on the top deck at the bow of the ship. As it became to clear to me that we were turning around (180 degrees) in order to back in, I moved from the bow down to deck 4 to the port side in order to watch docking. I think I may have heard something (didn't figure anything was amiss) but felt nothing (at least nothing that alarmed me). It's hard for me to know for sure but I believe the impact may have occurred as the ship was finishing its rotation. As we backed into the dock I was struggling to read the wording on the end of the mooring pier. I finally realized that it said something to effect of "mooring only--no contact" in big yellow letters. The reason I was having trouble reading it is because the lettering was obscured by some sort of impact trauma. I told my dad, "Someone made contact". I had no idea that it was us until I got off the ship and saw our stern. Everything started adding up at that point pretty fast. We were not delayed at all but there was a flurry of activity dressing the impact site both in Nassau and at Castaway Cay.

Where can I find out more info about the Disney Dream? I would love to see deck layouts that show back of house areas as well as public areas.