Viking Riverboat Hits Bridge, Two Crewmembers Killed

[pully8]

tragic event with 2 staff deceased. thankfully no one else was killed but would imagine the emotional trauma will be felt by many.

 

no doubt the various investigations will be thorough and recommendations will follow and guide improved safety.

 

meanwhile the human cost is immeasurable for the families of the deceased. no one should die trying to earn a living. may they RIP.

[CPT Trips]

This was one accident just waiting to happen, after the sharp rise in recent incidents.

 

On the RMD canal, there is very little changes in the water levesl (not like the Danube, which we all know can fluctuate widely, at present it is below average). Also the "current" is negligible.

Most of the cruise ships crews are from Eastern European, why because they are cheaper and their training is much less than rigorous as their German counterparts.

 

Cruising on the Danube has exploded over the last 10 years, for this year Passau is expecting 2500 ships visits with about 300,000 passengers. Where will it end?

 

Are you certain?

 

The Rhein requires a specific license that is under the aegis of a multinational authority. The Danube requires a separate license similarly supervised. Those multinational authorities, and I know Germany plays a role in Rhein and I assume also in the Danube, set the minimum training standards. These licenses are in addition to a "captains" license granted by any specific country.

Edited September 12, 2016 by CPT Trips

[Host Walt]

This thread has been moved to the River cruises board.

[steamboats]

Even if the wheelhouse is supposed to be lowered, you can still see other things on the roof that would have not cleared the two bridges. The antenna and a/c units. Or are those things something else? Either way it's very dangerous just leaving that little clearance.

 

This is not correct! Actually there are no antennas on top of the ship but on the bow. And on the photo the ship is close to the shore. There the bridges are even lower. In the channel of the Canal the bridges are higher and therefore the ships have more clearance. Anyway it´s something between 50 cm and 1 m.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Are you certain?

 

Yes, it is easer to get the "basic" pilot´s license in Eastern European countries than in Germany. But still the pilots have to prove that they have enough training on certain rivers. "Training" usually means that they have to pilot a ship a certain amount of time (hours) on a river.

 

steamboats

[ingo_e]

The Freya is stuck under the bridges north of Nuremberg (close to Erlangen, where Viking disembarks on their Nuremberg - Budapest Cruises). The Main Danube canal is closed since yesterday, but only ships going Nuremberg - Bamberg are affected.

 

The local newspaper covers the story as well, for updates check: http://www.nordbayern.de/

[ingo_e]

The canal is still closed at Erlangen (between Bamberg and Nuremberg). So ships going Budapest - Nuremberg only are not affected.

[notamermaid]

Thank you ingo e,

 

for the info. The Freya was stuck tight underneath the bridge and refused to be towed free at first, still moving sort of unpredictably, but was then freed and towed to a spot near the bridge of the A3 (motorway). According to a news report it is not clear yet when the ship will be towed into a dock.

 

On my river cruise I was in the wheelhouse of the Belvedere and the second captain kindly answered our questions. The wheelhouse lowers with a hydraulic system and the instruments are a fascinating sight in this "blindfolded" situation, almost like sailing in the night. I have the greatest respect for the captains, being able to read those digital maps and interpreting the signs and signals. It is definitely not for me, I have enough problems parking a car. From what I remember from the conversation with the second captain you need a patent for each river, on the trip Amsterdam to Budapest for example that would mean Rhine (and its canal), Main, Main-Danube-Canal and Danube. Not that easy to get, you need to have travelled the Rhine (for example) a few times accompanied and memorize the important bits for navigating the river stretches before you are allowed to sail alone.

 

Bridges are always a "danger spot", I mean hightened vigilance and a very good eye are important. Accidents do happen, for example one that went almost unnoticed on 16 August when, again during the night, a 135m river cruise ship hit a road bridge near Ottmaring in the Main-Danube-Canal. The wheelhouse was not lowered far enough and scraped the bridge tearing off the roof (or some of it, not quite clear). Repairs were undertaken, so that the ship could dock closeby at a suitable place on the embankment. The report says that passengers did not even notice the incident. Damage was a five figure sum and the captain would be fined under some river safety act. The name of the ship was not disclosed in the reports I read.

 

For yesterday's tragic event the newspaper reports suggest that the main question is why the wheelhouse was not lowered. All the railings had been lowered, as is standard in the Canal.

 

Updates say that Viking representatives are already at the local authority and working with the police, etc. I am sure they will do their utmost to ensure the safety of their future guests and their crews.

 

notamermaid

[caviargal]

More info this morning:

 

"The workers who died were men from Hungary – a 49-year-old who was guiding the vessel in place of the captain and a 33-year-old sailor.

Police are still investigating the accident but a spokesman reportedly said it appeared the retractable wheelhouse was not lowered in time."

 

[caviargal]

Yes - very sad for the families of those involved.

 

I cannot imagine how this sounded and felt to all on board. That is the end of the cruise for the passengers and a ship out of service, although it is late in the season so it should not impact on too many cruises.

 

It most certainly had to be terrifying, especially in the dark when they could not see anything.

 

There are several months left in the season.

[Canal archive]

So sad my condolences to the family's and the greater river cruise family.

As I understand most, not all maritime crews and hotel crews are contracted from different sections of a German company that has an extremely good reputation.

The maritime officers training is pretty intense and only a few of the captains rank are qualified to more than one or two European rivers and canals. We have known instances of a captain returning from holiday just to oversee a particularly tricky river section of which is a occurs only at a certain time of year. You will also find there are three captains on board occasionally the third gaining experience on a particular river, for example.

I hope sincerely that this was an equipment malfunction and that no blame is attributed to one individual. CA

[steamboats]

The canal is still closed at Erlangen (between Bamberg and Nuremberg). So ships going Budapest - Nuremberg only are not affected.

 

This morning in the 6 am news on the radio (Antenne Bayern) they said that the Canal is open again and the Viking Freya had been moved by another river cruise ship. There nothing in Elwis about an ongoing closure.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Caviargal,

 

Actually this has been in the very first news over here. The 49 yo Hungarian was a fully licensed pilot. Of course the master is not on the bridge 24/7. Even he has to sleep. Obviously the pilot house wasn´t lowered in time but the reason for this is still not clear - whether it was a technical problem or whether the forgot to lower it in time.

 

steamboats

[pully8]

big price to pay for human error or a malfunction. very sad.

[Works for travel]

Viking has updated their page:

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/about-my-cruise/current-sailings.html

 

My thoughts an prayers go out to the family and friends of the 2 crew members.

[BC Eddie]

http://www.vikingrivercruisescanada.com/my-trip/about-my-cruise/current-sailings.html

 

https://gcaptain.com/two-officers-killed-after-viking-river-cruises-hits-bridge-in-germany/

Edited September 12, 2016 by BC Eddie

[thdave]

May God give peace to the families and friends of the two lost sailors. How tragic.

 

We sailed a month ago through that same bridge on a Viking ship. On the Captain's tour of the ship's bridge, two items the captain addressed, because people asked. One was a level that the captain bought and placed on a sill in the front of the bridge room. He used that to make sure he knew the ship was level from port to starboard. The other item was a water bottle he placed on the top of a beam above the Aquavit Terrace. He said that was there so he could tell there was proper clearance under a bridge--that if the front of the boat cleared the bridge span and the bottle didn't tip over, there was no issue.

 

Given the seriousness of this collision, Viking needs to permanently install levels and a front sensor above the terrace to ensure the crew in the bridge have all important information to aid navigation.

 

Our trip on Viking was, simply put, outstanding. I trust they will come back from this with improved safety, to honor the two sailors who died.

[MalibooNewYork]

My condolences to the families of the deceased. I am so sorry for their loss.

[Riversanddale]

This is simply to tell the entire Viking family and the passengers involved how sad we are over the Freya tragedy this weekend. We were to have sailed on the Freya on this same itinerary almost a year ago but had to cancel due to illness. We have sailed on many Viking ships (7 so far) and have always found our crews to be wonderful and all of our captains very professional.

 

 

 

Our hearts are with the families of the two men lost, their fellow crew members and associates and passengers and our prayers go out to all.

 

 

 

We still look forward to our cruise on Viking next month from Amsterdam to Budapest.

[Viking Cruises]

We wanted to take a moment and thank boatbunny, Riversanddale and the Cruise Critic community for your words of support and condolences. This is an incredibly difficult time for the entire Viking family, and it has been heartwarming to hear from so many of you. The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and we understand that some of you may have questions. We will continue to update our website as the situation develops. Thank you again for your continued support during this challenging time.

 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/about-my-cruise/current-sailings.html

 

As a former 8 year US based former Viking employee, who lived on one of the Viking ships on the Danube for a month as part of a work study program, and have had the distinct pleasure of taking over 8 Viking cruises, I feel the need to speak out. First, my deepest sympathies to the crew members, family, friends snd colleagues of the victims.

 

Viking does and always has employed the most qualified, professional and dedicated personnel on their ships. The Captains ( and I've met several and served as a temporary crew member) take their positions extremely seriously . You will NEVER see a Captain or First Officer acting in any type of unprofessional manner, including even having a glass of wine at dinner, they are served apple juice for any public toasting event, their interaction with passengers is minimal because their focus is making sure passengers, crew and the ship are always safe. They have to make decisions based on safety that are sometimes not too popular with the passengers, they need to balance comfort, the experience with safety. And yet countless times I've seen them have to make such a decision , whether it's having to arrive or leave later from a port or skip one altogether , and be met with nothing but complaint from passengers.

 

I have worked for 2 other river cruise lines, on much shorter terms, and have witnessed completely different and drastic conduct. Captains and executive crew members who were more focused on fraternizing, in a highly unprofessional way, with passengers to the point where I was concerned for the safety of all. So believe me, I've seen the comparison and would not for a split second waiver on stepping onto a Viking ship today or years from now.

 

Has Viking grown fast? Yes, however being someone behind the scenes whose seen it, ship operations around the world have maintained the same level of safety , reliability, comfort and professionalism that they did with 10 ships. I will say that the growing pains are reflected in their US operations and is where the company needs to change and focus on how it's US based employees are treated therefore impacting the pre cruise experience.

 

Navigating these ships on the river is not easy . There is a lot of analysis by the Captain and his officers going on constantly. While you may think it's a leisurely sail, there is so much going on behind the scenes to insure safety and comfort, you would never suspect .

 

I won't make a guess as to what occurred with this accident, but one thing I am extremely confident about is that it was not due to unreliable , inexperienced, or lazy executive crew. There will be a lot of inaccurate speculation, and a few comments I've already seen are so ignorant and inaccurate it makes me laugh. So before you start placing blame, wait until the professionals and the accurate information is released before suggesting how this horrible tragedy occurred.

 

This is simply to tell the entire Viking family and the passengers involved how sad we are over the Freya tragedy this weekend. We were to have sailed on the Freya on this same itinerary almost a year ago but had to cancel due to illness. We have sailed on many Viking ships (7 so far) and have always found our crews to be wonderful and all of our captains very professional.

 

 

 

Our hearts are with the families of the two men lost, their fellow crew members and associates and passengers and our prayers go out to all.

 

 

 

We still look forward to our cruise on Viking next month from Amsterdam to Budapest.

[notamermaid]

THANK YOU, VIKING CRUISES, FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK TO THE CRUISE CRITIC COMMUNITY AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME.

 

notamermaid

[notamermaid]

A "Focus online" (Internet pages of a German news magazine) news report, which I shall not link due to annoying ads, has an update on the tragic accident.

 

A female spokesperson of the court at Nuremberg has told the magazine that one official expert (i.e. the surveying neutral party) has stated that he cannot write a report concerning a possible technical failure that could have caused the accident. The wheelhouse is so destroyed that an assessment is impossible.

 

Just when you think it cannot get worse. Really sad.

 

A Swiss e-newspaper article reports that there is hope the assumed recorded conversation of the two crew members steering the Freya with the attendants at the upcoming lock will help in the investigation. As the lock is so close to the bridges it is assumed that the crew members had already announced the Freya approaching the lock.

 

notamermaid

Edited September 13, 2016 by notamermaid
additional information

[philw1776]

A "Focus online" (Internet pages of a German news magazine) news report, which I shall not link due to annoying ads, has an update on the tragic accident.

 

A female spokesperson of the court at Nuremberg has told the magazine that one official expert (i.e. the surveying neutral party) has stated that he cannot write a report concerning a possible technical failure that could have caused the accident. The wheelhouse is so destroyed that an assessment is impossible.

 

Just when you think it cannot get worse. Really sad.

 

A Swiss e-newspaper article reports that there is hope the assumed recorded conversation of the two crew members steering the Freya with the attendants at the upcoming lock will help in the investigation. As the lock is so close to the bridges it is assumed that the crew members had already announced the Freya approaching the lock.

 

notamermaid

 

Again as i stated back in post #44 when I sailed on Freya in 2014, this may not be the 1st time the wheelhouse did not retract if what I was told about the wrecked wheelhouse on our cruise was true back in 2014.

 

Regardless of the cause. I trust Viking to find out what is needed and do what is necessary to improve the safety for the crew, et. al.

Edited September 13, 2016 by philw1776

[caviargal]

 

A Swiss e-newspaper article reports that there is hope the assumed recorded conversation of the two crew members steering the Freya with the attendants at the upcoming lock will help in the investigation. As the lock is so close to the bridges it is assumed that the crew members had already announced the Freya approaching the lock.

 

notamermaid

 

I did know there would be a "black box" that could potentially provide more detail. Hopefully this will aid in the investigation of the cause and will help Viking address any issues that could need attention.

[aleeoc]

Here is what happened at least from my perspective: we boarded on Sat night and everything was great. At about 230 am an announcement was made that the ship had had a small accident, and as a precaution a doctor would come to check each room, and then the ship would be evacuated, please dress warmly. About 45 minutes later we were told to report to the dining room. Nobody was to take any luggage. We sat in the dining room waiting for 2-3 hours. Many older passengers were exhausted and had had very little sleep for days due to just flying in that day. We were told to go pack our bags and put on buses and taken to the local elementary school and sat for hours not knowing where we would go next. The ship was surrounded by about 40 ambulances, police cars, police boats, etc. The Viking crew worked tirelessly to try to make paaengers comfortable, getting us water and cookies and scrambling to find 90 hotel rooms and make reservations for meals for 180 at the last minute. Not their fault but much frustration and anxiety among the passengers the past 3 days as our cruise became a hasty improvised bus tour where the staff don't know until the day before what will happen next. The staff have worked around the clock and you can tell they must be exhausted and devastated by the loss of their colleagues but their is only so much that they can do. Tomorrow we have a 4 hour bus ride, the, the will do an improvised river tour on a lunch cruise boat then will finally hopefully be able to board the Bresla on Wednesday night. That leaves us at least 2 full days of our cruise that we hope will be what we imagined.