San Juan Pier 3 damage

[FLACRUISER99]

Have any RCI Itineraries been effected by the damage caused by the Norwegian Epic?  https://www.wesh.com/article/norwegian-epic-crashes-into-dock-in-puerto-rico/26315311

Edited February 13, 2019 by FLACRUISER99
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[Parrothead234]

I was wondering the same thing.  

 

 

[sharktums]

Article is worth a read just for the title! 😃

[Rasvar]

I must have a dock curse.  A few weeks before my last cruise, the Roatan dock got smashed.  We were still able to go.  Now I'm supposed to be stopping at San Juan in a few weeks and another dock gets smashed up.

[cruiseguy1016]

I'm curious to know who is liable for the damage. There was a local pilot on board so I would think that would absolve Norwegian of liability. There is damage to the pier and also damage to the ship. Is the local pilot responsible for the damage to the ship?

[JKHawaii]

The Epic crushed Pier 3, which is in Old San Juan.

 

RCCL cruises originating in San Juan dock @ Pan American Pier 2 across the harbor from Old San Juan, so won't affect those cruises, ie, Freedom of the Seas.

 

The RCCL cruises I've taken that just make a stop there have tied up to Pier 4 in Old San Juan, so hopefully little or no impact for current cruises.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Rasvar said:

I must have a dock curse.  A few weeks before my last cruise, the Roatan dock got smashed.  We were still able to go.  Now I'm supposed to be stopping at San Juan in a few weeks and another dock gets smashed up.

 I hope you aren't on any of our cruises. 😜

[Rasvar]

1 minute ago, davekathy said:

 I hope you aren't on any of our cruises. 😜

Nothing ever happens on my cruises.  They all happen before my cruises.  You don't want to cruise in the weeks before me!

[davekathy]

23 minutes ago, Rasvar said:

Nothing ever happens on my cruises.  They all happen before my cruises.  You don't want to cruise in the weeks before me!

We should be safe then as we are doing a B2B cruise on the Freedom 3 and 10 March 2019. 

[stevea36]

35 minutes ago, JKHawaii said:

The Epic crushed Pier 3, which is in Old San Juan.

 

RCCL cruises originating in San Juan dock @ Pan American Pier 2 across the harbor from Old San Juan, so won't affect those cruises, ie, Freedom of the Seas.

 

The RCCL cruises I've taken that just make a stop there have tied up to Pier 4 in Old San Juan, so hopefully little or no impact for current cruises.

Unknown as of yet.   RCI (and Celebrity) cruises that make the day stop usually tie up at pier 3 (that's the one that is shaped like a "Y" with 2 exits available to shore.  Piers 1 & 4 have buildings on them and are usually used for non-rci cruises that depart from San Juan.   I'm sure that some pier juggling will be going on while the mooring is being repaired.

 

[chengkp75]

3 hours ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

I'm curious to know who is liable for the damage. There was a local pilot on board so I would think that would absolve Norwegian of liability. There is damage to the pier and also damage to the ship. Is the local pilot responsible for the damage to the ship?

NCL is liable for the damages to both ship and pier.  The pilot is merely an adviser to the Captain, who ultimately holds responsibility for the operation of the vessel.  He can delegate the "authority" to dock the ship to the pilot, through granting him "the conn" (the authority to give commands to the bridge team for maneuvering the ship, but the pilot is not allowed to handle any controls on the bridge), but the Captain retains the "responsibility".  The Captain has the right and obligation to relieve the pilot of the conn whenever the Captain feels he is endangering the ship or someone else. 

Edited February 13, 2019 by chengkp75

[cruiseguy1016]

6 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

NCL is liable for the damages to both ship and pier.  The pilot is merely an adviser to the Captain, who ultimately holds responsibility for the operation of the vessel.  He can delegate the "authority" to dock the ship to the pilot, through granting him "the conn" (the authority to give commands to the bridge team for maneuvering the ship, but the pilot is not allowed to handle any controls on the bridge), but the Captain retains the "responsibility".  The Captain has the right and obligation to relieve the pilot of the conn whenever the Captain feels he is endangering the ship or someone else. 

 

Thank you. I was hoping you would reply because I knew you would have the correct answer. You taught me something new today about the pilots. I always thought that they took control of the ship once they got to the bridge. So, if the Captain doesn't give him "the conn", the pilot has no authority whatsoever?

[rusty nut]

I was led to believe it was a mechanical failure, so that would put liability on NCL.

[chengkp75]

54 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Thank you. I was hoping you would reply because I knew you would have the correct answer. You taught me something new today about the pilots. I always thought that they took control of the ship once they got to the bridge. So, if the Captain doesn't give him "the conn", the pilot has no authority whatsoever?

That is correct.  Many Captains take the conn back when the ship is near the dock to do the maneuver themselves.  The pilot would continue to coordinate the tug boats with the Captain's wishes.

[FLACRUISER99]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

Unknown as of yet.   RCI (and Celebrity) cruises that make the day stop usually tie up at pier 3 (that's the one that is shaped like a "Y" with 2 exits available to shore.  Piers 1 & 4 have buildings on them and are usually used for non-rci cruises that depart from San Juan.   I'm sure that some pier juggling will be going on while the mooring is being repaired.

 

Agree, I'ts the Oasis class ships that usually are at pier 3 I was wondering about.

[chengkp75]

54 minutes ago, rusty nut said:

I was led to believe it was a mechanical failure, so that would put liability on NCL.

From what I've seen and heard, mainly on the "Epic interrupted" thread, the mechanical failure was of two of the 6 diesel generators, and with 4 generators still working, there is more than sufficient power for docking, even in the worst conditions.  There were two tugs requested to assist as there was a current running perpendicular to the pier, and the ship was using these tugs and her thrusters to counter the push of the current.  My belief is that when the bow of the ship entered the "shadow" of the pier (and the other ship on the other side of the pier), where the current is no longer a factor (the pier blocks the current creating still water behind it), then with no resistance, the thrusters and tugs were now moving the ship quickly towards the pier, and it took some time to reverse things.  This is very similar to what the Carnival Vista did to the Manhattan cruise pier a few months back, where the tide and current in the Hudson is perpendicular to the pier.