Viking River Cruise Ship and Chemical Tanker Collide Near Antwerp

Photo: MarineTraffic.com

A chemical tanker and a Viking inland cruise ship collided on the Western Scheldt near the Port of Antwerp on Monday, causing damage to both vessels.

Viking confirmed that no passengers on board the Viking Idun were injured after colliding with the tanker Chemical Marketer while sailing from Antwerp to Ghent.

The collision occurred just after midnight on Monday morning near the town of Terneuzen as the Chemical Marketer was inbound on the Western Scheldt headed for Antwerp.

Following the collision, the Viking Idun as towed to Terneuzen where it is docked. Chemical Marketer remains moored nearby.

Media reports said the cruise ship has 171 passengers on board. Four minor injuries were initially reported.

Some major damage was sustained by both vessels, but so far no pollution has been spotted. The photo above shows damage to the bow of the Viking Idun. Below, a large gash can be seen in the hull of the tanker above the waterline:

Collega’s van @PolitieLE Dienst infrastructuur Zuidwest doen momenteel onderzoek naar een aanvaring tussen een passagiersschip en een zeeschip. Dit gebeurde vannacht op de Westerschelde bij #Terneuzen. Flinke schade en helaas ook gewonden pic.twitter.com/5CbG7GkuGN

— Gebiedsagent Martin (@GAINFRA_ZW7) April 1, 2019

Viking Idun is a 135-meter inland cruise ship operated by Viking River Cruises, part of Swiss cruise line Viking Cruises. Viking’s full statement is below:

We can confirm that just after midnight (CEST) on 1 April, Viking Idun and a cargo vessel collided while sailing from Antwerp to Ghent. No guests were injured. The ship sustained some damage near the bow and is currently docked in Terneuzen with all guests. While damage of the ship is being assessed, guests will continue with a modified version of the itinerary. We hope to have the ship in operation in time for its next departure on 4 April, if that should not be so future guests will be accommodated on another Viking Longship. Viking’s Customer Relations team will communicate directly with the guests or their travel agents.

The Maltese-flagged Chemical Marketer, built in 2004, is a 134-meter chemical tanker with a deadweight of 14,298 tonnes.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Passagiersschip Viking Idun botst met tanker op Westerschelde: Twee schepen zijn even na middernacht op elkaar gebotst op de Westerschelde bij Terneuzen. Het gaat om het passagierschip de Viking Idun en de tanker Chemical Marketer. Beide schepen liepen… https://t.co/YKknQqhzkt pic.twitter.com/RyC16uUugh

— Vlissingen (@vlissingen) April 1, 2019

Monday’s collision comes a little over a week after the Viking Ocean Cruises cruise ship, Viking Sky, nearly grounded in Norway during heavy weather with about 1,300 people on board after the cruise ship lost power due to low oil pressure to the ship’s engines.