Port Authority Investigates Cruise Ship Crash in Falmouth

On Thursday the Harmony of the Seas cruise ship crashed into another vessel at the Falmouth port in Trelawny. There was no severe damage and the Port Authority of Jamaica has launched an investigation into the matter. The PAJ in statement to the media Friday, sought to clarify the circumstances surrounding the arrival of the Harmony of the Seas at the port.

It’s understood the cruise ship collided with the Moonlight Dolphin which was docked at the port. According to the port authority, the incident did not result in significant damage to the vessel. The vessel was eventually moored without delay using the remaining infrastructure of the bollards on the remaining dolphin, to stabilize it. Subsequently, passengers were able to disembark and proceed as planned to their tours and other scheduled activities.

The statement further adds the mooring dolphin was displaced and will require reconstruction. It says the authority’s engineering department is currently assessing the damage for further action. The PAJ says the Falmouth port facility is designed to accommodate the safe berthing of vessels, notwithstanding the inaccessibility of the mooring dolphin, and will continue to do so as per normal port operations. As the regulator and chief maritime agency of Jamaica, the PAJ says it will act in accordance with the pilotage act. Sections 21 to 24 that outline the approach to investigations of this nature.

Section 21 provides for the appointment of an investigator whenever there’s an incident in a pilotage area. The investigator is then required to provide the PAJ with a report of the findings. CVM Live understands a navigation officer was also on board the ship at the time of the incident.