A freighter hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge causing it to collapse into the Patapsco River Tuesday early morning. Along with the immediate impact, six are presumed dead, the accident has impacted the families of these victims along with the cruise industry as well.
Dali, the 985-foot Singapore-flagged vessel, accidentally hit the bridge that links Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, an accident according to reports. As cleanup and rescue efforts are taking place, cruise lines have had to adjust their plans to avoid the Port of Baltimore.
Three major cruise lines sail from Baltimore including Royal Caribbean International, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line. According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 12 ships are scheduled to make a total of 115 calls at the Port of Baltimore this year.
What is troublesome for the industry is that the schedule to restart upcoming cruise ships is not yet known, causing these companies to monitor the situation and adjust their schedules.
Royal Caribbean
Royal Caribbean International’s Vision of the Seas is set to return to the port April 4 and since the situation is unknown at the moment, they are working on alternatives for docking.
“Due to the impact of the tragic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, on Thursday, April 4, Vision of the Seas will now complete its current cruise in Norfolk, Virginia. Our guests on board will be provided compensation and complimentary shuttle transportation as well as Wi-Fi and phone calls to adjust their travel arrangements.
For Vision’s upcoming April 4 and April 12 cruises, the ship will sail from Norfolk. Our guests booked to sail with us will receive compensation due to the necessary adjustments made to their vacations. After returning from the April 12 cruise, Vision will head to The Bahamas for its previously scheduled maintenance.
Our guests and travel partners are being directly notified of these updates.” shared Roayal Caribbean with wtkr.com.
Carnival
Carnival Legend was set to return from a Bahamas cruise on March 31, but instead will end its trip in Norfolk. The company will be offering free buses to bring passengers back to Baltimore.
The ship’s next journey will also set sail and return to Norfolk versus Baltimore. There is still unknown in regards to Carnival Pride which is set to leave from Baltimore next month to the Caribbean.
“Our thoughts remain with the impacted families and first responders in Baltimore,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We appreciate the pledge made by President Biden today to dedicate all available resources to reopen Baltimore Harbor to marine traffic as soon as possible. As those plans are finalized, we will update our future cruise guests on when we will return home to Baltimore, but in the meantime, we appreciate the quick response and support from officials in Norfolk.” said Carnival in the statement.
Norwegian Cruise Line & American Cruise Lines
Norwegian Cruise Line doesn’t have any scheduled cruises until later this year and river cruise operator American Cruise Lines will be monitoring the developments to adjust their schedule.
The Impact on the cruise industry
The impact will be felt on the economic region as well, as the industry supports local businesses. Cruises generate nearly 400 jobs and $63 million in revenue every year and last year more than 444,000 individuals cruised out of the Port of Baltimore last year, the most since 2012.