Luxury Cruise Ship Slams Into Amsterdam Bridge, Over 200 Passengers Evacuated After Power Failure

A river cruise ship, A-Rosa Sena, carrying more than 200 people collided with a bridge on the outskirts of Amsterdam on the night of March 25, leaving one crew member with minor injuries and forcing passengers to leave the vessel hours later after a power failure.

The 135-metre-long ship, built in 2022 and sailing under the Swiss flag, was on its way from Amsterdam toward Utrecht and further to Cologne when the incident happened at around 9:30 p.m. local time.

The vessel was moving from the IJ toward the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal when it struck the Amsterdamsebrug, a road bridge that has been in use since 1957 and has a clearance of about 9.5 metres.

Per reports, the ship’s wheelhouse, which can be raised and lowered to pass under bridges, was still in the raised position when it hit the underside of the bridge.

The impact crushed the wheelhouse. The vessel continued moving forward, bending a radar mast at the stern and later making contact with the canal wall before coming to a stop. Passengers on board reported feeling a strong jolt.

Emergency services, including police and an ambulance, reached the scene soon after. The helmsman was treated for minor injuries. No passengers were injured.

At that time, the ship was able to move slightly ahead and dock further along the canal so that emergency teams could board and check the situation.

A few hours after the collision, the vessel lost power, leaving it without lights. Authorities then decided to evacuate everyone on board. More than 200 passengers, many of whom were asleep, were woken up and asked to gather their belongings.

They were guided off the ship and helped across a small dyke to reach the main road, where buses arranged by the company took them onward to Cologne.

The ship, which can carry up to 280 passengers across five decks, was not able to continue its voyage due to the damage. Reports indicated it would likely be towed back to Amsterdam.

The canal remained partly closed to vessel traffic after the incident, while the bridge was temporarily shut for inspection. It was later reopened to road traffic after being declared safe.

The vessel had started its journey from Amsterdam earlier that day and was scheduled to reach Cologne by the weekend before continuing another cruise toward Hamburg.

References: nltimes, dutch news