Photo of damage to the container ship bridge taken by passenger Andrew lock

The luxury cruise ship Silver Shadow  may have lived up to its name on Friday morning when it collided with a container ship in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.  There were no reported injuries on the cruise ship, though passengers reported being knocked off their feet. The Silver Shadow’s bow damaged the bridge of the Vietnamese container ship.   Silver Shadow is owned and operated by Silverseas Cruises.

In 1956, the passenger ships, Andrea Doria and the Stockholm collided in dense fog off Nantucket.  Both vessels were equipped with radar and radios.  The collision and subsequent sinking of the Andrea Doria is often referred to as a “radar assisted casualty.”   It appears that after fifty six years, nothing has necessarily changed. Fortunately, in the case of the Silver Shadow there were no reported injuries among the passengers. There is currently no information on possible injuries to the crew of the container ship.

Thanks to Irwin Bryan for passing the news along.