At about 8:30 AM on Sunday, the cruise ship MSC Opera lost control while docking on the Giudecca Canal in Venice Italy, slamming into the dock and hitting a tour boat. Five people were reported to be injured, but none seriously. The ship was accompanied by two tugs which were unable to control the 65,591 GT ship.  MSC Opera was built in 2004 and has a capacity of around 2,150 passengers and 728 crew. 

“The MSC ship had an engine failure, which was immediately reported by the captain,” Davide Calderan, head of a tugboat company involved in accompanying the ship into its berth, told Italian media. “The engine was blocked, but with its thrust on, because the speed was increasing,” he said.

AP reports that Italian media have posted an audio clip of the MSC Opera’s pilot telling emergency officials that the cruise ship experienced a loss of controls and “activated all the procedures to avoid” a collision with a riverboat and dock in Venice.

The pilot says anchors were dropped and that tugboats connected to the ship’s bow and stern took maneuvers to stop the ship. The pilot is heard saying that “here on the bridge, we don’t understand what happened.” An investigation has been launched.

The MSC Opera, apparently unable to stop, blared its horn as it slammed into the much smaller River Countess river tour boat and the dock, as dozens of people ran away in panic. In videos of the crash, people were seen rushing to disembark from the moored riverboat over a short gangplank, and at least two people were left caught on the walkway as the vessel was dislodged from the pier.

Local officials said five women aboard the riverboat were injured. They said one was released immediately from a hospital, while four others were advised to remain under medical care for a few days. Earlier, medical authorities said four of the women — an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 — were injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the River Countess.

The MSC Opera is designed to be highly maneuverable. She is powered by two Azipods, rotating stern propeller mounted pods, which can provide thrust in any direction. She also has two bow thrusters.

In 2011, MSC Opera suffered engine failure in the Baltic Sea and was towed to the port of Nynäshamn, south of Stockholm, where its passengers were disembarked. 

MSC Opera cruise ship crashes into Venice tourist boat

Thanks to Alaric Bond and David Rye for contributing to this post.