A cruise ship moored at the Port of Le Havre in France broke free of its moorings and accidentally struck a nearby berth as the area was experiencing strong winds on Tuesday, September 8.
AIDA Cruises' 125,572GT ship AIDAperla was in Le Havre as part of an ongoing seven-day itinerary that had originated from Hamburg.
Reports stated that the vessel was pushed away from the pier, causing her mooring lines to snap, at around 16:00 local time on Sunday. She then drifted until her stern came in contact with the berth.
Video posted by a passenger on another cruise ship that was in port that same afternoon showed AIDAperla's stern coming into contact with a low wall.
A number of tugs arrived at the scene to render assistance, and the ship was brought back pierside and finally secured a little over two hours after she had broken free.
Authorities later detained AIDAperla for a proper inspection of the ship and the affected berth to be undertaken. Passenger vessel traffic at Le Havre was temporarily suspended to permit the recovery of the ship's gangways, as these fell into the harbour while she was drifting.
No injuries have been reported. However, local media reported that a small gash was visible on the ship's hull.
AIDAperla has since remained in Le Havre but has been cleared to sail directly to Hamburg before the end of the week, prompting AIDA Cruises to cancel her scheduled port calls in Zeebrugge and Rotterdam.
