P&O ferry crash at Calais, 1330, 29/08/08

[trees 2]

Did anyone else witness this? The "European Endeavour" hit one of the loading/unloading ramps, massive damage to the ramp and the front of the ship.

Apparently the ship suffered a systems failure on berthing, so "reverse thrust" couldn't be selected. The captain dropped both anchors but she dragged them both and collided with the berth.

Looked for it on t'internet, but there's nowt.

[Will]

Unless a member of the public was killed or injured, you will probably hear no more about it. There was a brief paragraph in Lloyd's List. It does not seem to be affecting the timetables of other sailings, it's a freight ferry so passenger services are not affected. You will have to wait until (if?) the French authorities publish their accident report.

This sort of happening is far more common than many think. I've personally experienced something very similar on a different P&O ferry entering Calais - this was a passenger ferry, and I was on the bridge at the time. On that occasion the anchors were very quickly deployed, and they held, so there was no damage. The crew said it was quite a common occurence with that particular vessel. That same ferry is now operating on another UK-France route, for another operator under a different name.

Before being transferred to its present operator, under which it has a much better safety record, the Transmanche ferries had several collisions. HD Ferries, the somewhat ill-fated service between St Malo and the Channel Islands has had several incidents. http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Events_by_Ferries.html lists the better known ferry incidents in the last few years - there are plenty more known only to those in the industry. That's not to say ferry travel is dangerous, of course, it's mostly very safe. But it's an undeniable fact that some operators seem to record more incidents than others.

[FerryGuru]

Unsure if the berth is out of action still, as the ships appear to be running pretty much to time.  However the ship completely destroyed the "cow-catcher" this is the framework at the front of the ship that holds the weight of the ramp during loading.  The ship itself was unharmed bar a new coat of paint in a couple of places, the ship is now in Dunkerque having a new "cow-catcher" fitted before it can return to operation.

Not a good year for P&O with the passenger ship (Pride of Canterbury) laid up at Dunkerque whilst they await a new propellor blade and shaft be manufactured after it was damaged during the winter months in a storm off Deal.

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Not sure if it was mentioned on here or not but the Pride of Dover and Pride of Calais, the old Townsend Thoreson ships have had withdrawl dates annouched.  They will be withdrawn from service in 2010/2011 respectively when they are replaced with brand new ships being contructed in Finland.  These new ships will be the largest in Dover, beating Seafrances 'Seafrance Moleire'.

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As "Will" mentions this happens more often than is reported in the press.  I can think of at least half a dozen incidents in the last 2 years for ships operating out of the UK that either did not make the press or were very quiet in the press.  And the ship 'Will' mentions was well known at Dover and suffered on more than one occasion but since her new career has managed without incident.

[josa]

I was on the Aquitaine a few years ago when it collided with France - heck of a bump and plenty of people flying through the air until they met walls etc - that was quite well reported - I even did a live interview from the deck on Scotch FM!!

[Will]

Yes, that was the same ship that I was referring to (but a different incident). It did have quite a history of running into things, though usually without damage to itself or its passengers. Glad you survived and were able to take part in the interview; I imagine that incident too would have passed without much more comment if the media had not been on board.

Fortunately the vessel's change of name to Norman Spirit seems to have increased its luck, in contrast to the oft-quoted superstition that changing a ship's name is unlucky.

[trees 2]

Thanks for the info, I hadn't realised it was quite as common as it obviously is. But I suppose that when you think of the number of sailings, the different sea/wind/tide conditions, and the cramped nature of some berths, it's not a surprise.

Everyone on Calais dock rushed to photograph it, and the Police were quite laid back............UNTIL the P&O guy arrived.

He had a word with their officer, and we were promptly moved back to our cars on threat of arrest.

Waste of time really, as we then had to drive to our ferry's NEW berth, RIGHT PAST the Endeavour!