Saga's cruise ship Spirit of Discovery was caught in a severe storm in the North Atlantic, off the coasts of France and Spain. About 100,<> of the ship's passengers were injured to varying degrees of severity during the captain and crew's efforts to avoid direct contact with the storm.
The giant ship left Britain on October 24 for a two-week voyage. Last Saturday, towards the end of the voyage, the ship's crew decided to return to Britain and avoid sailing to the Canary Islands due to a major storm in the Atlantic.
The ship returned via the Bay of Biscay, located off the northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France, and during the cruise in the bay, the strong storm caught up with the ship and it was surrounded by huge waves and exposed to strong winds. The situation, which worsened by the minute, led the ship's safety system to activate at 12:30 p.m. last Saturday the safety protocol designed to protect the ship in such situations.
As part of the emergency procedure, the ship made a sharp turn in order to better weather the storm, but the sharp turn was made quickly when many passengers who were not prepared for the move fell to the floor and various furniture.
Cruise Route,
The ship's protection protocol put her in a defensive position from the wind for 18 hours, while in the meantime on board the crew treated the various casualties - five of whom suffered relatively serious injuries. At the end of the 18 hours, as the storm subsided, the ship sailed on and reached the port of Portsmouth in Britain, where the five seriously injured were evacuated to a nearby hospital.
After the horrific incident, Nigel Blanks, CEO of Saga, published a letter to passengers in which he tried to reassure them following the trauma they had undergone.
He noted that it was a "very scary time" but noted that throughout the incident the ship was safe and secure, and promised that passengers would be compensated for the disappointing end of what he called the "unfortunate voyage".
Asked why the ship returned to Britain via the Bay of Biscay, it was explained to the media that continuing to cruise on any other route would have resulted in a head-on entry into the core of the severe storm. The company's management added that another crew plan was to reach the port of La Coruna, in northwestern Spain, but the captain was informed that the port was closed to ships and therefore only sailing towards Britain via Biscay remained the realistic option.
"The ship remained safe at all times," said Saga – which was recently rated third in quality on the British tourism website WHICH – "but due to the impact of the storm, some of the guests were injured. All were immediately treated by medical personnel on board. Although the weather is out of our control, we would like to offer our sincere apologies to all those affected who are now safely on their way home in calmer seas."
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