Norwegian cruise ship based at Port Canaveral crashes into dock in Puerto Rico

Ezzy Castro

News 6

The Norwegian Epic cruise ship, based out of Port Canaveral, is stalled in San Juan after reports of engine trouble at sea and crashing into a dock in Puerto Rico.

The ship left on Saturday for a seven-day cruise and was supposed to make its first stop Tuesday in the British Virgin Islands. Instead, the ship had to reroute to Puerto Rico after mechanical issues on board.

Passenger Michael Miano said cruise officials made an announcement about the mechanical issues on Monday.

"Later that night, the captain came on and announced there was a power failure of some sort with the engines," Miano said.

While the ship tried to dock in San Juan, a strong gust of wind caused it to crash into the pier.

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Norwegian Cruise Line tweeted a brief statement about the incident.

"As Norwegian Epic was maneuvering into Port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a local pilot on board and the help of two tug boats, prevailing winds caused the ship to veer toward the pier, damaging two mooring points at Pier 3 East," the cruise line said. "No one was injured and the pier remains operational. The ship sustained minimal, superficial damage to the hull, which does not affect the safe operation of the vessel. The ship will depart San Juan later today."

No passengers or crew members were hurt.

Miano said some passengers are asking for a refund, but said overall, everyone is still enjoying the cruise.

"The passengers are not in any kind of discomfort or distress or anything. People are upset that they bought a cruise to go to the Virgin Islands and we wound up in Puerto Rico, but they can still drink and eat and go to the shows. Everything is still working right," Miano said.

News 6 confirmed the Coast Guard and the National Safety Transportation Board are investigating the incident.

The cruise ship is expected to stay in Puerto Rico until Thursday as mechanics work to fix the damage.

The Epic is scheduled to return to Port Canaveral on Saturday morning.

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