Crane accident forces Royal Caribbean to cancel three upcoming sailings

Royal Caribbean has cancelled three scheduled sailings after a crane accident at the Grand Bahama Shipyard caused significant damage to the Oasis of the Seas.

The incident was captured on video and posted to Twitter by the Bahamas Press:

READ MORE: Royal Caribbean orders sixth Oasis-class ship

pic.twitter.com/XZIIjBgHas

— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) April 1, 2019

According to reports, a crane collapsed, which in turn caused the collapse of the dock, and damage to the ship after the crane fell.

No passengers were on board, although eight people suffered non life-threatening injuries. At the time of incident, the ship was in drydock for maintenance.

According to the Royal Caribbean blog, "after assessing the damage to Oasis of the Seas, the cruise line found damage to the Aqua Theatre and some suites. As a result, Royal Caribbean has begun alerting guests on affected sailings that the next three sailings have to be cancelled in order to make repairs."

The blog post states that Royal Caribbean sent out an email to all guests booked on the cancelled sailings (April 7, 14 and 21 departures), the cruise line expressed recognition that personal injuries were limited, saying:

"We are very grateful that there were no life-threatening injuries and everyone is recovering, as the safety of our crew and guests is always our number one priority."

In a statement to PAX, a spokesperson said:

"Guests on the three sailings will receive full refunds, as well as full credit toward a future cruise. We are sorry for the disruption to their vacation plans."

Oasis of the Seas will head from the Grand Bahama shipyard to be serviced at facilities in Cadiz, Spain. She will then resume her scheduled itineraries, beginning with the May 5 sailing from Barcelona.

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