A boat collision occurred early Sunday morning near Miami, leading to the fatality of one individual and causing severe injuries to another.
The Coast Guard said on Sunday afternoon that the channel, which had been cleared, would be reopened. The recovery and investigation of the vessel prompted the Coast Guard to enforce a safety “zone” at PortMiami, which halted cruise traffic and closed the channel.
As per a representative for the port, the shutdown resulted in inconvenience for 33,000 travelers’ plans, who were scheduled to arrive and leave on three vessels on Sunday.
The spillover effects on scheduled Sunday afternoon departures were noteworthy. Following 4 p.M., The Carnival Celebration, which was the largest among the three impacted vessels, did not disembark from the incoming cruise promptly. Carnival informed passengers that they could arrive at the terminal for boarding between 8 p.M. And 11 p.M. The process of turning around the ships is time-consuming.
On Twitter, PortMiami announced in the late afternoon on Sunday that the three vessels were set to leave “not after midnight” — six to eight hours behind schedule.
“The Coast Guard stated that the sunken ship was effectively salvaged and the blockage in the northern passage was eliminated. According to the Coast Guard, the reopening of the southern passage has been approved to allow the resumption of maritime transportation system operations to Port Miami. The closure of the channel was caused by a deadly collision near Government Cut, as stated by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard mentioned that the crews, who were responsible for removing the obstruction resulting from the fatal collision near Government Cut, were aided by the channel closure.”
#Update 6: Crews have successfully recovered the sunken vessel & removed the obstruction in the North channel. @USCG Captain of the Port has authorized a reopening of @PortMiami to all vessel traffic. @MyFWC @MiamiDadeCounty @MiamiDadeFire @MiamiDadePD @CityofMiamiFire @MiamiPD
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) June 25, 2023
The arrival of the Celebration was broadcasted live from portmiamiwebcam.Com after 4 p.M. The shutdown of the PortMiami channel impacted the arrival and disembarkation of travelers on Carnival Celebration, MSC Seascape, and NCL Escape, as mentioned in a distinct tweet by the port.
Both were berthed by 4 p.M., The Escape, slated to set sail at 5:30 p.M., And the Seascape, slated to set sail at 6 p.M.
The website cruisemapper.Com displayed that the Celebration cruise, which was scheduled to depart on Sunday for a seven-day cruise in the eastern Caribbean, ended with an eight-day cruise to the southern Caribbean. According to Carnival spokesperson Suzy Trutie, approximately 6,100 passengers embarked on the cruise and 6,216 passengers debarked at the Port.
Trutie said, “and the same schedule to depart and it was returning on Sunday from a seven-day Caribbean cruise.” According to cruisemapper.Com, “The NCL Escape had approximately 5,081 passengers scheduled to embark and approximately 5,000 passengers scheduled to debark on Sunday.”
Trutie mentioned that the MSC Seascape had 5,358 individuals to disembark and approximately 5,250 individuals to board. According to Cruisemapper.Com, the ship was setting off on a seven-day voyage to the eastern Caribbean and concluding a seven-day journey to the western Caribbean.
This is the message that Celebration passengers received from Carnival at 3 p.M. On Sunday.
Carnival expressed gratitude for your understanding and collaboration. Kindly refrain from heading to the port until you have obtained our latest notification. After the ship docks, we must prioritize the departure of disembarking passengers before attending to your arrival. Carnival shared the exciting update that PortMiami has resumed operations and the ship is en route.
We appreciate your understanding and patience, and we want to let you know that this is not the way we expected your cruise to start, as passengers were informed by Carnival earlier on Sunday.
#Update 2 @USCG Captain of the Port authorized reopening the South channel to resume maritime transportation system operations into @PortMiami while the North channel remains closed as crews continue efforts to remove the sunken obstruction. @MyFWC @MiamiDadeFire @MiamiDadeCounty
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) June 25, 2023
According to Greg Chin, a representative for Miami International Airport, on a yearly basis, approximately 4 million individuals utilize Miami International Airport, with an average of around 10,000 passengers from PortMiami choosing to use the airport each day. In response to the circumstances at the port, they have decided to waive rebooking charges for cruise passengers and have also informed domestic airlines about the situation.
At approximately 3:40 a.M., Miami-Fire Rescue Fire Department notified local TV stations that there had been a collision between a 32-foot and a 30-foot boat, carrying vehicles and passengers, near Fisher Island and Miami Beach.
The private island can only be reached by boat.
Public Information Officer Pete Sanchez stated, “While en route to the medical facility, the wounded individual mentioned that his companion was aboard the vessel and unaccounted for.” The person was transported to Ryder Trauma Center, where ferry employees successfully rescued a man from the water.
Divers initiated the search for the second individual, who was discovered deceased, according to Sanchez.
#PortMiami update pic.twitter.com/UaVVlLaYLK
— PortMiami (@PortMiami) June 25, 2023
The Coast Guard stated that the investigation was being carried out by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The port advises people to contact cruise lines for updates. Carnival said that passengers can text “CCL3” to CRUISE (278473) for information. The port’s number is 866-234-7350 for NCL and 833-578-6488 for MSC. People are advised to contact the port for updates on cruise lines.