The Norwegian cruise ship slunk into Seattle early on Thursday morning for repairs after striking an iceberg in dramatic fashion over the weekend in Alaska.
Exclusive images depict the Norwegian Sun’s starboard side after it was struck by a ‘growler,’ a tiny iceberg that protrudes less than 3.3 feet above the water, in Yakutat Bay, Alaska, while shrouded in dense fog.
The images, which were taken as the ship sailed into Seattle just before three in the morning, show a sizable dark mark on the starboard side and paint scratches.
The semi-truck sized iceberg, according to a port source, caused significant damage below the waterline, which will now be repaired by divers before it resumes cruising duties.
As the ship slammed into the iceberg, passengers on board have reported hearing a loud bang and feeling it “judder.”
Phoenix, Arizona resident Alicia Amador described hearing a loud bang before the ship juddered when it hit the ground in an interview with the Juneau Empire.
She continued, “The impact brought the entire boat to a complete stop. The experience was frightful.
The ship had a serious judder, Atlanta, Georgia resident Jason Newman told KTOO. The strike was audible, and it briefly listed after that.
The collision was also caught on camera, and as the ship slammed into the growler, passengers could be heard yelling, “Oh my God, it’s the Titanic 2.0.”
In what would have been one of the highlights of a seven-day trip that was supposed to include Ketchikan and the Hubbard Glacier, the Norwegian Sun struck the iceberg as it approached Disenchantment Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.
The ship left Seattle last Thursday, according to a thorough log of its movements that DailyMail.com obtained from the ship-tracking website Marine Traffic.
The ship arrived at Halibut Point at 7:11 p.m. on June 23 – just over 24 hours after leaving, according to the log – and the trip started off without incident.
The 1,936-passenger cruise ship set sail just before five in the morning on the 24th, sailing in the direction of Icy Strait Point, where it anchored at two in the afternoon.
The ship departed once more at 3.42 a.m. the following morning, heading for Disenchantment Bay’s 76-mile-long Hubbard Glacier.
Dramatic rewind footage of the ship’s movements, however, provided by Marine Traffic reveals that it abruptly altered course at 4.42 am, just minutes before it collided with the iceberg.
Following that, it hobbled back to Juneau, Alaska, where it anchored just before midnight on the 26th.
Norwegian Cruise Line issued the following statement on Tuesday: “On June 25, 2022, while transiting to Hubbard Glacier, Alaska, Norwegian Sun made contact with ice.
When the ship arrived in Juneau, Alaska, it was decided to cut short the current journey.
The US Coast Guard and other maritime authorities gave the ship the go-ahead to make a slower-than-normal return to Seattle.
All passengers on board will disembark in Seattle as scheduled.
In addition to a full refund and a credit for future travel equal to the cost of the entire trip, passengers have been offered. On Thursday, a brand-new trip was supposed to depart.