- charlotte andrews
- BBC News
A damaged lifeboat is removed from the ship for repairs
A cruise ship that crashed in a storm in Mallorca has returned to port for repairs.
The ship’s lifeboat, which arrived in Southampton on Friday, is damaged and will be removed and repaired.
P&O said this was an “unusual event” and the result of a sudden and unexpected weather front.
Video: Two ships collide as storm hits Mallorca
The ship was on a 14-day cruise around the Mediterranean and had visited the Spanish ports of Cadiz, Cartegena and Ibiza before the incident in Mallorca.
A post-crash inspection found a “structural problem” in one of the lifeboats, which could not be repaired on board.
P&O said the ship could carry 3,647 passengers and was “near capacity” at the time of the collision.
image source, jason morris
Passengers described how the weather suddenly turned rough and the sky “turned black” before the ship thawed.
The Britannia left Palma de Mallorca with the remaining passengers on Monday night.
However, in 2015 the ship had to miss its final port call in Gibraltar to return to Southampton for repairs.
Passengers Ingrid and Gavin McCoy were among the thousands of people who disembarked after arriving at Southampton Port at 6.32am BST on Friday.
The couple were at a coffee shop on the quay overlooking the ship when the collision occurred.
As the storm hit, McCoy said, “The water started coming up so fast that the metal railings were flying over the windows and people were trying to grab onto things.
“Then there was an announcement and they said, ‘This is not a practice, this is a real emergency.’
image source, gavin mccoy
Ingrid and Gavin McCoy watched the rope break and their boat ‘drift’
Ms McCoy said she felt like she was in “some kind of drama” when it happened.
He described his scariest moment: “We were told to go back to our cabins and around the corner, all the crew were wearing life jackets. There was a wave of people going up and down the stairs and it was terrifying,” the alarm said.
“Every cruise starts with training at the meeting point, but we don’t expect anything to happen.”
image source, gavin mccoy
Those on board recorded videos and images showing the emergency response and debris floating at sea.
P&O announced that Britannia will set sail on Friday at 8pm BST for her next tour of Northern Europe and Scandinavia, with other upcoming cruises remaining as scheduled.
A cruise line spokesperson added that the damaged lifeboat had been “removed for repairs” and “will be returned to Britannia when ready”.