River cruise lines say overcrowding not a problem

The river cruise industry had a tough run as May gave way to June, with a Viking ship striking and sinking a small tour boat on the Danube and a docked Uniworld ship being rammed by an out-of-control cruise ship in Venice.

While the circumstances of the accidents were quite different, both happened on some of the most congested stretches of Europe’s waterways, raising new questions about the fast growth of the river cruise sector and promising to bring it and the ocean cruise industry under further scrutiny from regulators concerned about overtourism.

In Venice the crash of the MSC Opera into Uniworld’s River Beatrice injured five as panicked Uniworld passengers ran to escape the much larger ship barreling down on them. The incident sparked renewed calls for banning ocean liners in Venice, which has become a poster child for overtourism.

In Budapest, meanwhile, some were calling to ban river cruise ships from making their popular illumination cruises past Hungary’s brightly lighted Parliament building after the Viking Sigyn hit and sunk a small tour boat, killing seven and leaving 17 missing as of June 5.

Collisions involving river cruise ships are relatively rare. But the incidents over the past week were the third and fourth involving river vessels since October.

In April, the Viking Idun collided with a cargo vessel while sailing through Belgium. And last October, Crystal River Cruises’ Crystal Bach was hit by a cargo vessel. No guests were injured in those accidents.

While authorities said the Venice accident was the result of a mechanical issue that left the MSC captain unable to control the towering vessel, the circumstances surrounding the deadly Viking crash were less clear. Hungarian authorities have arrested the captain of the Viking Sigyn, one of seven ships Viking launched in Europe this year.

One river ship captain told the BBC he had long feared such an accident was waiting to happen as boats large and small crowd the Danube at night to sail past the brightly illuminated Hungarian Parliament building. He argued that the larger river ships should be banned from the nightly cruises.

Currently, the large river cruise ships are given time slots to regulate the number sailing at any given time in the evenings, but smaller vessels have no restrictions. Given the popularity of the illumination cruises, the river cruise industry would likely oppose an all-out ban.

On May 30, the day after the Danube accident, Viking released a statement saying, “The Viking river ship Sigyn was involved in a collision with another vessel — a Hungarian tourist ship — on the Danube River in Budapest yesterday evening. Sadly, there have been reports of fatalities, and we offer our heartfelt condolences to those affected by this tragic accident. There were no injuries to Viking crew or Viking guests. We have been and continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while they undertake their investigations.”

Europe’s river cruise fleet has doubled to more than 350 ships since 2004. And those ships share the waterways with more than 13,000 cargo ships and other vessels.

Marcus Leskovar, executive vice president of Amadeus River Cruises, said, “River cruises are still completely safe, and there is enough room on European rivers for currently deployed ships and also for future growth.”

Avalon Waterways CEO Pamela Hoffee said river cruising is one of the safest ways to travel. The Budapest accident, she said, “is the worst boating accident in Hungary in 75 years, which speaks to the general safety of all travelers on this very popular and beautiful stretch of the Danube River through Budapest.”

Hoffee said Avalon has rigid training and testing standards and requires that its captains have years of real-life experience on their ships before they are appointed to the top rank.

Likewise, Uniworld CEO Ellen Bettridge said most of her captains have decades of experience, and they have extensive and ongoing training simulations for different scenarios that include things like crowding around bridges.

“It’s expensive, but it’s worth every penny,” she said of the training.

All of Uniworld’s ships are also equipped with radar, so the crew always has a full, 360-degree view of what is around it, she said.

Hoffee said all of Avalon’s ships also have state-of-the-art navigational equipment and sophisticated radar systems.

Regardless, the very serious and high-profile nature of both accidents will no doubt bring the industry increased scrutiny and prompt new attempts to regulate cruise ships by countries frustrated by overtourism and the risks crowded waterways carry.