MSC Cruises' new and largest ship, MSC Grandiosa, crashes in the port of Palermo, Sicily

On Monday morning, around 9:30 a.m. CET, MSC Cruises’ newly debuted and largest cruise ship experienced a collision. 

MSC Grandiosa, which weighs in at 181,000 gross tons and sailed on her maiden voyage in November, experienced a “light allision,” or it struck  the dock in the port of Palermo, Paige Rosenthal, spokesperson for MSC Cruises, told USA TODAY in an email. 

“Due to reasons we are still investigating, the ship deviated while maneuvering along the quayside and lightly grazed the end of the quay with its aft part,” Rosenthal said. A quay is a platform that extends into the water to ease the loading and unloading of ships. 

Rosenthal explained that while the crash may have been noticeable to passengers or people standing by, there wasn’t any risk posed to guests or crew on board and no impact to the environment. 

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Ronny Cop, a passenger onboard the MSC Grandiosa, told The Independent that there wasn’t anything the captain could have done to prevent the allision.

“The sudden gust of wind was the cause of this incident. He took all measures to prevent a bigger incident,” Cop told the British media outlet.

Due to the graze with the port, Rosenthal said that MSC Cruises has carried out minor repairs to the ship, which were completed by early afternoon.

MSC Grandiosa left Palermo after a slight delay. However, the ship’s itinerary and schedule were not altered due to the incident.

“MSC Cruises emphasizes that MSC Grandiosa is fully reliable and safe to sail,” said Rosenthal. “Our guests’ and crew members’ safety will always be our number one priority.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MSC Cruises’ newest and biggest ship crashes into port in Sicily