Multiple Norwegian Cruise Line ship passengers were injured on Tuesday, November 8, after the gangway of the Norwegian Encore collapsed while docked in Panama City, Panama. Those injured are still receiving medical care, and authorities are investigating why the collapse occurred.

Passengers onboard the Norwegian Encore said they heard emergency codes announced over the ship’s loudspeakers sometime around 1:30 p.m. They took pictures of the collapsed gateway and damage to the handrails, sharing these images to social media, as news of the collapse quickly spread. Passengers reported police presence on and around the ship, multiple ambulances, and military vehicles rushing to help the victims of the incident. Injured passengers were assisted via stretchers and wheelchairs to emergency vehicles, but the extent of these injuries or names of the injured have not been released.

When describing the gangway on which the incident occurred, many guests reported that the gangway’s pitch was quite steep at the port. They also reported that the gangway was bent due to a lack of underlying support for the ramp.

Cruise ship passengers who were injured were taken to a nearby medical facility. The number of passengers injured has not been released. Neither has a report of how serious the injuries were or why the collapse occurred, although that is expected to be released.

Norwegian Cruise Line issued a statement following the incident saying that Norwegian Encore’s gangway collapsed while the ship was docked in Panama City. They also stated that several guests sustained injuries and were immediately sent for treatment at a nearby medical facility.

The Norwegian Encore is the largest vessel in the Norwegian Cruise Line’s fleet. The vessel weighs 169,116 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 3,998 at double occupancy with 1,735 crew members. Norwegian Encore officially entered service in November 2019.

At the time, Norwegian Encore was in the middle of a 21-day Panama Canal cruise, starting in Seattle, Washington. The vessel left Seattle on Sunday, October 23, after the Encore concluded its Alaska sailing season. It is scheduled to arrive in Port Miami on Sunday, November 13. Once the vessel returns to Miami, it will be homeported for the winter with the exception of 7-night Caribbean sailings.

Tracking data shows that Norwegian Encore has left Panama City and is transiting through the Panama Canal. The Encore will be stopping at the next port of call, which will be in Cartagena, Colombia. Despite the damage done to the gangway in Panama, the vessel still seems to be on course for returning on time on Sunday, as planned.

Gangway Injuries

A passenger gangway, also referred to as a seaport passenger boarding bridge (SPBB), allows individuals to get on and off a cruise ship. It is the walkway or bridge that connects the vessel to land. Several distinct types of cruise gangways are commonly used to allow passengers to board and disembark from a vessel.

Gangways often consist of an enclosed raised bridge, like a jetway at the airport. The gangway connects the main deck of the ship directly to the cruise terminal. If the ship is docked at a port of call, the ship’s gangway will normally be on the lower deck, where a metal walkway bridges the gap between the ship and the dock. If the ship is at a port where the ship does not dock, passengers are taken off the ship on a gangway located on a lower deck, allowing them to cross from the cruise ship to a tender boat, which will take the passengers to shore.

A similar incident involving a gangway collapse occurred back in 2003 but with much worse results. The collapse occurred on the largest cruise ship in the world at the time, the Queen Mary 2. At the time, workers and their families were on a special tour of the nearly completed ship.  The cruise line had welcomed workers and their families to visit the vessel before it was officially open to the public. The gangway involved was installed the day before the of the incident especially for the visit.

At the time of the collapse, dozens of people were on the gangway. The structure was not able to support all the people on the ramp, causing it to collapse and taking down the scaffolding that was holding it up at one end. The collapse sent all the visitors on the ramp plunging 50 feet to the ground. Thirteen people were killed and 32 were injured. Of the 32 people injured, 10 of them were hospitalized in serious condition.

Similarly, a passenger on an MSC Cruises ship fell into the water following the collapse of a gangway in 2009.

Liability for Gangway Injuries

The person or entity who is responsible for your injuries from an accident on a gangway depends largely on the type of gangway involved. If the gangway is owned and maintained by the cruise liner, you may have a valid claim for injuries from the cruise company itself. If, however, the injury involves a gangway provided by a local port authority of a city or state, liability could be tricky, depending on who is responsible for maintaining the ramp. Many of these gangways are removable by port workers, and because of their wear and tear, they can present significant safety hazards for any person who uses them. The higher up the gangway is, the more severe the injuries may be, especially if the ramp is over a concrete floor or walkway.

If the gangway is poorly maintained or has any defects that the owner should have been aware of, the injured person may have a valid legal claim for damages against the provider of the gangway.

The provider of the gangway must ensure that the structure is safe for people to use before allowing them to use it. If the provider of the gangway notices a defect, it need to be fixed immediately, and if that defect causes the structure to not be stable or safe, it needs to be put aside and not used until the defect is cured. The best way to discover these flaws and defects is not to wait until an accident occurs but to regularly inspect the structure before use.

Like any other surface in a public venue, the gangway must be kept safe, must be routinely inspected, and must comply with all regulations, including international law, port regulations, and general maritime law.  Since gangways are almost always near water, the surfaces must provide adequate slip resistance under both wet and dry conditions. In fact, under the International Maritime Organization requirements, in order for a gangway to be authorized for use, the owner or provider must comply with certain international regulations for installation, maintenance, and inspection. The provider must use non-skid surfaces for walking, handrails, adequate risers, treads, and safe floor surfaces.

Obviously, the walking surface of the gangway is not the only thing that needs to be inspected. The structure also needs to be able to safely hold the weight of passengers walking on the ramp. In both the 2003 incident and this current one, a large number of passengers were walking on the gangway at the time of collapse. When a gangway collapses under the weight of too many passengers or crew members, any party that is injured may have a claim for negligence against the cruise line.

When someone is hurt after a gangway collapses, the physical injuries to that person can be pretty serious. If the gangway is up high, and the passenger falls a great distance, landing onto a hard surface, the physical injuries sustained can require months, if not years, of recovery. Unfortunately, as was seen in 2003, death can even result from these falls. Injuries can keep you from working and can cause a significant decrease in your quality of life, which is why it is important that you seek legal counsel as soon as possible after receiving any injury from this type of accident. Physical injuries may seem simple enough to calculate, but the damages that include your own pain and suffering, as well as decrease in quality of life, can be much harder to calculate, as well as prove.

To be successful in winning a claim for a gangway fall, you will need to file a legal claim in court in the appropriate venue. You will need to show that the accident was not your fault but was the fault of another responsible party, whether that be the cruise line or the port authority. It can be tricky to nail down who exactly is responsible for the accident, and a personal injury attorney can help guide you in preparing this claim.

These types of cases are not simple ones to win, and you should never handle these claims alone and without legal counsel. You will need strong proof, including witness statements and exhibits, to hold the responsible party accountable for their actions. Cruise lines will certainly have their own legal counsel to defend them, and you should have a strong legal advocate on your side to ensure that your claims are successful.

The Miami-based cruise ship accident and maritime injury law firm of Delgado Trial Attorneys  possess a skill set that few other maritime attorneys can claim. Raul’s extensive experience representing the cruise lines and developing their defense strategies years before they started representing the passengers and crew members that suffered injuries because of the cruise lines’ negligence. Combined with Raul Delgado, Sr.’s  45 years of personal injury experience fighting on behalf of injured accident victims, Delgado Trial Attorneys offers a combination of experience in all types of cruise ship personal injuries unlike any of their competitors.

Our experience allows us to effectively strategize and advocate for every client we represent. We have handled all types of cruise ship passenger accidents over the years with a focus on slip, trip and falls, cruise ship medical malpractice, FlowRider accidents, sexual assaults, Death on the High Seas, and more. Contact our law firm today for a free case evaluation. Virtual sign-ups available. Visit https://cruiselawyermiami.com/ to learn more.

SOURCES:

What Is a Gangway on a Cruise Ship? (cruisecritic.com)

Types of Cruise Gangways | Port Economics, Management and Policy (porteconomicsmanagement.org)