Cruise holidays: P&O ship Britannia crashes into oil tanker

There were thousands of cruisegoers on-board the Britannia, the flagship of the P&O fleet when it was battered by a storm off the coast of Palma de Mallorca on Sunday.

Footage posted onto social media shows the ship swaying in the gale force winds and breaking free after the mooring holding it snapped. The ship was then blown by the winds towards the other vessel.

Some cruisegoers were injured by falls, or flying debris.

There has been 120km/h winds and torrential rains in Mallorca, with an amber weather alert in place across the island on Sunday.

A technical assessment after the crash found a lifeboat was damaged and could not be repaired.

P&O said 321 guests would be flown home early as the ship headed back to Southampton, UK, with less people on-board as this is what is required under maritime law.

The Britannia has capacity to carry 3647 passengers and P&O said the vessel was “close to capacity” at the time of the collision.

Passenger Ricky Stubbs said he and his children were about to disembark at the time of the crash.

“We were at the stairwell next to the sunset bar,” he told The Guardian. “A loud crash came from the bar and the door flung open with people running in. Within seconds there was more crashing followed by chaos as people were trying to escape the onslaught of wind and rain.

“People were being ushered in by other guests and staff. You could clearly see some had injuries due to either falling over or debris flying around, and people were distraught.

“A couple of minutes later the captain came over the speaker asking all guest to return to their rooms until further instructions.

“Huge respect for the captain and all the staff as they managed to stay calm and keep everyone updated. The captain made announcements every 10-15 minutes once we were back in our cabins and they did a great job in a stressful situation.”

Fellow passenger Russ Dawson, from East London, was on his balcony when he noticed the weather had turned stormy and the “sky turned black”.

“I saw this boat start to turn around and I said ‘that’s going to crash into us’,” he told the BBC.

“There was a bang when it hit the boat and there was screaming and shouting and panic.”

He has been offered 20 per cent off his next cruise but said it “didn’t come close” to making up for the situation.

A P&O Cruises spokesman told news.com.au the ship was involved in a weather-related incident while docked in Mallorca, with a small number of individuals sustaining minor injuries.

The injured were being cared for by the on-board medical centre.

“On Sunday 27 August, P&O Cruises Britannia was impacted by severe weather when alongside in Palma de Mallorca,” the spokesman said.

“Following inspections, our third-party surveyor has confirmed that one of Britannia’s lifeboats has sustained structural issues and cannot be repaired on-board.

“We are so sorry but these extraordinary circumstances mean that the ship is required, by maritime regulation, to return to Southampton with a reduced number of people on board.

“A limited number of guests and crew on board have been advised that they will be leaving the ship and will be returned to Southampton (or their starting point) by flight and transfer.

“The guests remaining on board will be able to enjoy the entertainment and activities scheduled for the remainder of their trip.”