Ruby Princess Cruise Ship Carrying 4,000 People Crashes Into San Francisco Pier

The Ruby Princess cruise ship departs from Port Kembla on April 23, 2020 in Wollongong, Australia. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

A Princess Cruises ship carrying nearly some 4,000 people smashed into a pier in San Francisco this week while the vessel was trying to dock, officials said.

In a statement, the company said that the ship “made unexpected contact” with the Pier 27 dock at the Port of San Francisco on Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident, an official also said.

“There were no injuries and at no time were any guests or crew in danger,” the company told several news outlets. “The ship is safely alongside and disembarkation is complete.”

According to the CruiseMapper website, the ship was returning from a trip to Alaska and had departed June 26. The website listed the ship as “departing” since Thursday at around 4 p.m.

Video footage showed the extent of the damage, revealing what appears to be either a large hole or dent in the side. A spokesperson told USA Today that the extent of the damage hasn’t yet been ascertained, and the next departure time is “still being determined.”

Passengers said they noticed the incident. Reports said that about 3,000 passengers and 1,200 crew could be on board the vessel.

“I noticed we were spinning pretty quick, to be that close to the dock, and I was mid-ship, portside, looked out the window and we smacked into the dock,” Sacramento resident and passenger Paul Zasso told ABC7.

Another passenger told the outlet that the effects of the crash were minimal but said “you could definitely” feel it. “It wasn’t like things falling off the shelves or anything like that, kind of like when you get the tugboats coming up against us. So yeah … it was different,” Jeremy Jordan said.

“It was so funny, because one of the dock guys, you can hear him yell out like ‘whoa’ and then you can kind of hear it just slowly going in,” Mr. Jordan said.“It’s ironic, because I think it was yesterday the captain was talking about how he goes into docks and how unpredictable the currents are. So yeah, it’s a challenge for them to be able to do that.”

Another passenger, Jim Simpson, said that he and his family are among those who are still waiting to go back to Alaska.

“I don’t swim that good. I just think they patch it up,” Mr. Simpson told KGO-TV. “It’s a 10-day cruise, there’s plenty of time,” he added. “We can make up time moving and things like that. So I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.”

A similar incident took place in 2019 when an MSC Cruises ship hit a dock and a riverboat in Venice, Italy. A Norwegian Cruise Lines ship also hit a dock in San Juan, Puerto Rico that year as well.