P&O Cruises ship collides with oil tanker, injuries reported

A P&O Cruises ship collided with an oil tanker in Spain on Sunday.

The line’s Britannia ship broke from its moorings due to strong wind in Palma de Mallorca, the Balearic Islands Port Authority said on X, formerly Twitter. The collision took place around 11 a.m. local time.

A P&O spokesperson said the vessel was involved in a “weather-related incident,” but did not confirm the collision. A “small number of individuals sustained minor injuries” and received care from the ship’s medical center, the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The area saw strong thunderstorms beginning in the late morning on Sunday, with reported wind gusts between 60 and 70 miles per hour, according to AccuWeather.

Britannia visited the port as part of a two-week, round-trip cruise from Southampton, England that departed Aug. 18, according to CruiseMapper. The itinerary also included stops such as Cadiz and Ibiza.

The cruise line’s third-party surveyor confirmed that one of the ship’s lifeboats “sustained structural issues” and could not be repaired onboard, a P&O spokesperson said in a subsequent statement. Maritime regulation required that the ship return to Southampton with fewer people.

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

Guests who were asked to leave will get a pro-rata refund of their fare for the days they missed and a 20% cruise discount to be used in the future.

The collision left a hole in the oil tanker’s hull but did not cause any discharge into the water, the Balearic Islands Port Authority said.

Cruise ship medical facilities: What happens if you get sick or injured (or bitten by a monkey)

The incident comes just weeks after Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 ship broke from its moorings in Italy due to strong winds this month. Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Prima was also blown from its mooring ropes due to unexpectedly strong side winds in Belgium earlier this summer.

Stewart Chiron, a cruise industry expert known as The Cruise Guy, told USA TODAY in July that those types of incidents are “very rare” but have occurred in extreme weather.

Weather conditions at each port are monitored for safety before arrival, he added. “The cruise lines are always assessing these matters and mitigating the risks,” Chiron said in an email at the time. “If it's (deemed) unsafe, they take appropriate action so passengers can focus on their vacations. Unfortunately, they don't control the weather.”

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: P&O Cruises ship collides with oil tanker in Spain