Wave Hits Cruise Ship—Two Passengers Killed

March 4, 2010 (by Horatio Algren) According to reports two passengers were killed on a Mediterranean cruise after the ship was hit by a giant wave.

The cruise ship Louis Majesty was on a twelve day Mediterranean cruise enroute to Genoa when the ship was slammed with winds of up to one hundred miles per hour. The ship was then struck by an abnormally high wave that broke windows on the front of the ship and caused water to rush on to the deck.

At the time of the incident the ship was off the coast of Marseilles, France carrying approximately 2,000 passengers and crew members. According to the Greek Coast Guard there were 1,350 passengers and 580 crew members on board the ship when it was hit by a twenty-six foot wave.

According to 73 year old passenger Claude Cremex of Marseille, France he was in his cabin resting due to the rough seas when the three story high wave struck the ship. Cremex stated the waves broke windows in the restaurant and flooded cabins.

According to Michael Maratheftis spokesman of Louis Cruise Lines the ship was struck by three waves that were approximately twenty-six feet high. The ships windshield in the forward section was broken and the ship asked for permission to dock in Barcelona and arrived at about 9:00 p.m.

According to Spanish reports a 62 year old woman broke both of her legs during the incident and fourteen other passengers sustained minor injuries.

During the waves that crashed into the Cyprus based cruise ship there were two passengers fatally injured, one was a German citizen and a passenger from Italy. They were fatally injured when windows in a public area on deck 5 located at the forward part of the ship were smashed by the waves.

According to information that has been reported this area of the Mediterranean that is located between France and Spain is prone to high winds and waves. The wind begins when channeled along the east flank of the Pyrennes Mountain range into the Mediterranean gulf between Barcelona, Spain and Marseille, France.

According to reports passengers were visibly shaken and had feared for their lives when the waves struck the Louis Majesty.  Cruise ship attorneys will be watching the facts closely to see if the cruise lines knew or should have known of the dangerous conditions that day.