SWISS CRYSTAL

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

60 passengers infected with corona virus

60 of 92 passengers of the 'Swiss Crystal' were infected with corona virus during a cruise from Passau to Frankfurt upon Main between Oct 10 and 17, 2020. The cause of the spread despite protection measures was unclear to date.

Damaged river cruise ship towed to Giessendam

On Dec 28 at 1.20 a.m. the "Swiss Crystal" was berthed at the repair yard Hardinxveld in Giessendam. The ship had allided with the Rhine bridge of the A 42 motorway on Dec 26 at 8.45 p.m. enroute to Arnhem because it sailed straight ahead towards the Baerl side in a right bend of the river. The captain was shocked and could not be interrogated after the allision, but a breathalyzer test showed that he was not drunk at the helm. After the accident initially only one small boat of the fire rescue in Duisburg-Ruhrort attended the hotel ship, but the crew of two soon raised large scale alert, and it was decided to evacuate the ship. The passengers who remained uninjured were transferred onto the river cruise ship "Emily Brontë" which by chance passed the site and had gone alongside immediately. She towed the "Swiss Crystal“ to Mühlenweide in Ruhrort where those who were seriosly injured could be evacuated onto shore which was deemed safer by the fire rescue. Several rescue forces were ready to receive them upon the arrival. 10 of the injured were taken to hospitals in Duisburg. Their relatives and part of the crew were accomodated aboard the river cruise ship "Swiss Diamond“ which also had been called to Mühlenweide on short terms. Most pf the passengers were taken home by coaches still in the night. The A 42 motorway bridge was released for vehicles traffic after inspections in the midday hours of Dec 27. She suffered damage which will have to be repaired but the structural integrity was not affected. Traffic had queued on a length of five kilometers already in the morning hours during the time of closure between Baerl and Beeck. The "Swiss Crystal" remained at Mühlenweide for the time of investigations before being released in the afternoon, and the tow to Giessendam started. German report with photo: https://www.waz.de/staedte/duisburg/kapitaen-steht-noch-unter-schock-ursache-fuer-unglueck-in-duisburg-ist-unklar-id212954445.html

River cruise ship slammed into pillar of bridge in Duisburg

On Dec 26, 2017, at 8.45 p.m. the "Swiss Crystal" allided with the pillar of the bridge of the A 42 freeway in Duisburg-Baerl. It had a speed of 25-28 km/h when it veered off course in a bend of the river. 25 personns were injured, four of them suffered severe injuries. Several of them had fallen when the ship hit and then drifted perpendicular to the fairway. Among them was also the master who had to be treated for shock symptoms. On board were 103 passengers mostly from the Netherlands and a crew of 26. The ship suffered significant bow damage. It ran aground after the impact and got stuck with a list timewise. Several units of the fire brigade Duisburg as well as the police and the Technical Suport Work THW were on site. The cruise ship was towed one kilometer downstream to Duisburg-Mühlenweide by aother river cruise ship after having been stabilized, where it berthed in the entrance of Ruhrort Port for investigations. At 12.30 a.m. the remaining passengers were disembarked onto the "Swiss Diamond" which had been called to Duisburg to take them to their destination. The A 42 was closed for traffic after the allision between Duisburg-Baerl and Duisburg-Beek until the midday hours of Dec 27. The ship had started its cruise in Arnheim on Dec 22 and had sailed from the port of Diüsseldorf at 8 p.m. It was bound via Koblenz and Mainz back to Arnheim, ETA Dec 27. German reports with photos: https://www.waz.de/staedte/duisburg/27-verletzte-passagierschiff-rammt-brueckenpfeiler-a42-in-duisburg-wieder-freigegeben-id212945359.html https://www.nrz.de/staedte/duisburg/27-verletzte-passagierschiff-rammt-brueckenpfeiler-a42-in-duisburg-wieder-freigegeben-id212945359.html