The accident happened in June 2019 in a Venice canal when the MSC ship crushed the bow of River Countess, which was out of service for several months while repairs were made.
MSC Cruises admitted 100% liability for the collision in March 2020 and has agreed to pay €2.4 million, plus interest, in compensation. But MSC disputed whether other costs, such as Uniworld’s loss of revenue from cancelled cruises, could be recovered in Italian law.
Earlier this month, judge Andrew Barker, sitting in the High Court in London, ruled that some of these so-called “non-physical” losses, such as loss of revenue, could potentially be recovered through Italian law.
Uniworld had to refund and compensate 1,600 customers whose trips were cancelled, alongside the cost of repairing the River Countess. The line also paid compensation, hospital bills and repatriation costs for injured passengers. Fortunately, there were no deaths from the accident.
An MSC spokesperson said: “MSC welcomes the judgment of the court in London that confirms and makes effective what the company had already volunteered to pay – and, in part, has already paid – for the vessel’s repair costs.
“For additional losses, MSC has from the very beginning made itself available to cover any demonstrated amounts in connection with this very unfortunate accident.”
Two months after the crash in August 2019, the Italian government announced ocean cruise ships would be rerouted away from central Venice.
Ellen Bettridge, Uniworld’s chief executive, added: “For years, the city of Venice has been plagued by massive ocean cruise liners being able to dock in the historic city, causing an eyesore to its beauty.
“It took an incident of this nature to bring about change. It is testament to the quality of engineering of our luxury river vessel and its well-trained crew that no lives were lost.”
