Uniworld has cancelled six cruises on River Countess after the ship was hit by ocean cruise ship MSC Opera in Venice.
MSC Opera crashed into River Countess, which was docked at the San Basilio Cruise Terminal in Venice, on Sunday (June 2) with the accident making worldwide headlines.
Uniworld said that only 26 of the River Countess’ 130 passengers were onboard at the time of the accident, with most having already disembarked to catch flights. Four passengers had to be taken to taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The river cruise operator said that after a “complete review by the company’s technical and nautical team”, it has had to cancel six planned Gems of Northern Italy cruises, which had been due to depart on 7, 14, 21 and 28 June, plus 5 and 12 July.
Uniworld president and chief executive Ellen Bettridge, said the River Countess is scheduled to return to service on 21 July.
“We have begun immediate outreach to our guests and travel advisor partners with this news and are offering options to rebook,” added Bettridge.
“We appreciate the outpouring of support and well-wishes by our guests, travel advisor partners and industry colleagues, and would like to thank everyone for their support during this time.”