Two Carnival sisterships ‘made contact’ with each other on 27 July in Key West, Florida. The 2,052-passenger 70,367gt Carnival Fantasy (1990) was manoeuvring to dock at the Mallory Square berth at around 0830, when her stern struck the stern of the docked Carnival Imagination (1995), which was moored at Pier B.
There was only minor cosmetic damage and none of the passengers or crew members was hurt. In accordance with normal procedures, the Coast Guard conducted alcohol and drug testing on those personnel in ‘safety sensitive positions’. Both ships sailed on schedule later that day.
Carnival Imagination was on a four-day cruise from Miami, while Carnival Fantasy was on a six-day sailing from Charleston. The incident occurred as Key West is considering a $5 million study on widening the approach channel to the port to allow larger cruise ships to dock and as well as create more room for manoeuvring.
