BALTIC PRINCESS

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Man fined after near collision of yacht with ferry

A 75-year-old man was sentenced by the Åland district court to daily fines for maritime traffic offenses after having come close to a collision with the 'Baltic Princess' with a sailboat in November 2023. He and another person were underway with the sailboat in the dark at Skiftet on their way from Stockholm to Pargas, when the boat encountered problems with both steering and the propeller shaft. At Skiftet the man had left the helm and gone down into the engine room to check the steering and propeller shaft, causing the boat to lose course and be on a collision course with the ferry. When the man returned to the helm, he made a turn towards the same course the 'Baltic Princess' was heading. The ferry had to turn to avoid a collision, and they passed each other with a distance of about 20 meters. The man was sentenced to 50 daily fines of a total of 500 Euros, and he must also pay 80 Euros in victim surcharge.

Employees and manager of Pimura Oy threw furniture over board

In an incident captured on video and posted to social media, several construction company employees, including the manager of the company, have damaged property aboard the 'Baltic Princess', and may now be facing criminal charges. During a voyage in early December, employees from the Finnish construction company Pimura Oy were unruly and disruptive onboard the ship. The company’s 25-year-old manager was part of the onboard party, and even filmed the poor behavior and posted it to his TikTok account. He later deleted the video, but not before it was uploaded to Twitter by other individuals. The unruly behaviour followed a full day of drinking, and included throwing several chairs, cushions, and a small table off an aft-facing stateroom balcony, while others in the party filmed the actions and laughed. The members of the same party reportedly also urinated in one of the ship’s saunas and were “inappropriate” at the ship’s bar, though details of that behavior have not been clarified. Tallink Silja has charged the partygoers for the cost of the furniture, as well as other incidental charges. They have had to pay for the furniture thrown into the sea already there, and an additional bill has followed. The cost of the furniture has not been disclosed, but because it is made to fire-safe standards for use onboard the vessel, it is more expensive than standard furniture would be. Additional fines may also be levied, and local police have been asked to investigate the matter. The cruise ferry line is considering additional charges that may include a criminal filing as they continue to review the incident. Furthermore, the passengers’ poor actions could have had much more severe consequences. The video shows some of the furniture bouncing off the ship’s hull, potentially causing cosmetic damage. Once in the water, the overboard items cause a hazard and can be dangerous to smaller craft in the area, as well as to local wildlife. All passengers involved have been banned from all ships operated by the ferry service for at least the next year. Report with video: https://www.cruisehive.com/passenger-throws-furniture-overboard-from-cruise-vessel/90555

No trace of person who went missing

The searches in the Åland Sea for the person missing from the 'Baltic Princess' did not lead to any results and has still not been found. The search was finally ended without results on Nov 18. An eyewitness had stated that the person climbed the ship's structures before he disappeared. Now images from the ship's surveillance cameras have shown that the person climbed a roof structure on the sun deck. The person is suspected of having ended up in the sea at 3 a.m. The alarm about the disappearance only reached the maritime rescue center at 7 a.m. The crew had tried to find the person on board the ship before raising the alarm. They went through video footage from the surveillance cameras and looked for the person on the ship. There were no observations of the person jumping, slipping or falling. The disappearance took place in the middle of a cruise organized by students at Turku University's School of Business on the 'Baltic Princess'.