The top of the wheelhouse on the Avalon Panorama sustained surface damage when it hit the bottom of a bridge on the Main-Danube Canal on Tuesday, but the river cruise ship will operate as scheduled, according to Avalon Waterways.
No passengers or crew members were injured when the wheelhouse made impact with the bridge. “The impact was so light that most passengers didn’t feel it,” according to a company spokesperson.
When repair crews assessed the damage that night, the functionality of the control system was deemed unharmed.
On European river cruise vessels, the wheelhouse sits atop the sun deck, and is often on a hydraulic system that allows it to be dropped down to allow the ship to fit under lower bridges.
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