Maritime lawyers at Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman have filed a Class Action lawsuit against Viking Cruises regarding the Viking Sky incident from March 2019.
The law firm said that the lawsuit involves Viking Ocean’s “knowing and intentional decision to sail the Viking Sky, carrying roughly 1,000 paying passengers, into notoriously perilous waters and directly into the path of a massive weather event known as a Bomb Cyclone.”
In the midst of the cyclone, the vessel’s engines suffered a complete failure leaving it adrift in Hustadvika, off the coast of Norway, in late March. The cruise ship was battered by storm 10 gale force winds and more than 30 foot waves, according to the law firm.
As the complaint lays out, this weather event was no surprise. Instead it was properly forecast days in advance. Despite the consensus by numerous weather forecasting agencies’ warning of extremely severe winds of storm 10 gale force capabilities expected in the vessel’s intended and actual path, Viking Sky left for its voyage on March 21, 2019.
By the early morning of Saturday, March 23, the winds and rough seas were battering the vessel and later that day, while sailing through waves of over 30 feet and winds exceeding hurricane strength, Viking Sky suffered a complete engine failure.
The 2017-built ship sent out a mayday signal after losing its engines, prompting a rescue operation in which close to 500 passengers were airlifted by helicopter.
“At no time were the passengers advised or warned of the impending peril. It was not until the next day when large waves were rocking the cruise ship, causing passengers and crewmembers to become seasick, did the vessel alert the passengers it would not be making the intended stop,” the Maritime lawyers said.
Consequently, Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman seeks any and all damages available, including punitive damages, based on the allegation that Viking negligently sailed through perilous waters into the path of the cyclone.