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SITKA, ALASKA Yakutat resident Bert Adams was aboard the vessel as an interpreter for the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe. He says he felt an impact, but didn’t think much of it.

“Just a little bit of a loud noise and a shudder, but that’s about it,” Adams said. “We didn’t pay much attention to it because it’s happened before. They go into there and when the ice is thick they’ll hit an iceberg every now and then and the hull will seem to take it.”

Lieutenant Junior Grade James Dooley is with the U.S. Coast Guard. He says the Westerdam reported that it had struck some ice and had suffered some hull damage about 15 feet below the waterline.

“There was an indentation that was visible on the vessel but there is no breach, no flooding, no pollution or injuries reported,” Dooley said.

Officially, the incident is called an “allision.” (pronounced like “collision” without the C). The Coast Guard uses the term to differentiate from “collisions,” a word it reserves for two objects in motion hitting one another.

Dooley says the Coast Guard is conducting a routine investigation to determine exactly what happened. Fred Reeder with Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska says the Westerdam arrived in Sitka on time and that the incident will not slow down the vessel’s schedule.

The Westerdam is operated by Holland America cruise lines, and carries up to 1,900 passengers with a crew of 817.
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