MV Celebrity Edge: A Maritime Mishap

Though it was more in the nature of a near miss, than a catastrophe.

Some time ago, when one of the maritime disasters was in the news, someone asked how often stuff goes wrong around boats. The answer is, "All the time." So much so, that unless a mishap impacts global trade, like the ship that was blocking the Suez Canal a few years back, or the ship that knocked down a bridge in Baltimore, you don't hear about it.

This story may make an impact on the news for a couple of reasons:

1. It involved cruise ships.
2. There is video.

I don't know if this has been plastered all over the news or not. I suspect not, just based on everything else going on, but I am fairly well insulated from the general 24 hour news insanity.

From Cruise Hive: Celebrity Edge Breaks Loose in Alaska Port Due to Sudden Wind Squall. This could have been a collision between 2 cruise ships, but the other ship, that was in danger from this, managed to maneuver out of the way.

On the afternoon of June 16, 2025, Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Edge broke free from her mooring lines – likely as a result of inclement weather. Video taken by witnesses shows heavy rain and wind.

MV Celebrity Edge is the lead ship in the Edge Class at Celebrity Cruise Lines. It has a length overall of 306 meters, a beam of 39 meters, a draft of 8.4 meters, and 15 decks. There are 4 Wärtsilä marine engines installed powering 2 azimuth thruster pods, and 4 side thrusters. It was laid down in 2016 and launched in 2018, for a cost of $1 billion.

If you only want to see the video showing the lines parting, this article at The Weather Channel has a short 30 second video. All it really shows are the lines parting and the ship away from the dock. (The video will autoplay the next story in line, so that is something to be aware of.)

This is Sal Mercagliano's video from What's Going on With Shipping? MV Celebrity Edge Breaks Loose from Its Moorings in the Port of Juneau, Alaska | June 16, 2025. The video is 20 minutes, but is comprehensive. Sal Mercagliano makes use of vessel tracking to show the other ships in the area, and how one of them managed to get out of the way, avoiding a collision.