World’s Biggest Catamaran Ferry Hits Breakwater In The Ronne Harbour

The largest ferry in the world struck a breakwater while exiting the Ronne Harbour on the Island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. This incident is the vessel’s third allision since it entered service in 2023, and it remains unclear when it will return to service again.

The accident occurred on the evening of Monday when the fast ferry Express 5 was on its way out of the narrow harbour. It hit the inner breakwater, leaving a long crease on its starboard side.

Passengers reported hearing a loud noise. Luckily, there were no injuries, and it returned to the pier.

The damage to its aluminium hull is significant, and the ferry will be taken to the drydock for repairs. The cause of the accident is being investigated, and a formal report will be brought forward soon, as per media reports.

The operator’s another ferry called Express 1 is presently in the shipyard and cannot take the place of Express 5.

The residents of Bornholm will have to utilise the two conventional ferries which have a longer transit time of around three hours.

Express 5 is the largest catamaran ferry in the world and was purpose-built for Baltic conditions. It can accommodate 450 cars and 1625 passengers. She overshadowed the previous vessel on the route by length and passenger capacity.

She began operating on the Ystad-Bornholm route in 2023 and has hit fixed objects thrice since then, once recently on Monday, once in June this year and once in May 2023.

In June, it was moored alongside in Ronne when high winds led to her drifting off into the opposite dock, where she hit an empty wharf.

In May 2023, it was arriving at its Ystad berth while the master misjudged the manoeuvre. The ferry approached too fast and hit a barge on the opposite pier, which caused minor damage. After this incident, the master was tried for negligence.

Express 5 also had a blackout twice in 2024, in January and February.