(CANTANIA, ITALY) — A routine port stop turned chaotic for thousands of passengers aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Epic last Friday when severe winds caused the ship to break free from its moorings in Catania, on the Italian island of Sicily.

The incident began around 1 p.m. local time when powerful 60-mph wind gusts struck the vessel’s port side. Witnesses reported hearing loud cracking sounds as the mooring lines began snapping one by one, causing the ship’s stern to drift away from the dock.

“We heard a very loud boom, and then there was another loud noise and screams,” passenger Brian Koning, who was returning to the ship with his wife at the time, said in a Facebook post. “All those large orange diameter ropes started snapping about every 15 seconds.”

During the incident,

See Full Page