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Cruise ship breaks mooring in Juneau in strong winds; avoids collision

Posted 6/24/25

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a near-collision between two cruise ships in Juneau that occurred June 16 when one of the two ships broke loose from its moorings and drifted toward the …

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Cruise ship breaks mooring in Juneau in strong winds; avoids collision

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The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating a near-collision between two cruise ships in Juneau that occurred June 16 when one of the two ships broke loose from its moorings and drifted toward the other.

“Our investigations division, they’re running with a standard investigation, just like we would do with any similar such incident, just to investigate if there’s anything that could have gone better or not,” said Lt. Matt Naylor, public affairs officer for the Coast Guard sector covering Southeast Alaska.

“Thankfully, nobody appeared to be injured. There didn’t appear to be any significant damage, so they’re going to be proceeding forward with that investigation, and we’ve gotten some videos from the public already, which have been super helpful,” he said.

On June 16, a sudden storm prompted the National Weather Service to issue the first-ever severe thunderstorm warning for Alaska’s capital city.

High winds and heavy rain hit Juneau’s port, where the cruise ship Celebrity Edge was moored at the AJ Dock, a privately owned facility just south of downtown.

The National Weather Service reported winds at 60 mph in downtown Juneau that afternoon.

Videos taken by residents and shared on social media appear to show the ship breaking its moorings and being blown toward the Carnival Luminosa, another cruise ship moored in the middle of the port.

The Edge’s drift stopped only when it dropped anchor in the middle of the port, halting it short of the Luminosa, which later maneuvered farther away and left the port.

The Edge later returned to shore without incident.

After the near-miss, the Coast Guard put out a call on social media, asking for additional videos. Thanks to locals, it no longer needs videos, Lt. Naylor said. “At this point, we’ve gotten tons of submissions.”

“We’re grateful for everybody who has submitted videos to us, and we are especially grateful that this did not end up being anything bigger than it was, with no injuries and no significant damage,” he said.

The Alaska Beacon is an independent, donor-funded news organization. Alaskabeacon.com.