Maiden voyage of ferry between Norway and the Netherlands faced problems

Campers and cars were damaged on the first trip of a new ferry service between Eemshaven and Kristiansand in Norway on Thursday, RTV Noord reported. The voyage was also delayed by several hours when one of the moorings came loose due to high winds in Eemshaven.

The ferry, the MS Romantika, was significantly late arriving in Norway, but passengers said they were not informed about the full reason for the delay. "What we are surprised about is that we were not given an explanation about the cause of the delay when we left," said Bram Janssens, a Dutch citizen who has lived in Norway for 30 years with his wife. "We had to read what was going on on the RTV Noord site."

Because of the low quay in Kristiansand when the ferry was being re-loaded, cars and campers were not able to drive onto the ship without damage caused to their undersides. Passengers had to drive their vehicles onboard in a zig-zag pattern, and wooden planks were used, but in the end these caused more damage. 

Bart Cunnen, director of Holland Norway Lines, said the problem was due to a miscommunication about the quay's height, but that any damages would be reimbursed. "The quay was half a meter lower than the port authorities had stated," he told RTV Noord.