Arosa Sena accidents and incidents

25 March 2026Ship Collision / Allision

On the night of March 25th, 2026, A-Rosa Sena was involved in an allision with Amsterdamsebrug (a road bridge) on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

The accident resulted in minor injury to a crew member and the evacuation of 200+ passengers after the ship later lost electrical power/propulsion.

The riverboat departed Amsterdam earlier that day and was proceeding toward Utrecht and onward to Cologne.

At the time of the incident (~20:30 local time/~20:30 UTC), the ship was navigating from the IJ (Amsterdam's waterfront) toward the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. While approaching the Amsterdamsebrug (vertical clearance of ~9,5 m/31 ft), the ship struck the underside of the bridge.

Reportedly, the telescopic Bridge/Wheelhouse (designed to be lowered to pass beneath bridges) remained in the elevated position as the ship entered the span. The impact crushed the Wheelhouse structure.

Following the initial contact, the vessel continued moving ahead. During this movement, the radar mast at the stern was bent, and the ship subsequently touched the canal wall before finally coming to a halt.

Emergency services, including police units and an ambulance, arrived shortly afterwards. The helmsman sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment, while no passengers were reported injured.

Several hours after the accident, the vessel suffered a power loss, leaving it without lighting. Authorities subsequently decided to evacuate everyone on board. Passengers were awakened and instructed to gather their belongings before leaving the vessel. They were escorted ashore across a small dyke to the nearby roadway, where buses arranged by A-Rosa Cruises transported them to Cologne.

Due to the sustained damage, the cruise was canceled, and the ship was towed back to Amsterdam. The canal remained partly closed to vessel traffic while Amsterdamsebrug underwent inspection. It was later reopened to road traffic after authorities declared it safe.

Note: This type of marine accident is called “allision” (striking a fixed object) as opposed to “collision” (striking another vessel).