Video: Huge Cruise Ship Breaks Free from Dock Amid Strong Overnight Winds

The moment a cruise ship broke free from its mooring due to strong winds has been caught on camera.

The P&O Arcadia came away from the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda, in the early hours of December 17. The Port Bermuda Webcam captured the footage. P&O did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: Video: Cruise ship slams key west mooring in heavy winds, knocks dock out of commission

Pushed by strong overnight winds, the hulking vessel drifted away from the dock at around 2:53 a.m., presumably as many passengers and staff on-board attempted to sleep, the video's caption stated.

According to the Port Bermuda Webcam website, after the ship escaped its mooring, it floated sideways for a short period of time, before its crew jumped into action and brought the vessel under control.

It is unclear whether the vessel was damaged, or if anyone on board was harmed.

Arcadia is a mid-sized vessel catering exclusively to adults. It was first brought into service in 2005, P&O states on its website. The 83,781-ton ship boasts "signature features" such as glass-fronted lifts and an "expansive art collection" of 3,000 works, according to the cruise firm.

Able to hold a total of 2,094 passengers and 866 crew members, it also has a two-tier restaurant, spa, theater, cinema and nine bars. The ship was refurbished in 2017, with new fittings including carpets, furniture, soft furnishings and a new color scheme.

The ship is among the cruise boats to dock at the historic Bermuda Royal Naval Dockyard: the most visited site on the British island territory.

Following defeat in the American Revolutionary War, the port was established as a mid-Atlantic base for the British Navy in 1809, in a project which spanned to the early 20th century.

In the summer of 1814, the Dockyard acted as the base from which 5,000 British soldiers and Royal Marines set off to strike Washington D.C. and Baltimore. It was onboard one of these vessels that Francis Scott Key, an imprisoned Baltimore lawyer, wrote the "Star-Spangled Banner."

In the First and Second World Wars, the dock acted as a space for almost 600 ships to be repaired. By 1951, the Royal Navy left the site and the base closed in 1995. Prior to that some $60 million was pumped into the area in a bid to lure tourists following the opening of the National Museum of Bermuda in 1974.

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Kashmira Gander is Deputy Science Editor at Newsweek. Her interests include health, gender, LGBTQIA+ issues, human rights, subcultures, music, and lifestyle. Her ... Read more

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