2024-04-04 18:01:39
This content was published on April 4, 2024 – 2:05 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) The Belle-Epoque boat Simplon, badly damaged by the storm last week, saw its hull damaged along its entire length. It is too early to give a financial estimate of the damage and a time frame for repairs. The 2024 season will be without him.
The General Navigation Company on Lake Geneva (CGN) gave details on Thursday of the damage to the steamer built in 1920. The hull is “particularly affected along its entire length”, it notes. The rear of the boat was also damaged, particularly the rudder and the structure surrounding it.
The part of the hull at the level of the starboard forward accommodation is open above the waterline. And the starboard front boarding hatch is destroyed, lists the CGN. A more detailed diagnosis is expected next week, when the boat will be taken out of the water, on a floating dock.
Belle-Epoque living room
The Belle-Epoque lounge, the steam engine, the boiler and the upper deck have “probably not suffered any damage”, adds the company, which specifies that it is too early to assess the duration of the repairs. The loss was announced to the insurance companies, both for the boat and for the Cully landing stage.
As a reminder, the Simplon, an 850-seat steamer, suffered engine damage during a test run on Thursday March 28. The towing might not be done because of a strong wind, even causing a collision with the Ville-de-Genève boat which was manoeuvring.
Cully landing stage
The Simplon was then placed at the Cully landing stage, the “safest” position at the time of assessing the risks and possibilities”, explains the CGN. A decision criticized by meteorologists, who had warned of the strong storm to come.
During the night from Friday to Saturday, under the blows of the Vaudaire (a wind from Lake Geneva), the boat hit the rocks at the edge of the quays and embedded itself in the landing stage. The repatriation to the Ouchy shipyard took place on Saturday morning and lasted two and a half hours.
The CGN specifies that the Ville-de-Genève boat, which collided with the Simplon during towing on Thursday, will be under repair from next September. Until then, it will be able to continue sailing in complete safety, assures the company.
The CGN open days will take place as planned on April 14 and 15. The Simplon will be visible at the shipyard.
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