Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection is located in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and the company operates a fleet of 21 river cruising

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

s along the rivers of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, South America, and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Uniworld also has operational offices located in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and

. The company is part of

The Travel Corporation The Travel Corporation is a private hotel group and travel company based in Cypress, California, United States. Its brands include Trafalgar, Contiki, Insight, Cullinan, Uniworld River Cruises, Red Carnation Hotels, and others, along with Bouch ...

group, which also includes businesses such as Trafalgar Tours and

Contiki Tours Contiki is a New Zealand tour company that caters to 18- to 35-year-olds. It operates tours in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, Africa, Middle East and Asia. It is a subsidiary of The Travel Corporation. Its tours h ...

History

Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, established in 1976, is a luxury river cruise company based in

. Uniworld currently operates more than 500 river cruises annually with itineraries in more than 20 countries. Its cruises range in length from a week to a month. Along with its primary operations in Western and Central Europe, the company also works in partnerships with affiliated groups in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and

Fleet

Uniworld is a member of Cruise Lines International Association.

MSC Opera collision

On 2 June 2019, the ''River Countess'', moored at the San Basilio Cruise Pier in the

Giudecca Canal The Giudecca Canal ( vec, Canal de ła Zueca) is a body of water that flows into the San Marco basin in Venice, Italy. It is one of the major canals in the city, it bisects the ''sestieri'' of Dorsoduro, separating Giudecca island and district fr ...

, in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy was struck by

MSC Opera ''MSC Opera'' is a cruise ship built in 2004, carrying 2,679 passengers in 1,071 cabins, and with a crew complement of approximately 728, currently operated by Swiss company MSC Cruises. She served as the flagship of the company until entered serv ...

. Four people were slightly injured. River Countess suffered

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

bow and

stern The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...

damage. On 4 June, Uniworld programmed necessary repairs, planning a return to service for 21 July. On 17 June, River Countess was towed from the S. Basilio Terminal to the nearby port of

Marghera Marghera is a ''municipalità'' (borough) of the ''comune'' of Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera (English: Marghera Port) or Venezia Porto Marghera. Etymology The name Marghera is said in popular myth to come ...

, where she was placed over a

semi-submersible heavy-lift ship A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types: *''Semi-submersible'' ships that take on water ballast to allow the load—usually another vessel—to be floated o ...

, and thereby moved to a

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

for full repair. On 20 June, River Countess was at

, transported there by the Heavy Load Carrier ''Yacht Express''. After thorough inspection of the damage at the Trieste shipyard, it was determined that it was more extensive than originally thought and would take longer to be repaired. On 26 June, the return to service was postponed to 6 September (with the cruise starting on 8 September). River Countess returned to service, in the Venice area, on Sunday 8 September 2019.''latteluxurynews.com'' "Uniworld’s River Countess back in service" (13 September 2019)

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Transport Cruise lines River cruise companies Shipping companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles American companies established in 1976 Transport companies established in 1976 Privately held companies based in California