A thirty-metre hole has been torn in the hull of an Italian ro-pax after it smashed into a dock in a storm.
All 262 passengers were safely disembarked from the Tirrenia-operated 40,000-gt Sharden (built 2005) after it hit the side at Civitavecchia on Saturday night.
Two tugs helped the vessel into its berth after it bashed the harbour embankment.
The ferry was returning from Olbia.
Wind speed was more than 30 knots at the time of the incident.
By Gary Dixon in London
