Five passengers aboard a Phoenix Riesen ship were injured after the Prinzessin Isabella collided with a cargo boat. Pictures show the extensive damage to multiple balcony cabins on the upper deck.

The incident happened in the morning when the 165-passenger cruise ship was sailing in the lower Danube, between the Romanian port of Tulcea and Izmail in the Odessa region of Ukraine.

Prinzessin Isabella was on a 14-day Pussau roundtrip sailing and the collision happened midway. The cargo ship, Blue Star 1 was travelling in the opposite direction, upstream from Piraeus, Greece to Galati in Romania.

According to Polish media Fakty, two passengers were sent to the hospital. From the images taken after the accident, multiple balcony cabins on the upper passenger deck were significantly damaged and crushed.

The Vessel Tracker website reports that Prinzessin Isabella berthed in Tulcea at 7.50am.

The Romanian police has launched a criminal investigation into the incident.