Fire-hit cruise ship reaches port

Cruise ship Azamara Quest reached port today, following an engine room fire which temporarily crippled its propulsion and other electrical systems.
The ship, with 100 British passengers among the 590 aboard, was making about six knots (6.9 mph) as it headed for Sandakan, Malaysia. Company president Larry Pimentel is flying to meet the passengers and crew and is expected to arrive on Monday morning.
Damage caused by the blaze, which broke out on Friday, has forced Azamara to cancel the remainder of the 17-night voyage. The ship left Hong Kong last Monday and was due to complete the cruise in Singapore on April 12.
Passengers will be given a 100 per cent refund, plus a 100 per cent credit for a future booking with the line, which operates two almost identical 690-passenger ships, Azamara Quest and Azamara Journey.
Four crew members suffered from smoke inhalation while fighting the fire; a fifth was more seriously injured and will require hospital treatment.
Among the 25 nationalities of passengers on board, there are 89 from Australia, 45 from Canada, 39 from Germany, 32 from Austria, 16 from Belgium, 14 from New Zealand and 14 from Switzerland.
One British passenger phoned home to say: “There is no panic, everybody is fine and they are just getting on with it. It is the Dunkirk spirit and they are making the best of the situation. The crew have been brilliant, they have done everything right.”
Another, Neil Andrew Kirkpatrick, posted a message on Azamara’s Facebook page to say: “This is our first trip on a cruise holiday and after what has happened you would think we would not want to go again but you are so wrong, The only discomfort is the heat due to the air-conditioning not working but I can suffer that as I know the engineering department have been working 24/7 to try to get this up and running.”