Passengers face 3 days at sea with no power after cruise ship blaze

//Passengers face 3 days at sea with no power after cruise ship blaze

car_triumph.JPGCruise ship Carnival Triumph is adrift in the Gulf of Mexico without propulsion after an engine room fire. It is not expected to be towed into port before Wednesday.
The ship is operating with emergency generator power but with its air conditioning knocked out, more than 3,000 passengers on board have been asked to stay in public areas and on open decks “for their comfort.” It is not immediately clear whether the ship’s vacuum-operated toilets are functioning.
The fire broke out while the ship – which left Galveston, Texas on Thursday – was 150 miles off the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.
It was extinguished by the vessel’s automatic systems, and Carnival Cruise Lines say no injuries have been reported.
Carnival added: “The ship’s technical crew is continuing to assess the damage and attempting to restore power. In the meantime, a tugboat is en route to the ship and will tow the vessel to Progreso, Mexico, which is the closest port to the ship’s current location.
“This will enable us to disembark guests and get them home as quickly as possible. The ship is expected to arrive in Progreso on Wednesday afternoon and guests will be flown from there back to the U.S.
“Another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, is currently on scene and transferring additional food and beverage provisions to the Carnival Triumph.”
Triumph, launched in 1999, is on a four-day cruise, carrying 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew . The next two scheduled sailings, due to depart on Monday, February 11 and Saturday, February 16 have been cancelled.
In January, two cruises on Carnival Triumph were affected by what were described as “a problem with its propulsion system.” The ship was delayed on its return to Galveston at the end of one voyage, and the itinerary of a second was altered because the ship could not sail at scheduled speed. Carnival Cruise Lines have not yet commented on whether there is any connection between the incidents.
TWO years ago, more than 3,000 passengers on Carnival Splendor spent three days at sea after an engine room fire. The ship, on a cruise in the Pacific, was eventually towed into San Diego, California.

By | 2017-06-15T15:59:38+00:00 10 February 2013|Cruise News|0 Comments

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John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

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