Monday 11 February 2013

Carnival cruise ship adrift off Mexican coast after fire

A Carnival cruise ship, Carnival Triumph, is seen in this undated handout picture provided by Carnival Cruise Lines to Reuters on February 10, 2013. Carnival Triumph which was carrying over 4,000 people has lost propulsion, is on emergency back-up power in the Gulf of Mexico and will have to be towed to shore, the cruise lines said in a statement on Sunday. According to a press release, there was a fire in the engine room of the Carnival Triumph Sunday morning as the ship sailed approximately 150 miles off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The fire was extinguished without injuries but the ship lost propulsion and is now operating on emergency generator power. REUTERS/Carnival Cruise Lines/Handout
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Carnival Triumph, a cruise ship owned by Carnival Corp under its Carnival Cruise Lines brand, was adrift 150 miles off southern Mexico's Yucatan peninsula on Sunday after a fire that caused no injuries, the company said in a statement.
The engine room fire, which took place in the morning, had been extinguished and the ship was without propulsion, and operating on emergency generator power, the company said.
None of the 3,143 guests nor 1,086 crew were injured, and a tugboat was on its way to drag the vessel to the Mexican port of Progreso, where it was expected to arrive on Wednesday afternoon, Carnival said.
The company said the U.S. Coast Guard had been notified.
"Another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, is currently on scene and transferring additional food and beverage provisions to the Carnival Triumph," the statement said.
In January last year, the Costa Concordia, a 114,500 tonne luxury cruise ship operated by the Carnival Corp-owned Costa Cruises, capsized and sank off the Tuscan island of Giglio in Italy, killing 32 people.
Last month, Costa Cruises said Italian investigators were looking into the vessel owner's potential responsibility for the shipwreck.
The Carnival Triumph set sail from Galveston, Texas, on Thursday, and was due back on Monday February 11.
Carnival said all passengers would receive a refund and "cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage." The ship's next two voyages, scheduled for departure next week, were canceled, the company added.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter; editing by Christopher Wilson)

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