More than 4,400 stranded on cruise ship off Mexico

More than 4,400 stranded on cruise ship off Mexico

2010-11-10 00:40:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

ENSENADA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- A United States cruise ship on Monday was stranded off the coast of northern Mexico after a fire damaged an engine room and caused an energy cut, Carnival Cruise Lines informed on Tuesday.

The cruise ship Carnival Splendor is stranded about 88 kilometers from Punta San Jacinto, in Baja California. The cruise ship was on a seven-day trip to the Mexican Riviera carrying 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members.

The ship of the Carnival Line is in risk of sinking if the crew members are not able of starting the fire-damaged engines. The fire took place at about 6:00 a.m. local time and was controlled shortly after but the interior of the cruise ship was immersed in smoke.

The 952-foot ship has auxiliary power, but air conditioning, hot food service, hot water and telephones were not available. Toilets and cold running water were restored on Monday night. Engineers have been unable to restore additional power to the vessel and a re working on restoring additional services.

The passengers were transported to the ship's upper deck areas and no injuries were reported. The crew members distributed bottled water and cold food to the passengers that boarded the ship in Long Beach, California. Eventually, passengers were allowed to return to their rooms.

If the energy is restored, the cruise ship will return to Long Beach to avoid further incidents. However, Carnival has arranged accords with tugs to aid the ship to return safely to California. The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed a boat and a helicopter to support the cruise liner.

The cruise ship was on a seven-day voyage to the Mexican Riviera, including Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlán. The trip was canceled and the cruise line said that it will refund passengers.

"We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience," Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill said in the statement. "Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring."

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