Lifeboat Drill Accident: One Killed, Four Injured in Fall Aboard Harmony of the Seas

The Harmony of the Seas (Oasis 3) class ship leaves the STX Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard site in Saint-Nazaire, France, May 15, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Story by: https://gcaptain.com

One crew member was killed and four others were injured Tuesday in an accident during lifeboat drill aboard the world’s largest cruise ship.

Royal Caribbean confirmed that a Harmony of the Seas crew member had died of injuries sustained during a lifeboat drill conducted in Marseille, France. For other Harmony of the Seas crew members are receiving medical treatment, the cruise company said.

BBC reports that the five crew members were inside the lifeboat when it became detached from the fifth deck during a safety drill and fell 10 meters into the water below. Two of the injured suffered life-threatening injuries, BBC reported.

Harmony of the Seas is the world’s biggest cruise ship at more than 227,000 gross tons. The ship has capacity to carry 5,479 guests and is home to about 2,100 crew.

The cruise ship was delivered in May following 32 months of construction at the STX France shipyard in Saint Nazaire, France.

“We’re keeping our colleagues & their families in our thoughts & prayers,” Royal Caribbean said in a statement posted to Twitter.

The incident is the latest accident to occur during lifeboat safety drills on board cruise ships. In July, one crew member was killed and three others were injured aboard the Norwegian Breakaway were injured during a rescue boat drill in Bermuda. In 2013, five crew members died and three were injured during a drill aboard the cruise ship Thomson Majesty in the Canary Islands.

Accidents such as these have prompted the Cruise Lines International Association, the largest trade organization serving the international cruise industry, to adopt a policy requiring that “the loading of lifeboats for training purposes is to be performed only while the boat is waterborne and the boat should be lowered and raised with only the lifeboat crew onboard.”

The policy calls for at least one lifeboat on each ship to be filled with crew members equal in number to its certified number of occupants at least every six months for ships with more than 300 crew members.

Nine weeks on the dock for fire-damaged cruise ship

Nine weeks on the dock for fire-damaged 

cruise ship 

The damage caused by a fire that broke out on Oceania Cruises’ Insignia will take nine weeks to repair.

On December 11th 2014, the engine room of Insignia went up in flames while the vessel was docked in St Lucia, during its ten-day voyage that departed from San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Two contractors and an Insignia crew member who had been working in the engine room died as a result of the fire. One other crew member suffered injuries and was treated in hospital for smoke inhalation, but released a day later. Fortunately, no passengers were hurt.

Subsequently, the remainder of the sailing was cancelled and those on board were evacuated and flown to Miami.

The ship has been taken out of service, with the expected nine-week repairs leading to the cancellation of a 24-day voyage which had been scheduled to depart Miami on December 17th 2014, along with the first three legs of Insignia’s Around the World in 180 Days cruise, which was scheduled to leave Miami on January 10th 2015.

Insignia’s Around the World cruise has been rescheduled to commence on March 22nd 2015 and will depart from Singapore.

Kevin Sheehan, president and chief executive of Norwegian Cruise Lines – parent company of Oceania Cruises – said: “The timing of repairs has unfortunately required the cancellation of Insignia’s holiday voyage along with the modification of the world cruise.

“We understand how disappointing this news must be to our valued guests and we extend our sincere appreciation for their cooperation and understanding.”

Passengers who have already booked to embark on the world cruise can choose to go on the new date and receive a full refund for the cancelled days, along with an additional 25 per cent of the refunded amount in the form of a future cruise credit.

Or, they can opt for a full refund and a 25 per cent future cruise credit based on the pro-rata cruise fare on the three cancelled segments.

For those who choose to continue with the cruise, Oceania will provide free business class airfare to Singapore and a one-night pre-cruise hotel stay.

Oceania ship to be out of service for nine weeks following fatal engine room fire

Oceania Cruises’ ship Insignia will be out of service for more than two months following an engine room fire which killed three workers and injured another crew member.

The line has been forced to cancel a 24-day cruise over Christmas from Miami and the first three legs of an unprecedented 180-day round the world voyage.

The world cruise, which had been due to depart from Miami on January 10, will now begin in modified form in Singapore on March 22. Fares for the cruise began at $41,999.

The fire on the ship occurred on December 11 in St Lucia while it was on a 10-day sailing from Puerto Rico. The 656 passengers on board at the time were safely evacuated from the ship and flown to Miami and the remainder of the cruise was cancelled.

Parent company Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings has now confirmed that repairs to Insignia are expected to take about nine weeks.

President and CEO Kevin Sheehan said: "The timing of repairs has unfortunately required the cancellation of Insignia's holiday voyage along with the modification of the world cruise.

"We understand how disappointing this news must be to our valued guests and we extend our sincere appreciation for their co-operation and understanding."

The financial impact on the fourth quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015 is estimated to be a reduction in earnings of approximately $0.05 and $0.05 per share, net of insurance proceeds, respectively, the company said.

Three deaths after Oceania ship fire

Oceania Cruises confirmed last night that a crew member and two contractors died following an engine room fire on the ship Insignia in the Caribbean.

One member of crew remains in the hospital and is reported to be stable following the blaze which occurred while the ship was in St Lucia.

“The fire was contained to the engine room and extinguished. All guests are safe and have disembarked the vessel,” the luxury line said.

“Three crew members and two contractors who were working onboard were transferred to a local medical facility.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that two contractors and one crew member did not survive. We extend our deepest condolences to their families during this very difficult time.”

All 656 passengers are safe with charter flights arranged to fly them to Miami, as well as transfers and hotel accommodation until flights to their home cities can be organised today (Friday).

The 10-day cruise, which departed San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday and was due to arrive in Miami on December 17, has been cancelled.

It is not known if there were any Britons on board the vessel, which was refurbished earlier this year following a two-year charter to Hapag-Lloyd Cruises.

Insignia originally entered service in 1998 as one of a series of identical small ships built for the now defunct Renaissance Cruises.

Oceania said: “Our top priority is ensuring all 656 guests return home as quickly and comfortably as possible.

“All guests will receive a 100% refund, and a 50% credit towards a future Oceania Cruises voyage.

“Oceania Cruises president and chief operating officer Jason Montague, along with a team of guest and crew support and technical personnel, are in St Lucia.

“This team is leading the effort to ensure guests and crew are well cared for, as well as working with the ship’s team and authorities to assess the situation.”

More details will be made available as they become known, the line added.

Crew Member Dies in Life Boat Accident on the Coral Princess

A crew member on the Coral Princess was killed last Friday in a tragic accident involving a lifeboat while the cruise ship was in Colon, Panama.  The incident was first reported by Cruise Law News.

Two crew members were in a lifeboat doing maintenance work on the hull of the Coral Princess when a cable snapped dropping the boat into the water.  Both of the workers were sent to a local hospital for treatment but one of the men died from injuries.

Reports are stating that the cable snapped as the lifeboat was being raised back onboard the ship.

The crew member that passed away was Husnan Fauzan, a 10 year veteran who served as a SCP1 for Princess Cruises.  The other worker was Bosun Steven Bagshaw who is currently still in the hospital in stable condition.

Cruise Fever reached out to Princess Cruises and received the following statement:

“On October 24 two of our crew members were in one of the ship’s rescue boats doing some maintenance work on the hull of the Coral Princess.  When the boat was being raised back onboard the ship, one of the cables that raises and lowers the boat parted, and the boat dropped back into the water with our two crew members inside.

We immediately responded and discovered that these crew members had, unfortunately, sustained injuries which necessitated their transfer to a shoreside hospital for evaluation and treatment.

It is with an extremely heavy heart that we confirm that one of our crew members subsequently passed away from his injuries. This has devastated everyone across the entire Princess Cruises organization.

We are, and will continue to support his family during this difficult period.”

Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of Husnan Fauzan and the crew of the Coral Princess as they deal with this tragedy.

The Coral Princess is a 2,000 passenger cruise ship that has been in service since 2003. The ship was on a 12 night cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida that was sailing to the Southern Caribbean and Central America at the time of the incident.

Carnival Triumph publicity could deter first-time cruisers

Carnival Triumph publicity could deter first-time cruisers

By Juliet Dennis 

Agents fear the Carnival Triumph blaze that left more than 3,000 passengers stranded could make it harder to attract first-time cruisers.

The company confirmed last week’s fire on the ship in the Gulf of Mexico was caused by a fuel leak from a generator. Passengers went without electricity, working toilets and air conditioning for five days.

Agents said the widespread negative publicity generated could make cruises more difficult to sell.

The incident happened on the same day five crew died during a safety drill on board Thomson Majesty and just over a year after the Costa Concordia tragedy.

Andrew Earle, of Andrew Earle’s World of Travel in Hull, had one first-time cruise customer due to go on one of the cancelled Triumph departures next month.

He has now switched the booking to a four-night New Orleans land tour and believes the customer may never consider cruising again.

“Getting more new-to-cruise customers into the market will be that much more difficult. We have had a lot of families telling us the kids don’t fancy it,” he said.

Andy Tomlinson, managing director of Sutton Travel in Sutton Coldfield, said a couple who were considering a cruise had sought his reassurance in the wake of the Thomson tragedy.

He said: “For customers who are faltering a bit and planning their first cruise you have to emphasise how many sailings there are and how many go off without problem; it’s just getting that message out.”

Robert Broad Travel director Oliver Broad said: “It’s a chance for us to show our expertise because clients are asking more questions.”

Miles Morgan, managing director of Miles Morgan Travel, said most customers understood the nature of the Carnival Triumph incident, adding: “This needs to be put into context.”

Meanwhile, UK and Ireland managing director of Carnival Cruise Lines Adolfo Perez has written to agents to thank them for their support and to apologise for the conditions onboard the ship.

“All of us at Carnival deeply regret the hardship our guests had to face during their days on board the ship,” said Perez. “Our number one concern was to ensure the safety and welfare of our guests and crew and to get them home as soon as possible.

“Our shipboard and shore side teams worked tirelessly to take care of them and minimise their discomfort and inconvenience. We also focused on making sure their loved ones had a direct link to our Family Support Centre where they could obtain round the clock information on their family and friends on board.”

Perez continued: “Now that all the guests are safely home, our efforts are firmly focused on the ongoing investigation into the root cause of the fire and what measures we can take to ensure this does not happen again.

“These efforts are taking place in collaboration with the US Coast Guard and other independent parties. We know, however, that preliminary investigations indicate the cause of the fire was the result of a leak in the fuel return line for the number six diesel generator.”

He reassured agents that “all our ships are safe and secure”, and that all of them meet, and in many areas exceed, all regulatory standards.

“I promise we will continue to investigate in order to understand what took place and to learn what steps we can take to improve going forward,” said Perez.

“We know that holidaymakers can choose from a vast variety of options, and that they – and you – expect a fantastic cruise holiday from us. We are very sorry that this time we did not deliver."

He added: “I really value your support for Carnival Cruise Lines, and in encouraging British holidaymakers to select a cruise on our ships. We hope you will continue to do so in the future, and we will endeavour to do everything we can to make our experiences as memorable and fun as possible for your customers.”