FIRE DIVERTS CRUISE SHIP

Posted on 12/04/2015

An early morning fire on the Grand Princess switchboard resulted in a temporary power outage on Monday. Lighting and air conditioning were returned later in the day, but the ship sailing for Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii, had to be diverted to Honolulu where it was determined that the cruise would have to be cancelled.

Grand Princess was on the fifth day of a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and Mexico when “a propulsion circuit breaker in the ship's aft electrical switchboard suffered a significant failure, resulting in smoke and a small fire” reported Karen Candy, public relations manager, Princess Cruises. The ship was 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Hilo at the time of the incident. Candy reported that technical experts in Honolulu joined the ship to “inspect all systems and verify the safety of the ship. Lloyd’s Register reviewed all actions and cleared the ship to sail. In addition, the US Coast Guard has been involved throughout the process and has also cleared the ship to sail.”

“However, while there is no impact to maneuverability or safety, the ship cannot attain maximum speed therefore we must adjust the future itinerary.” The adjusted itinerary meant cancellation of calls to Nawiliwili and Lahaina so the ship could sail directly to San Francisco arriving on schedule December 10. “We regret that this situation has impacted the cruise and sincerely apologize that we’ve been unable to deliver the expected cruise vacation experience” Candy said.

The Grand Princess is carrying 2,592 passengers who were given the choice to stay aboard or fly back to San Francisco early. All passengers will receive a full refund and compensation.