Crown Princess Steering Malfunctions; Cruise Passengers Injured When Ship Lists
The 3000-passenger Crown Princess listed heavily on Tuesday afternoon as she turned north towards New York from Port Canaveral. The Crown Princess had just sailed away from Port Canaveral when it experienced problems with its steering equipment, according to Coast Guard officials. Princess reported on Thursday that 240 injured passengers were treated onboard, and 94 transferred to local hospitals. Five people remain hospitalized, and all are expected to fully recover.
After the accident, the Crown Princess returned to Port Canaveral where she was met by Coast Guard officials and medical personnel. Princess officials are investigating the cause of the sudden list, and told the media that the watertight integrity of the ship was not compromised. Passengers are safe to remain on the ship until Princess can make arrangements for them to fly back to New York. Port Canaveral was the last port of call on a 9-day Western Caribbean cruise roundtrip from New York. Passengers will be given a full refund and reimbursement of any additional expenses.
Crown Princess is the newest ship in the Princess fleet, having just been christened in New York on June 14.
Photo Courtesy of Princess Cruises
One of the cruise passengers onboard the Crown Princess, Ms. Carol O'Connell, telephoned WTVJ-TV (NBC Channel 6) in Miami to report on the incident. She said there was a slight sensation of tipping, followed by a sudden list of 30-45 degrees. The listing caused people to slide across the decks and objects to fly off tables. All of the water was thrown from the swimming pool. She said there was a lot of damage in the dining room and many people had bumps, broken bones, and lacerations from broken glass. The O'Connells' television was thrown across their cabin and lodged against the cabin door.
Ms. O'Connell also told the TV news outlet that the captain announced that there was a problem with the steering mechanism, and that weather was not a contributing factor.
Update -- On July 24, Princess issued a statement that the " incident was due to human error and the appropriate personnel changes have been made."
Comments
The links to the 7/18 & 7/19 Princess Cruises, as of 7/26, both return a page which states, “This news item doesn’t exist.”
Princess Cruises pulled the 7/18 and 7/19 press releases from their Web site and I have modified the blog. Thanks for bringing this change to my attention.