On Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2015, an engine-room fire erupted aboard the Carnival Liberty, a cruise ship carrying over 3,300 passengers and 1,100 crew. Authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, are still investigating the cause of the fire, which remains unknown. Various media reports have stated that the fire ignited in the ship’s aft engine room while the ship was moored at the pier in St. Thomas, USVI. It is reported that the ship’s crew was able to extinguish the fire with the ship’s carbon dioxide and Hi-Fog fire suppression systems. No injuries have been reported as a direct result of the fire.
As of Tuesday morning, the ship had not resumed its scheduled itinerary sailings in the Caribbean to ports in Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and St. Maarten. The ship left from San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 6, 2015 and was originally scheduled to return to San Juan on September 13th. Carnival released a statement claiming that all hotel services on the ship, including air conditioning, elevators, toilets and galleys, were fully functional. However, experts and authorities are still assessing the nature and extent of the engine-room fire.
This is the second reported fire aboard a cruise ship sailing in the Caribbean. Back in July, a fire erupted aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship while the ship sailed into Jamaica. Reports claimed that one crewmember was injured as a result of the fire.
ADDITIONAL SOURCES:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/08/carnival-cruise-fire/71869060/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fire-sparks-carnival-liberty-cruise-ship-engine-room-n423001
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/2015/09/07/coast-guard-responds-fire-carnival-liberty/71855630/
PHOTO CREDIT: Cruisecritic.com
