Monday, April 22, 2024

Cruise Ships Are Being Scrapped As Industry Struggles to Ride Out Pandemic

cruise disasters

The engineer on watch forgot to throw a switch that would prevent the generators from overheating, leading to the outage. Often the dividing line between major and routine came down to a last-minute effort by the crew or rescue teams. Moments after the Dali struck it, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed into Patapsco River, killing at least six construction workers, likely causing billions of dollars in damage and forever altering the Baltimore skyline. It was September 1854, and the steam-powered SS Arctic had recently left England, full of American tourists returning home. Near the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the ship found itself plowing through dense fog, and instead of slowing down, Captain James Luce gave his paddle steamer, well, more steam. The Seabourn Spirit was heading for Mombasa, Kenya, when the crew noticed two boats were heading their direction.

cruise disasters

Wrecking Near the Shore

Built by a French company and first launched in 1952, the MTS Oceanos was purchased by a Greek company in 1976. On August 3, 1991, Oceanos set sail for East London, South Africa, and headed north for Durban, led by Captain Yiannis Avranas. The ship reportedly headed into 40-knot winds and 30-foot swells, and thus, the typical sail-away outdoor deck party with British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills was moved to an indoor lounge.

Cases Rise, Criticism Mounts, but Ships Keep Cruising

That was the first Mr. Suphan heard about the virus spreading on the ship. One day after the C.D.C. advised against all travel on cruise ships, thousands of cruisers partied like it was 2019. But worries about onboard policies — and frustration over quarantines — are rising.

‘I have lived the most beautiful lives and died the most beautiful deaths’

It was October 1985, and the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro, was floating near Alexandria, Egypt, when four passengers pulled out machine guns and took over the boat. They were members of the Palestine Liberation Front, and they wanted the state of Israel to free 50 Palestinian militants. If Israel didn't comply, they threatened to kill all the American and British citizens on board, and if anyone tried to stop them, they would blow up the ship. In total, there were over 2,500 people aboard the ship, and on top of that, the Eastland was loaded down with lifeboats ... Even worse, all this extra weight was stored in the upper decks of the ship, making the Eastland incredibly top-heavy. Throw into the mix that the ship had a history of a nearly capsizing, and now you've got a surefire recipe for disaster.

According to the investigator, it's likely Coriam was knocked off Deck Five of the ship by a wave. Plus, journalist Jon Ronson wrote that it was unlikely she fell off Deck Five as a high steel wall would've prevented any such accident. And while some theorize she committed suicide, there are others—including high-ranking British politicians—who believe Coriam was murdered and possibly sexually assaulted. Some have even alleged that Disney knew of the killing and kept it quiet. When you board a Disney cruise ship, you're hoping to find the happiest place on the ocean.

Many of these 21st century buccaneers work out of Somalia, looting any ship that tries to sneak by. And in November 2005, a group of Somali pirates decided it was a good idea to attack the Seabourn Spirit, a cruise ship carrying around 300 people. But as the cutthroats approached their target, they quickly realized they'd picked the wrong ship. During this time, work also began to remove the vessel in what was the largest maritime salvage operation in history. It was not until September 2013 that the 114,000-ton Concordia was finally righted. The 19-hour process involved specially built underwater platforms, cranes, and some 500 people.

The world’s worst cruise ship disasters

In 1954, the hero of the Morro Castle was sentenced to life in prison, though he died after four years behind bars. In total, 32 people died in the disaster, and Captain Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars, possibly for trying to wow his girlfriend. As planned, Le Ponant anchored off the coast of Somalia, and soon, there were approximately 30 thugs on board, discussing how much ransom money they should demand. The pirates figured the crew was worth $3 million, but the folks at CMA CGM actually began haggling with the Somalis, convincing them to lower their price to $2.15 million. When all was said and done, the Somalis exchanged their prisoners for cash, and most of the outlaws escaped.

SS Andrea Doria measured 212m in length, had a beam of 27m and a gross tonnage of 29,100t. It featured ten decks and was equipped with two steam turbines providing a top speed of 23k. Be sure to join my email list for my best cruise tips and handpicked deals each week. The extent of the damage to the MV Royal Pacific caused her to sink in just 15 minutes.

Why Carnival Cruise Line's Cruise Disaster Should Not Scare You - TheStreet

Why Carnival Cruise Line's Cruise Disaster Should Not Scare You.

Posted: Tue, 30 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Stuck at sea for five days, the passengers were forced to use biohazard bags to store their, well, waste. Hoping for some sort of reprieve, the passengers camped out on the open decks and hallways, desperate for a bit of cool air. On February 10, 2013, a fire broke out in one of the engine rooms, knocking out the ship's power and condemning the 3,143 passengers to endure the cruise from hell. The blaze began courtesy of a leaky fuel line, and making things worse, only four of the Triumph's six generators were working in the first place. Now, they were all fried, and the boat found itself without some pretty basic amenities, such as air conditioning, working lights, and a functional sewer system. Almost immediately questions were raised concerning the conduct of Schettino and other crew officers.

The SS Eastland disaster in July 1915 claimed more than 844 lives out of the 2,500 people onboard. The disaster occurred when the ship listed while being still tied to a dock in the Chicago River during preparations to cruise to Michigan City. The accident occurred when the ship hit an iceberg while cruising at its maximum speed of 23k on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The massive loss of life in the North Atlantic Ocean resulted mainly from hypothermia. The SS Andrea Doria was a luxury ocean liner that launched in 1953, but only sailed for three years before she sank.

Although the ship had noted listing (tilting) since its inception and some measures had been taken to rectify this, the SS Eastland was still suffering from being top-heavy when boarding for a cruise in 1915. The ship was meant to sail from Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana, carrying workers from Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works for a picnic. On July 24, 2,572 passengers boarded, with many congregating on the open upper decks.

A lack of lifeboats meant that many people onboard ended up in the freezing waters where they had almost no chance of survival. The only good to come of the incident was that it triggered a major overhaul of safety measures on ships, though it is horrendous that it took something of this magnitude to spark those changes. Easily the most famous of the disasters on this list, the Titanic is one of the biggest maritime disasters regardless of ship type.

It was constructed in 1930 at a cost of approximately $5m by Newport News Shipbuilding. The vessel completed her maiden voyage in August 1930 and served Ward Line along with its sister vessel SS Oriente for four years. The cruise ship was 168m long, its beam measured 20m and gross tonnage was 14,191t. The ship was equipped with two steam engines and two quadruple expansion propellers, which provided a maximum operating speed of 20k. The sinking of RMS Lusitania in May 1915, after being hit by the German military submarine U-20, caused 1,201 deaths during a voyage from New York to Liverpool.

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