Azamara Quest Docking In Malaysia

The Azamara Quest, which suffered a fire in the engine room on Friday has today docked in the port of Sandakan, Borneo.

Escorted by two Malaysian patrol vessels, the ship made its way into port at around 8.30pm local time.

Due to the fire damage the remainder of the 17 night cruise which began in Hong Kong last Monday has been cancelled Azamara Cruises said.

‘As a gesture of goodwill and to thank our guests for their understanding, we will be providing all guests with a full refund for their cruise,’ the company said in its statement.

cruiseastute.com says …

“Small fires, particularly in the engine room, are not uncommon in any ship, however this does seem a little larger than normal as the remainder of the cruise has had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, it is doubtful if it would have been reported in the mainstream press if the Concordia disaster and Costa Allegra fire had not taken place earlier this year.”

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Azamara Quest

A fire broke out in the engine room of the Azamara Quest at 8:19pm on Friday (30th March) in the Sulu Sea about 130 kilometers (70 nautical miles) south of the Philippines’ Tubbataha Reef but was quickly extinguished by the crew.

It is understood that power and propulsion was briefly lost, but quickly restored and the ship is moving slowly towards Sandakan which is the next scheduled port of call.

The ship’s Captain has apparently emailed the coastguard to say that everything is under control and no assistance is required, however the coastguard has said that it will provide assistance to the vessel ‘while it is inside our area of  responsibility.’

Five crew suffered smoke inhalation,  including one who was seriously injured and needed hospital care.

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Costa Allegra

The Costa Allegra, which suffered a fire last month, will not return to service with Costa Cruises it has been announced.

Carnival Corporation CEO Micky Arison told Wall Street today that the fire-damaged Allegra would be sold or scrapped.

The 28,500 ton ship was for sale prior to the fire and its itineraries had already been replaced by the much newer Costa Voyager.

cruiseastute.com says …

“This was the smallest and oldest ship in the Costa fleet so the writing was already on the wall prior to the fire. These older ships, although loved by traditional cruisers, are expensive to maintain, unreliable and not very fuel efficient.

A lot of smaller cruise ships have already been scrapped due to the new SOSUS regulations coming into force which require major safety upgrades to older ships, particularly with regards to the number of lifeboats.”

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Costa Allegra Disembarkation In Mahe

The Costa Allegra arrived at the port of Victoria on the Seychelles island of Mahe today after three days at sea without power.

Ambulances, a Red Cross medical team and small buses awaited the arrival of the ship where passengers have been forced to stay up on deck to keep cool in temperatures reaching 35C. It is understood that fresh food had run out but that the ship had been resupplied by helicopter as it got nearer to the island.

Passengers said that there had been no working toilets, showers, lights or air conditioning.

Costa Cruises said 376 passengers had accepted its offer to continue their holiday in the Seychelles at the firm’s expense whilst the other passengers will fly home.

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Costa Allegra Under Tow

The Costa Allegra cruise ship which has been drifting without power after an engine fire in the Indian Ocean is now under tow to Mahe in the Seychelles.

The Allegra, currently being towed by the French fishing vessel Trevignon had initally been due to head towards the island of Desroches, 142 miles south-west of Mahe, however Costa Cruises now say that it will proceed to the Seychelles capital of Mahe. A Costa statement said: ‘The disembarkation in Desroches does not assure the necessary and adequate security conditions for  mooring the ship and guests’ disembarkation. In addition, logistics and hotels on the island are not enough. Thus the ship will be towed to Mahe also with the assistance of two tugs that are approaching the ship and that would allow to increase the speed.’

It is being reported that passengers are staying in the communal rooms and outside on the upper deck rather than using their cabins, whilst emergency generators are powering the ship’s command systems and radio.

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Costa Allegra Drifting With Passengers On Upper Deck

The 43 year old Costa Allegra is currently drifting in the Indian Ocean after yesterday’s fire.

The fire in the engine room was quickly extinguished, however power to the ship was knocked out and has not been restored resulting in the ship drifting.

Tugs and a French trawler are on their way to the ship but are not expected to reach it for at least another day.

Costa Cruises have said that the Allegra is currently about 260 miles southwest of the Seychelles and that the fire started due to an electrical fault.

The ship left Madagascar on Saturday with 636 passengers aboard bound for the main port of Victoria in the Seychelles.

The Allegra was not originally built as cruise ship. It began life as the Annie Johnson container ship before being converted to a cruise ship in 1986.

cruiseastute.com says …

“The Costa Allegra is certainly an unusual design for a cruise ship and is much older than the rest of the Costa fleet, however this is unlikely to have played a part in this incident.

Fire onboard a ship, particularly in the middle of an ocean, is one of the worst nightmares for a cruise line. It seems in this case however that the fire was contained and put out quickly meaning that there is no danger to passengers.

The problem at the moment is the lack of power. This is not likely to be significant from a navigational point of view as the ship is drifting far from land and the tugs will easily be able to tow her back to port. However, passengers will be experiencing a high degree of discomfort. It’s very hot in the Indian Ocean at this time of year and the ship’s airconditioning will not be working. Additionally there is no power for lights meaning that passengers will have to be kept on deck or at least near it, as seen in the emerging photos. Food will also be a problem. Most of the food onboard cruise ships is either fresh or frozen and of course the freezers will not be working.

I don’t think there’s much to be overly concerned about and the passengers don’t seem to be in imminent danger, however they will certainly be having to endure some pretty unpleasant conditions.

This is yet more bad publicity for the embattled Costa Cruises brand following last month’s Costa Concordia disaster”

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Costa Allegra

Reports are reaching us that the Costa Allegra is on fire in the Indian Ocean.

Initial indications are that the fire occurred in the engine room but is now out, however power has not been restored.

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