Fire Disables U.S. Cruise Ship
A fire knocked out the power on a luxury cruise ship headed for Alaska with more than 1,200 people on board Saturday, officials said. No injuries were reported.
“She is under tow by a tug. The ship is safe,” said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Princess Cruises, which had chartered the Golden Princess to go from San Francisco to Alaska.
The fire broke out in the engine room at 8 a.m. as the ship was entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which divides British Columbia and Washington state, en route to Victoria, the province’s capital.
A spokesman for the Rescue Coordination Center in Victoria, Gerald Pash, said experts would verify whether the ship’s systems were safe enough to allow it to dock in Victoria. “It may be necessary to disembark the passengers at anchor,” Pash said. The ship has a crew of about 420 serving about 840 passengers.
Benson said the cause of the fire was not yet known.
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