Engine-Room Fire aboard Carnival Liberty, No Injuries
A fire broke out aboard the Carnival Liberty, a Conquest-class cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line, on Monday while the ship was in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The cruise ship was carrying 3,346 passengers and 1,150 crew; however, as informed by the U.S. Coast Guard there were no injuries reported.
At approximately 11:45 a.m. on Monday, local time, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan command center received a report from the Carnival Liberty of a fire in the cruise ship’s aft engine room while it was moored in St. Thomas.
The Carnival Liberty crew reported that the fire had been extinguished by cruise ship’s CO2 and Hi-Fog fire suppression systems and that all passengers and non-essential crew had been safely disembarked.
According to a statement from Carnival, all guests remained ashore through yesterday evening while the ship’s technical systems were evaluated. All hotel services including air conditioning, elevators, toilets, galleys, etc. were reported to be fully functional.
“Crew was permitted to reboard at approximately 5:30 p.m. EDT to prepare for the anticipated embarkation of guests. At approximately 8 p.m. EDT the U.S. Coast Guard gave permission for guests to reboard,” the statement read.
Coast Guard marine safety investigators and inspectors from Marine Safety Detachment Saint Thomas have been dispatched to the scene with the Carnival Liberty to assess the damage and determine cause of the fire.
Carnival said that a deeper technical assessment of the affected engine room is expected to be completed in the morning. However, the cruise line could not specify when the ship would depart St. Thomas.
Carnival Liberty is on the second day of a seven-day Caribbean cruise that departed San Juan yesterday with 3,346 guests and 1,150 crew.
