Crown Princess (ship)
| Crown Princess Crown Princess, Cockburn Town, Grand Turk Island, June 28, 2006 | |
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Crown Princess |
| Owner: | Carnival Corporation & plc |
| Operator: | Princess Cruise Line |
| Port of registry: | 22x20px Bermuda |
| Builder: | Fincantieri |
| Completed: | May 2006 |
| Maiden voyage: | June 14, 2006 |
| Identification: | IMO number: 9293399 |
| Status: | In Service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Grand class cruise ship |
| Tonnage: | gross tonnage (GT) of 113,000 tons |
| Length: | 951 ft (290 m) |
| Beam: |
waterline: 118 ft (36 m) maximum: 159 ft (48 m) |
| Height: | 195 ft (59 m) |
| Draught: | 27.88 ft (8.50 m) |
| Depth: | 37.4 ft (11.4 m) |
| Decks: | 19 |
| Installed power: | Wartsila ZA40S V-16 and V-12 at 20,160 kilowatts (20.16 MW) |
| Propulsion: | Fixed pitch propellers with Siemens electric propulsion at 19 megawatts (19,000 kW) |
| Speed: | maximum: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) |
| Capacity: | 3,599 passengers |
| Crew: | 1,201 |
- This Crown Princess began operation in 2006. An earlier Crown Princess (entered service in 1990, left fleet in 2002) now operates as Pacific Jewel.
Crown Princess is a Grand Class ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. Her maiden voyage took place on June 14, 2006, departing Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York for Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos, Ocho Rios, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, and Port Canaveral, Florida. As of 2009, the Crown Princess sails the Caribbean for the Winter season, and Europe for the Summer season.
Listing Incident
On July 18, 2006 at approximately 3:30 pm, one hour after departing her last port of call in Port Canaveral, Florida, the Crown Princess reported "listing" or making "heavy turns" at a maximum angle of about 24 degrees to starboard[1]. The Coast Guard was contacted shortly after and crews arrived within minutes to assist the troubled vessel. The cruise ship was on its way home to New York City, and the decision was made to return to Port Canaveral due to what was initially thought to be a malfunction in the steering equipment, causing a severe tilting of the ship and injuries.[2] However, it was reported that a junior officer "panicked," then took the ship out of automatic pilot thinking a meter was showing that the ship was turning too sharply to one side. Instead of turning the Crown Princess back to the right, it is alleged that the junior officer accidentally kept the ship in an even sharper left hand turn - similar to over-correcting in a car. The massive 113,000-ton cruise ship listed severely, tumbling passengers, pool water and everything else on board into chaos.[3]
A number of passengers were critically injured, one suffering breathing difficulties after being hit in the chest by an airborne chair. Water from the four on-board pools poured into staircases and lift shafts. Most injuries were on the outdoor areas of Decks 15 and 16, where large beach chairs and tables hit and injured passengers. The other area that had many injured passengers was the balcony areas in the grand atrium. Many there were hit by falling objects and heavy marble tables. One woman with an extended hospital stay was thrown against the glass wall on Deck 15 and covered by pool chairs and water from the pool themselves, being trapped underwater for several seconds. One passenger said "Afterward it was like a war zone with people walking around bleeding." and another added "All the windows were smashed. The top deck looked like a hurricane had hit it." [4]
Amazingly, no passengers went overboard, despite the heavy list.
As of 8:30 AM PT July 19, Princess says that "approximately 240 passengers [were] treated onboard for various injuries such as abrasions, bruises and fractures, of which 94 were transferred to local hospitals ashore for evaluation and treatment."
This makes the incident one of the worst in the history of modern day cruising.
The matter was referred to the National Transportation Safety Board and United States Coast Guard for investigation. After an internal review by Princess Cruises, its president Alan Buckelew publicly stated that "the incident was due to human error and the appropriate personnel changes have been made." [5] With approval from the Coast Guard and the Bermuda flag authorities, the vessel returned to service. A full refund was given to all passengers on the ill-fated cruise, and a 50% refund to passengers on the following cruise which was set to depart July 20 but instead departed from Brooklyn on July 22. Since then, Crown Princess has resumed her normal schedule.
Gallery
- Crown Princess2.jpg
Crown Princess docked at Tallinn
- Crown princess.jpg
Crown Princess moored at Gdynia
- Crown Princess-1.JPG
Crown Princess passing the Esso Refinery in Southampton Water on July 31, 2009.
- CrownprincessDSC00497.jpg
Crown Princess slowly leaves the River Mersey Estuary on August 28, 2009.
References
- ↑ NTSB: Heeling Accident on M/V Crown Princess
- ↑ Cruise Ship Mishap Injures Dozens
- ↑ I-Team: Cruise Ship's List Caused By Human Error
- ↑ Rae, Charles (July 20, 2006). "Cruise Brits in 'Titanic' Terror". The Sun (UK), p. 9.
- ↑ Princess Cruises' Letter to Passengers (24 July 2006)
External links
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