1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Russia's war in UkraineIsrael-Hamas warIndia elections

Stricken cruise ship back in port

February 15, 2013

A stricken Carnival cruise ship has arrived back in port in Alabama. The return ends a nightmarish voyage for some 4,000 passengers and crew on a vessel stinking of raw sewage after it lost power over the weekend.

https://p.dw.com/p/17eeh
The Carnival Triumph cruise ship is towed towards the port of Mobile, Alabama, (Photo via Reuters)
Image: Reuters

The Triumph was pulled into port late Thursday local time (0300 GMT) after being disabled for four days. It took six difficult hours for the ship to be towed from the mouth of Mobile Bay some 30 miles to the US port.

Passengers waited anxiously on the deck of the ship, which is operated by Carnival Cruise Lines, cheering loudly and waving loudly as they whistled to those on shore.

What should have been a relaxing vacation in the Gulf of Mexico turned into a hellish ordeal when a fire in the ship's engine room on Sunday caused the vessel to lose the power needed to flush toilets or prepare meals.

The outage caused toilets and drainpipes to overflow, soaking many cabins and interior passages in sewage.

Carnival gave the disembarking passengers the option of a seven-hour bus ride to the Texas cities of Galveston or Houston or a two-hour trip to New Orleans.

Last year, another Carnival ship, the Costa Concordia, grounded off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.

dr/jm (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)