Carnival Splendor Engine Room Fire

On the morning of Monday, November 8, 2010, an engine room fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship left the liner without power and stranded at sea. Nearly 4,500 passengers and crew were aboard the Carnival Splendor when the fire occurred. While crews were able to put out the engine room fire in about three hours, the Carnival Splendor was left to drift in the Pacific Ocean while it awaited rescue. The ship was 200 miles south of San Diego at the time of the engine fire, and began drifting about 55 miles off shore.

The Carnival Splendor had only left Long Beach, California on Sunday on a seven day Mexican cruise. The Carnival Splendor’s itinerary was to include stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but the remainder of the cruise was canceled. While engineers aboard the Carnival Splendor were able to restore enough electrical service to get the ship’s toilets and cold water working by Monday evening, passengers and crew had to live without air conditioning or hot water, and because the refrigeration systems were knocked out, the ship was running low on food. On Tuesday, US Navy helicopters began ferrying 70,000 lbs of provisions from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, including canned crab meat, croissants, Pop Tarts and Spam.

Tugboats were finally able to reach the stranded cruise ship on Tuesday night. But because of the Carnival Splendor’s massive size - 113,000 gross registered tons and 952-feet - the tugs were only able to tow the ship at a rate of about 4 miles per hour. The Carnival Splendor was not expected to reach port in San Diego, California until sometime Thursday evening. If you were stranded aboard the Carnival Splendor, you may have valuable legal rights. To discuss your case with one of our maritime lawyers, please fill out our online form or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) today.

 

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Parker Waichman Alonso LLP has been successfully helping maritime injury victims for more than 20 years. Our attorneys know that maritime injuries can be life-changing, turning a routine day at sea into a devastating trip to the emergency room. Many of these injuries are preventable, however, and when you become severely hurt because of a boating accident, or unsafe working conditions at a port or at sea, you deserve justice – and you need legal help from an experienced maritime lawyer.

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If you have suffered a maritime injury, please submit our online form or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) for help with your case. We handle maritime law claims from port cities along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, including New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington DE, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville FL, Fort Lauderdale FL and Miami.

 

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