A Carnival cruise ship was adrift off the coast of Mexico on Sunday due to an engine fire.
According to Reuters, the engine room of the Carnival Triumph set ablaze on Sunday morning as thhe ship was 150 miles off the Yucatan peninsula in Southern Mexico. The fire was extinguished but the ship was left without propulsion and had to rely on backup generator power.
There were 3,143 passengers and 1,086 crew members on board. No one was injured. A tugboat is set to meet th ship to pull it to Progreso, Mexico by Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard is aware of the incident. They are continuing to keep in touch with the Triumph.
"Another Carnival ship, the Carnival Elation, is currently on scene and transferring additional food and beverage provisions to the Carnival Triumph," Carnival said in a statement according to Reuters.
The large vessel left Galveston, Texas on Thursday and was supposed to be back on Monday, February 11 before the fire occurred and the cruise ship was left adrift.
Passengers will receive a refund for the trip and "cruise credit equal to the amount paid for this voyage," Reuters reports. Carnival will also pay for their return flights. The ship was set for two following voyages starting next week but they have been canceled.
This incident comes on the same day as five Thomson Majesty crew members died during a lifeboat safety drill. Eight people were participating in the drill when the lifeboat fell almost 100 feet into the water.
These incidents are not too good for the cruise industry which took a blow when the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio in Italy last January. Thirty-two people died in that accident. Investigators are still looking into who was responsible for the accident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
