Carnival Triumph has gotten itself into more trouble. Strong winds caused the troubled ship to break loose from the port in Alabama where it was undergoing repairs following an engine room fire that disabled the ship in February.
Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen confirmed that the ship got loose but he didn't know if anyone was hurt in the incident. However CNN reported that a man went missing when the ship broke loose from the dock in Mobile, Alabama. According to a city fire department official, the missing man and another person were in a guard shack that was blown into the Mobile River.
According to the Coast Guard, the missing person was a worker on the Carnival Triumph. Yet Carnival spokeswoman Joyce Oliva said all of the workers and crew were accounted for.
Some reports said the cruise ship was gashed in the side but Gulliksen did not confirm this. He did say that the ship drifted into a cargo vessel.
"The ship drifted and is currently resting against a cargo vessel. Tug boats and the U.S. Coast Guard are on site," Gulliksen said, according to Reuters.
The ship was docked at Mobile and undergoing repairs following an engine fire which left the shift adrift in the Gulf of Mexico in February. More than 4,000 passenger on board were subject to horrendous conditions including overflowing toilets, limited food and no air conditioning, for five days as the ship was pulled to the port.
Officials blame high winds on causing the ship to come loose. According to weather reports, gusts reached between 40 and 50 miles per hour on Wednesday.
In late March, Carnival said the ship would be out of commission until June 3. It is not clear if this date will be extended following this latest incident. Carnival has canceled at least 20 trips for the ship.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
