Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship Catches Fire During Stormy Weather In The Bahamas

Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship encountered chaos among the passengers when a funnel fire erupted on March 23, 2024, sailing through the Bahamas.

According to reports, the incident happened at around 3:15 p.m. local time. Passengers were concerned because they thought it might have been caused by a lightning strike during a storm.

Carnival Cruise Line quickly informed passengers that no injuries occurred despite the worrying circumstances, and the ship continued its operations. At the same time, an inquiry was launched to determine what caused the incident.

The Carnival Freedom, which can accommodate approximately 3,700 passengers and 1,150 staff members, was on a four-night cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the Bahamas.

However, bad weather forced the cancellation of a scheduled call at Princess Cays, Carnival’s private port near Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Witnesses described hearing a loud boom, then flames appeared, raising concerns about the ship’s safety.

The ship’s captain guided the crew into severe thunderstorms to extinguish the fire, but the fire department was first to respond and acted swiftly.

Safety precautions were followed, and passengers were advised over the public address system to stay off the exterior decks and balconies. The fire spread to the ship’s port wing, also known as the “whale tail”, was finally put out after almost two hours of intense effort.

Despite the incident, Carnival claimed that operational rules were followed, and the ship diverted to Freeport, Grand Bahama, for additional examination and preliminary repairs.

Nevertheless, the damage was more severe than first thought, so the ship’s next two trips out of Port Canaveral on March 25 and 29 had to be cancelled.

A similar funnel fire broke out nearly two years ago, in May 2022, while the ship was parked at Grand Turk in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Following that incident, the vessel underwent repairs and resumed operation, but with modifications to its well-known funnel.

Since these recent incidents, concerns have been raised by both industry viewers and passengers about safety procedures and maintenance methods on board cruise ships.

While investigations into the cause of the fire and efforts to stabilise the damaged portions continue, Carnival Cruise Line must regain trust and ensure the safety of future voyages.

Reference: USA Today, Timesnownews

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Source: Maritime Shipping News