Carnival Ship Funnel Catches Fire After Possible Lightning Strike

Table Of Content

• GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS
• Carnival cruise ship that set sail from Florida catches fire in Grand Turk
• Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway
• Hike Canaveral Seashore’s Klondike Beach: A 13-mile trek along wild Florida coastline
• Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire after possible lightning strike

Video of the inferno was taken by passengers aboard Carnival’s Mardi Gras, which was docked alongside, showing half of the tail disintegrating amid billows of black smoke leaving behind a charred husk. The company said its "emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished" the flames. One such passenger, Heath Barnes — who also provided us with photographs — reported that he was outside reading and saw a large lightning strike, followed by people screaming. A short time later, guests were cleared to disembark for their day in Grand Turk, while evaluations continue aboard the ship. The Carnival Freedom cruise ship caught fire during a port visit in Grand Turk. Over the weekend, Carnival's technical team conducted a thorough assessment of the ship while docked in Freeport.

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

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Posted: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The ship’s last dry dock was in 2019, but headed in early to get its replacement funnel. While the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Carnival noted in a post on X Saturday that eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike. Cruise Radio prioritizes well-balanced cruise news coverage and accurate reporting, paired with ship reviews and tips. The unfolding situation is eerily familiar to a scenario that unfolded nearly two years ago.

Carnival cruise ship that set sail from Florida catches fire in Grand Turk

The Freedom ship will be taken to Freeport for a "repair to the funnel," Carnival said. All guests impacted by the changes in upcoming trips have been notified. The ship first had a day at sea on Tuesday and visited Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

Couple describes harrowing tale after Carnival Cruise ship struck by lightning: 'This doesn't look good' - Fox Weather

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Posted: Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway

Along with the ship’s firefighting team, the captain brought the ship into an area of heavy rain bands to help extinguish the fire, which was successful. Carnival Freedom has canceled several upcoming sailings because of a fire in its funnel, the second in the last two years. Witnesses reported the ship may have been struck by lightning, but that has not been confirmed, and the cause is still being investigated, according to the cruise line. This marks the second occurrence of a fire originating from the ship's exhaust funnel during a voyage.

As the ship only recently came out of dry dock, it may be some time before her funnel is repaired, depending on how the work can be completed. After that incident, the ship was not able to sail and the next cruise was cancelled, while guests onboard were transferred to Carnival Conquest to return to Florida. Ultimately, four cruises were cancelled before Carnival Freedom returned to service on June 11, 2022. Authorities are investigating the incident and all of the ship’s systems are fully operational after the scary situation, and only some areas of the ship’s open decks are closed for safety. Ships head in for a required dry dock every five years under international maritime law, during which cruise lines often install new features.

"The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames," an earlier Carnival statement said. "Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, and that is being investigated, but cannot yet be confirmed." Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines.

In late 2024, that will expand to five ships with the arrival of the Italian-themed Venezia, a rebranded ship originally built for sister cruise line Costa Cruises. At the time, Carnival Cruise Line verified that a fire broke out in the funnel of the ship while it was in Grand Turk. Carnival’s flagship, Mardi Gras, is also in Grand Turk today, alongside Carnival Freedom. The Conquest-class Carnival Freedom is in the midst of a 5-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary, having departed Port Canaveral on Monday, May 23. Cruise Critic members were on Freedom during the sailing and posted live during the incident.

Subsequently, the company made the decision to cancel the cruises set to depart on Monday and the following Friday from Port Canaveral. The Carnival Freedom's next voyage was scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral on Monday afternoon on a five-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. That cruise had port-of-call stops scheduled at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and at Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. But, Heald added that he wanted to assure affected passengers that, "when you rebook, using your full refund and your 100% future cruise credit, that the crew will be standing by to give you all the fun you deserve." Undoubtedly, options will be considered for further repairs to the ship’s funnel once again after a full technical and cosmetic assessment is made.

Around mid-afternoon, eyewitness accounts and subsequent reports confirmed a fire aboard the vessel. Carnival reported the flames were extinguished two hours after it began, with damage confined to the funnel, where part of the structure collapsed onto Deck 10. Carnival announced full refunds and future cruise credits for passengers scheduled to depart on the canceled cruises. A cruise ship funnel generally serves as a smokestack to lift emissions above the deck, thus away from passengers and crew.

"The funnel has been stabilized for the ship’s return to Port Canaveral overnight to disembark guests, and then it will go to the Freeport shipyard on Monday afternoon to begin the required repairs." The fire in the 3,754-passenger ship took place in the port (left) side of the exhaust funnel on Saturday while the vessel was on a cruise to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral. The ship was 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, heading to Freeport, after a canceled call to Princess Cay due to weather. On Sunday, Carnival Cruise Line sent letters to booked guests advising them that the next two cruises were cancelled so the ship’s funnel could be repaired in Freeport, axing the March 25 and March 29 voyages.

The vessel had cancelled its call to Princess Cay due to weather conditions. Passengers onboard also witnessed a possible lightning strike that caused the fire to start. A Carnival cruise ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire on Saturday during a trip to the Bahamas, causing the company to cancel its next two voyages. He continued, “The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames.

The call to Freeport is now planned for Sunday, March 24, and the ship will return on schedule to her homeport, Port Canaveral, on Monday, March 25. Carnival offers the most sailings from Port Canaveral with four ships offering a projected 270 homeport calls in the next year sailing year-round on a variety of itineraries. Freedom rejoins, Mardi Gras, Carnival Vista and Carnival Liberty, although Liberty will be switched during the year with Carnival Glory. One of the cruise’s passengers, Heath Barnes, posted footage of the incident on Facebook Saturday afternoon.

We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. “Saturday afternoon, Carnival Freedom reported a fire on the port side of the ship’s exhaust funnel. The ship was approximately 20 miles off the coast of Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, heading to Freeport as a replacement port of call for the cancelled visit to Princess Cays (due to adverse weather),” the letter explained. Carnival says the fire was quickly extinguished by emergency response teams, and that all guests and crew are safe. A fire broke out on the port side of Carnival Freedom’s exhaust funnel while sailing in the Bahamas.