BY GORDON SMITH From Miami Herald

The cruise ship Costa Magica caught fire in engine room during a voyage to Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe. The vessel was on cruising in eastern Caribbean, when in early morning of February 24 there was announcement for fire in engine room. The accident was reported from different sources, including passengers on board and other personnel, but not officially confirmed by Costa Croicere. According to the witness evidences, the fire lasted around 90 minutes and was extinguished by the crew without affecting the cruise or causing injuries among the passengers. There were also no signs of smoke on board. The cruise ship safely docked at Pointe-a-Pitre, where was inspected and were found no deficiencies. The cruise ship Costa Magica proceeded to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and continue the cruise according to the schedule.

According to passengers, there was an announcement on board among the passengers about an emergency in the engine room. Quickly after it the fire was extinguished. A medical team was required at muster station E, but there were no reports about injuries. The internal investigation for the root cause of the accident is under way.

According to the initial information, the fire did not caused damages to the vessel’s propulsion system and engineering.

The cruise ship Costa Magica (IMO: 9239795) has overall length of 271.00 m, moulded beam of 34.00 m and maximum draft of 8.20 m. The vessel has deadweight of 9,859 DWT and gross tonnage of 102,587 GRT. Costa Magica is one of the largest operational vessels of Costa Croicere with capacity to carry 3,470 passengers. The cruise ship was built in 2004 by Fincantieri Shipyard in Italy.

IMAGE: COSTA MAGICA

Gordon Smith is 37 years old support content writer from Los Angeles, USA. He is writing mostly about offshore industry and shipping business in NAFTA region.

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