Cruise Ship Adrift for Nine Hours

The Caribbean Princess has made its way to Belfast Port after nine hours adrift in the Irish Sea.

The 290-meter (950-foot) ship had 3,306 passengers and 1,158 crew on board when it suffered engine failure 25 miles southeast of Dublin on the Wicklow coast on Wednesday. It was en route from Cobh in Cork to Dublin.

The Irish Coast Guard’s Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre monitored the incident and sent a tug and a helicopter to the scene.

Princess Cruises quashed terrorism rumors saying it was “never considered to be anything other than a technical glitch.”

All on board are safe. and Princess Cruises says that the ship did not blackout completely, as air conditioning, lighting, galleys and toilets continued to function.

Technical experts ashore worked with the captain and chief engineer, and the ship was underway again just before 5pm on Wednesday. 

Caribbean Princess was on day three of a 12 day cruise which departed Southampton, England, on July 31.