Harley Marine Services Responds to Distressed Carnival Splendor

Tows the 950 foot cruise ship safely to San Diego, CA

Harley Marine Services of Seattle, WA dispatched two tugboats on Tuesday, November 9th from Los Angeles, California to assist in the rescue of the cruise ship Carnival Splendor. The cruise ship was damaged by an engine room fire off Mexico and was dead in the water roughly 200 miles south of San Diego. Passengers were stuck onboard the cruise ship without power and ample food after the fire disrupted the main engines.

Wheelhouse of the Millennium Dawn

Harley Marine seamlessly mobilized the Millennium Dawn and Ernest Campbell within hours of notification. The Millennium Dawn is a 4,400 horsepower tractor tug while the Ernest Campbell is a 3,000 horsepower conventional tug. Both vessels were equipped with satellite communication systems and advanced safety equipment. Vessels within the company’s fleet are capable of repositioning at a moment’s notice to meet and exceed customer expectations as well as respond to any unexpected emergency.

Both tugs arrived on scene at 1030 on Wednesday, November 10th and joined two other Mexican tugs in their efforts to safely escort the Carnival Splendor to San Diego, California. Upon arrival to the ship, the two American tugs were welcomed by cheering passengers happy to see relief. Passengers snapped photographs and shouted their thanks to our crew as they finally realized their experience was soon to be over. The Millennium Dawn tied up to the stern and the Ernest Campbell to the port aft as they assisted in the escort of the cruise ship. Deckhand Nolan Padilla, who is fluent in Spanish, was able to communicate with the crew onboard the Mexican tugs throughout the entire voyage to ensure a flawless rescue.

After 19 hours, the Carnival Splendor made it safely to the San Diego Sea Buoy. The Ernest Campbell then shifted to the starboard bow and the Millennium Dawn stayed in position for the docking of the massive vessel. It took the Harley Marine tugs just under 24 hours of towing to get the distressed vessel and its passengers to San Diego.

Harley Marine’s crews conducted the rescue professionally and seamlessly. Special thanks to those onboard the Millennium Dawn: Captain Josiah Layfield, Mate Cpt. Steve Higgins, Mate Cpt. Phil Ruan, Chief Engineer Mike Castagnola, and Deckhand Nolan Padilla as well as the crew onboard the Ernest Campbell: Captain Neal Maresca, Mate Cpt. Neil Salamunovich, Mate Mark Abercrombie, Chief Engineer Dan Seeley, and Deckhand Justin Jabuka.

Harley Marine Services is a full service marine transportation company providing quality services along the United States West Coast, Alaska and the New York/New Jersey Harbor. Services provided include the transportation and storage of petroleum products, ship assist and escort, and the transportation of general cargo. Harley Marine companies aim to set the benchmark for quality operations by outstanding safe, responsible, reliable, and efficient performance in the marine transportation and petroleum industries. For more information, please visit www.harleymarine.com.