Passengers Evacuated from Disabled Cruise Ship off the Mexican Coast

 

Seven hundred and forty-one passengers and crewmembers were evacuated from the Ocean Star Pacific following a fire in on of the ship's generators.

The fire, which was reportedly small, knocked out power to the ship while it was sailing off the Mexican coast over the weekend. The 515 passengers and 226 crewmembers were taken by catamaran to the port of Huatulco on Mexico’s West Coast.

Representatives for Ocean Star, Carlos Salazar, told the Latin American Herald Tribune that the generator fire “caused a blackout” leaving the engines unable to be “restarted, and the ship was adrift.” Salazar also reported that the fire was quickly extinguished and there were no injures to the crew or to passengers.

The Ocean Star Pacific was built in 1971 for Royal Caribbean, and was then named the MV Nordic Prince. The vessel is now owned and operated by, the newly formed Mexican based, Ocean Star Cruises. This cruise marked just the second sailing for Ocean Star. The ship had just finished a multi-million dollar refit in Curacao, which included rebuilding of the Lido buffet, pool area, lounges, a new spa, new nightclub along with additional shops and children’s areas.

In November of last year the Carnival Splendor also experienced a fire onboard in an engine room, causing a loss of power to several areas of the ship.  The cruise ship was left disabled off the coast of Mexico with nearly 4,500 passengers and crewmembers onboard. The U.S. Navy had to deliver food and supplies to the ship before she was towed to port in San Diego.