Cunard Cruise Ship Suffers Propulsion Failures, Cancels Upcoming Voyage

Cunard’s Queen Victoria cruise ship has suffered a mechanical failure, prompting the company to cancel an upcoming cruise.

At the beginning of the week, part of the ship's propulsion system failed, so it was forced to sail at speeds 10% lower than usual, reports BBC News. Fortunately, there was no threat to the passengers or crew on the luxury liner, currently off Portugal.

A 16-night Adriatic voyage scheduled for October was forced into cancellation, as the ship will be at a German dry dock for repairs during that time. Passengers have been offered refunds or the option to transfer cruises.

A representative from Cunard stated that currently only slight port timing changes to the ship's Mediterranean current cruise schedule have been made in response to the engine troubles. Queen Victoria is due to re-enter service after repairs in Bremerhaven, Germany on October 17th.

Again, the vessel was able to continue sailing safely without the use of one engine or one propeller, but it was a highly uncommon situation.