A cruise ship bound for Hilo from San Francisco experienced a small fire on board early Monday morning.
A cruise ship bound for Hilo from San Francisco experienced a small fire on board early Monday morning.
The Grand Princess, which was about 23 miles northeast of Hilo, lost propulsion for a few minutes at about 5:30 a.m. following a switchboard fire, said U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs spokeswoman Tara Molle.
“We got notified around 6:30 a.m.,” she said.
No response from the Coast Guard was necessary, although as a precaution the ship was required to enter port in Hilo with the assistance of two tug boats in case it lost propulsion again, she said.
“We are keeping an eye on it, and they will be allowed to leave once they’ve satisfactorily demonstrated they have control of their propulsion before leaving,” she said.
A passenger said in a 6:40 a.m. post on cruisecritic.com that the fire was located near the engine room.
“BAD news first……about 0530 the captain came on and advised the was a small fire on deck 4 near the engine room…we were losing propulsion and had limited lighting…well that certainly wakes you up!” wrote a message board member with the username tml1230.
The reader noted there wasn’t enough power to brew coffee and limited lighting in the horizon court, “which was a zoo with limited lighting and people acting as if they were rushing to avoid a food shortage,” the person wrote.
Another member, CleoChase, wrote the mood on board was relatively calm.
“We are very close to Hilo now. The captain does have a soothing voice. Never felt like we were in any danger. He made regular updates. (glad) this happened this morning and not two days ago. But I feel like we are safe and in good hands,” the member wrote.
The ship is capable of carrying a maximum of 2,590 passengers and 1,100 crew.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.