A Slalom At Sea With CARNIVAL ECSTASY
Vacations are times to make memories with family and friends. Yesterday afternoon passengers onboard Carnival Cruise Line's CARNIVAL ECSTASY might have been thinking of the movie "The Poseidon Adventure" from the 1970's as their ship suddenly listed with no warning.
According to reports from Carnival the ship suddenly made an emergency maneuver to avoid striking a partially submerged buoy which prevented it from being detected with the ship's radar.
The cruise line said that approximately 60 people were injured by the sudden movement and were treated onboard and that none required hospitalization when the ship returned to it's homeport of Galveston Texas this morning.
Whenever an incident like this occurs there are normally a wide range of opinions of what exactly happened. In "The Daily News" a Galveston newspaper, quotes an injured passenger, Coque Trevino of Lubbock TX. as saying she saw about 500 people who needed varying types of medical care for bruises and lacerations from broken glass.
According to Dr. Neel Shah of Sugar Land TX, “The boat actually tilted about 35 to 40 degrees so we could actually see water rising up to the windows of the eighth floor,” Shah said. “As soon as the boat tilted, everyone started screaming, there was glass flying everywhere, people fell on the floor.”
A statement from Carnival said the Ecstasy listed 12 degrees to the starboard side. Carnival gave guests, however, letters on Wednesday stating the boat listed briefly to the port side.
Most likely the truth is somewhere in between these figures. The incident has been reported to the United States Coast Guard and an investigation will begin to determine what caused the sequence of events and to see if it could have been prevented. I wonder what would have happened if the ship had collided with the submerged buoy and what kind of damage would have resulted.
For someone who might be feeling apprehensive about going on a cruise needs to remember that incidents like this are extremely rare. It's also something that is tested during a ships sea trials before she is handed over by the shipbuilder to her operator. Ships are tested to the extreme to see how they handle in a wide range of circumstances. They are run at full speed, make emergency stops to see how long it takes to stop the ship. The shipyard also makes sharp turns at speed to see how the ship handles and performs.
Yes, there were some injuries involved, but thankfully no one was seriously hurt. The data that comes from this investigation will also help in designing future ships to make sure they are as safe as possible.
Comments
I WAS ON THIS CRUISE WITH MY WIFE AND 3 YEAR OLD !! IT WAS THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!! I WAS WITH MY FAMILY AT THE POOL WHEN THE SHIP NO WARNING DID A HARD LEFT TURN!!! MY DAUGHTERS ARM FLOATS WERE SUCKED OUT TO SEA!!! IT IS AMAZON TO ME HOW MUCH CARNIVAL CRUISELINES PLAYED DOWN WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!!! PEOPLE COULD HAVE DIED THAT DAY!! AND THEY ACTUALLY HAD THE NERVE TO PLAY GILIGANS ISLAND THEME SONG LESS THAN 30 MIN. THEY STARTED SERVING FREE ALCOHOL ALMOST 2 MIN AFTER WE FINALLY LEVEL OUT!!!!!! ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE POOL WERE SUCHED OUT AND SLAMMED AGAINST THE RAILS AND WALLS AROUND THE POOL AREA! GLASS AND MANY OTHER LOOSE OBJECTS WERE FLYING EVERY WHERE !!!THE CREW RAN AWAY AND THERE WAS NO ORDER FOR EVACUATION!! IT WAS EVER ONE FOR THEMSELVES!! I FELT LIKE THERE WERE LIEING TO US ABOUT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!! I COULD GO ON ABOUT THE DETAILS!! BUT I WILL END WITH THIS IT WAS MY FIRST CRUISE AND LAST!!!!!!