ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to reports of a fire that occurred earlier today aboard the 952-foot cruise ship, Carnival Splendor.
Initial reports of the fire were received by the U.S. Coast Guard at 8 a.m., today. Three Coast Guard cutters, a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft, a vessel in the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System, a Mexican Navy 140-foot patrol boat and aircraft are responding.
The AMVER vessel Dresden Express, a 965-foot container ship, is currently on scene.
The C-130 is expected to be on scene at approximately 3:00 p.m., followed by the Coast Guard Cutters Edisto, Morgenthau and Aspen.
The Carnival Splendor is presently located 150 miles south of San Diego and has 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crewmembers aboard.
The Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center Alameda is currently in contact with all response assets as well as Carnival Cruise Line's operations' center.
No injuries to passengers or crew have been reported.
The fire was discovered in an aft engine room and was extinguished at approximately 9:10 a.m.; however, smoke remains in the area and the ship’s fire crews are on scene.
The Carnival Splendor is a Panamanian-flagged vessel and sailed out of Long Beach, Calif. en route to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Media contact for Carnival Cruise Lines: (305) 406-5464, media@carnival.com.
For concerned family members, contact: 1-888-290-5095
Carnival's press release can be found here. Here's is another story. Wikipedia's piece on the ship, and here's another sales pitch.Labels: accidents, Carnival, cruise ships