Tugboats to tow disabled cruise ship in Gulf of Mexico

Galveston, TX, United States (4E) – Two tugboats are coming to the rescue of a disabled cruise ship drifting in the Gulf of Mexico since losing power after an engine fire Sunday.

The tugboats will tow the 102,000-ton Carnival Triumph to Progreso, Mexico Monday and expect to arrive at the nearest port on Wednesday, according to the shipowner Carnival Cruise Lines. From the port in Progreso, the passengers and crew will be flown back to the U.S. on a chartered aircraft.

The vessel with 4,200 passengers and crew aboard is 150 miles off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. No one was injured during the fire that damaged the engine room leaving the ship without electricity and propulsion.

The Carnival Triumph received food supply from another Carnival cruise ship, Carnival Elation, on Sunday. A U.S. Coast Guard ship assisted the Triumph on Monday.

Technicians aboard the Triumph have restored auxiliary power to run some elevators, a dining area and some public and cabin toilets.

Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise Lines officials said it will fully refund the stranded guests the cruise cost and their transportation expenses. Passengers will be given cruise credit equal to the amount paid for the Triumph trip and their shipboard purchases will be reimbursed.

The next scheduled voyages of the Triumph Monday and Saturday was cancelled and those booked for the trip will be refunded and given a discount for a future trip.

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