Posted on : 2005-04-17
EarthTimes
A cruise ship returning to New York from the Bahamas has been forced to divert its direction to South Carolina after a huge wave damaged it.
The Norwegian Dawn, a ship belonging to the Norwegian Cruise Line was hit by a freak wave that was reported to be as high as a seven-story building. The cruise line issued a statement saying, " The ship was hit by a freak wave that caused two windows to break in two different cabins," The statement added that around 62 cabins had been flooded and four passengers had suffered minor injuries.
Keith Moore of the Coast Guard Group Charleston said that the hull of the ship had been damaged and hence the crew requested assistance. There were no serious injuries to the passengers and the vessel itself was not taking on any water, he added. "All the passengers had donned personal flotation devices as a precaution," he confirmed.
The ship had left New York harbor on last Sunday and it carried around 2,500 passengers on board. It was expected to return to New York from the Bahamas around Monday.
After being hit by the wave the ship was diverted to South Carolina for the repair work. The cruise line denied that this incident compromised the safety of the ship in any way. Passengers whose cabins have flooded over are being flown home from Charleston, the cruise line said.
