Captain of damaged cruise ship: We did not need help

MANILA, Philippines – “We are not in distress and we do not need assistance.”

This was reportedly the message of the captain of Azamara Quest cruise ship to local authorities after the vessel drifted for more than 24 hours in the Sulu sea near the border to Malaysia following a fire that hit its engine room, triggering Philippine agencies to scamper and deploy its rescue units to extend support.

“Apparently, the ship’s captain said they did not request for assistance,” Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson Lt Commander Algier Ricafrente told Rappler. “But we initiated our rescue efforts anyway out of the government’s goodwill.”

When fire broke out in the engine room of luxury cruise ship around past 8 p.m. of Friday, March 30 (Philippine time), it took an entire night before Philippine authorities were alerted that the cruise ship was in trouble.

Though crew members managed to quickly put the blaze under control, the damage left the ship with no sufficient power supply. The incident also apparently conked out the ship’s propulsion (or propelling force) capabilities.

All of the guests were safe but 5 crew members were reported hurt due to smoke inhalation. One of them, accordingly a Guatemalan, was “seriously injured and require(d) urgent medical attention that can only be provided in a hospital,” a statement posted on the ship company’s website said.

Ricafrente said he learned that the Malta-flagged Azamara Quest was having problems after personally receiving a call “from an officer of the United States Coast Guard” about 7 a.m. on Saturday, March 31. It was already close to 12 hours since the fire was put out.

“As early as 6 am (of Saturday), we have been tipped by an official of one of the local commercial shipping companies that Azamara Quest caught fire while cruising near the Philippine border to Malaysia,” Ricafrente said. “But then, we cannot confirm the exact status of the ship since we have yet to establish direct contact with its crew.”

The Air Force said it conducted reconnaissance flights to locate the stranded cruise ship. Sea assets from the Navy and PCG in Mindanao and Palawan were deployed to extended necessary assistance that the distressed vessel would require.

Here’s a timeline of Azamara Quest voyage as posted its website:

March 26, Monday

• It departed Hong Kong for a 17-night sailing that included port calls to Manila (Philippines), Sandakan (Sabah in Malaysia), Palapo (Sulawesi), Benoa (Bali), Semarang and Komodo (Indonesia), and will conclude in Singapore on April 12, Thursday.

March 30, Friday

• At 8:19pm (PH time), a fire incident occurred at the ship’s engine room. All the guests were safe and the “atmosphere (was) calm.” As a precaution, the ship captain mustered the guests to the assembly stations. The ship lost its main electric supply and had to relay on generator power.

March 31, Saturday

• As of 7am, the engineers were able to restore power to one of the ship’s engines “allowing air conditioning, running water, plumbing, refrigeration and food preparation onboard.” However, ship remained adrift since there was not enough power to move it.

• As of 12noon, engineers were still working on restoring the ship’s propulsion capabilities. Also by this time, the ship reported that 5 of its crew members were hurt in the fire incident after inhaling smoke. One of the injured was in “unstable condition” and badly needed to be transported to a hospital. But the company said the injured “will be transported to a local hospital” once the ship gets to dock in Sandakan. By this time, it was uncertain yet on when the ship can resume its voyage.

• By 10:30pm, the ship announced it has restored propulsion and was already sailing to Sandakan “between 3 to 6 knots.” One of its severely injured crew member remains in serious condition.

April 1, Sunday

• The ship reported at 7:30am that it is located 100 nautical miles from Sandakan and traveling at a speed of approximately 6 knots. It added it was expected to arrive in Sandakan by 10pm of the same day. Despite failing to restore power to its “air conditioning compressors,” the guests accordingly remained “to be calm and upbeat.”

Ricafrente admitted that Azamara Quest did not contact Philippine authorities, who initiated its own action to verify the status of the stranded ship “out of concern for its passengers.”

This explained why it took almost half a day before the Navy and Coast Guard learned about the incident.

“We established online contact with Azamara Quest through the ship’s VSAT (very small aperture terminal) internet system on Saturday, but the communication was not constant,” Ricafrente said.

And even if the offer for any form of help was supposedly turned down, Ricafrente pointed out the Navy and Coast Guard patrol ships opted to escort Azamara Quest until the ship reached the Malaysian sea border late Sunday.

“Firstly, we needed to assure the ship’s safety. It got stranded in the sea waters near Sulu and Tawi-Tawi where notorious bandits are widely known to operate, Ricafrente said.

“Secondly, since the ship was still cruising in Philippine territorial waters, it remained in our area of responsibility and we can not gamble their safety with the sea’s condition amid the prevailing unpredictable weather.”

Azamara Club Cruises president and chief executive officer Larry Pimentel is set to arrive in Sandakan on Monday morning “to personally meet the passengers and crew.” The company also announced it will cancel the rest of the cruise ship’s voyage due to the damage caused by the fire.

Limping to Malaysia

The luxury cruise ship had 1,000 people on board when it was stranded for 24 hours. It arrived at a Malaysian port late on Sunday, April 1.  

The US-based Azamara Quest, which was carrying hundreds of tourists from North America, Europe and Australia, limped into the port of Sandakan, on Borneo island, under escort from the Malaysian coastguard.

The 592-foot vessel, which boasts spas, gyms, swimming pools, a casino and eight restaurants, as well as an acupuncture service, had been on a 17-night voyage that began in Hong Kong and was to end in Singapore.
 
The liner’s captain had initially mustered all guests at assembly stations.

“The cruise liner has berthed in Sandakan port. The Malaysian authorities will ensure the passengers’ safety and provide the necessary assistance,” First Admiral M. Karunanithi, head of the Malaysian coastguard in Sabah, told AFP.

The fire, which left the ship drifting for a day in Philippine waters before onboard engineers restored partial power, deals a further black eye to an industry already reeling from two recent incidents.

The Azamara Quest was carrying 590 passengers and 411 crew. More than a third of the holiday-makers were from the United States. British, Australian, Canadian and German citizens were also on board.

Karunanithi said the passengers would be brought to shore after the operator announced on Saturday that the ship’s voyage, which was supposed to take in a number of idyllic islands including Bali, was over.

“I think one seriously injured crew will be warded (taken to hospital) and we have deployed two ambulances at the jetty,” Karunanithi said.

A spokesman for the US embassy in Malaysia told AFP it will send a consular team to Sandakan to assist its citizens.

In January, the Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia ran aground off Tuscany, killing 32 people after it keeled over.

A month later a fire struck the Costa Concordia’s sister ship Costa Allegra in the Indian Ocean. The vessel, which was carrying more than 1,000 people, had to be towed to shore by a French fishing boat.

The Florida-based Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, the world’s 2nd-largest cruise company, operates Azamara Club Cruises. – . – Rappler.com and Agence France-Presse