Cruise ship catches fire off Palawan

MANILA, Philippines - A cruise ship with about 1,000 people, mostly Western tourists, was drifting in waters near the Tubbataha Reef in Palawan after a fire disabled its engines, the Philippine Coast Guard said yesterday.

Five crewmembers were reported injured.

The fire on the M/V Azamara Quest started late Friday, a day after the ship left Manila for Sandakan, Malaysia, and was immediately put out, said Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente.

Ricafrente said no other details about the incident were available.

Ensign Paterno Belarmino of the PCG Action Center said the initial information sent by skipper Leif Karlsson said there was a minor fire on the portside or left side of the vessel.

“There were five reported injured people and four of them only sustained minor bruises. The fifth person identified as Juan Carlos Rivera Escobar reportedly suffered from neurological damage due to prolonged heat and smoke exposure. But they have advanced medical equipment on board. They have a respirator that was being used by Escobar,” Belarmino said.

Karlsson reportedly assured the Coast Guard that there was no need for air medical evacuation even as Escobar was reportedly critically hurt by the fire.

Karlsson said they would proceed to drop off the injured crewmen in Sandakan.

The ship was carrying 590 passengers and 411 crewmembers, he said.

The ship’s operator, Azamara Club Cruises, said in a statement that no passengers were injured in the fire, which was in one of the ship’s engine rooms and was immediately extinguished.

Azamara Club Cruises is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which has been hit by accidents this year that have undermined its operations, including a cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Italy, killing 32 people.

Two Coast Guard vessels and a patrol boat were expected to reach the Azamara Quest to offer assistance, Ricafrente said.

The vessel was about 75 nautical miles southwest of Tubbataha Reef, some 45 nautical miles off Mapun Island, when the Coast Guard received the report of the fire early yesterday from a local ferry and a towage company in Manila.

“We were told that they have already put out the fire and that the engine was again running and they plan to continue with their voyage and go to Malaysia,” Belarmino said.

“The PCG would just escort the ship until it leaves the Philippine area of responsibility,” he added.

The Philippine Navy said they deployed vessels in the area to monitor the seaworthiness of the fire-struck cruise ship.

“All our deployed vessels are still in the area and are closely monitoring the seaworthiness of Azamara Quest,” said Maj. Niel Estrella, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Western Command in Puerto Princesa City.

The ship left Hong Kong on a 17-day cruise on Monday. The trip was to include port calls in Manila and Sandakan, as well as several stops in Indonesia, before arriving in Singapore on April 12.

It was the latest blow for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. In January, 32 people died when the Costa Concordia ran aground and capsized off the western coast of Italy.

A month later, a fire on the Costra Allegra left that ship without power and adrift in waters known to be prowled by pirates in the Indian Ocean for three days. – With Roel Pareño, Jaime Laude, Edith Regalado, AP