How can a fire rage quickly through more than 100 cabins on a comparatively new cruise ship built to the highest international safety standards designed to prevent such a disaster?
That question is puzzling cruise line officials even more than it does vacationers after seeing startling photographs of a large blackened section of the port side of the Star Princess, an 18-deck megaship built in 2002.
Investigators are seeking the answers about the blaze on March 23 that melted balconies along three upper decks and charred interiors. One passenger died of cardiac arrest, and 11 suffered smoke inhalation.
The outcome of the investigation may bring changes that affect both the industry and the consumer.
"[The fire on the Star Princess] raises a lot of questions that fire-safety experts are going to have to take a look at. When the investigation is published, we will see if what did happen was an anomaly or if some change is needed in regulations or construction," said Ted Thompson, executive vice president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, a trade association that oversees safety issues for the North American cruise industry.
Given the extent of the fire, which happened at night as the ship sailed in the Caribbean, the low number of casualties seems miraculous. The fire was one of four incidences in two days that brought sobering reports raising new questions on passenger safety issues, coming on the heels of congressional hearings into crimes aboard ships.
Besides the fire, in other events in mid-March: On March 22, a tour bus plunged down a mountainside in a remote part of northern Chile, killing 12 U.S. passengers and injuring two more from a Florida-based cruise ship.
Also on March 22, in Canada's Inside Passage, a BC Ferries vessel hit a rock on a night voyage and sank off the Queen Charlotte Islands. Fishermen from a nearby port and Coast Guard crews plucked passengers and crew from lifeboats. At first officials said all 101 aboard were safe, but later couldn't account for two passengers. The ferry could carry 700 passengers.
On March 23 in Port Canaveral, U.S. Coast Guard inspectors found fire-safety violations serious enough to delay the sailing of a Carnival Cruise Lines ship. It was the first voyage for the Sensation since it spent six months docked in New Orleans to house Hurricane Katrina relief workers.
The Coast Guard reportedly discovered malfunctioning fire-control systems during a routine inspection as the ship returned from a major refurbishment. After repairs were made, the ship sailed about six hours late.
The fire aboard the Star Princess started about 3 a.m. as it sailed from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay, Jamaica, with 3,813 passengers and crew aboard. Emergency alarms sounded and passengers scrambled to muster stations in their night clothes, some of them forced to grope their way through smoke-filled corridors.
"Any mariner looks at fire at sea as the worst nightmare, the thing of most concern," said Thompson, a retired Coast Guard captain with more than 30 years in maritime safety work.
He's among a number in the cruise industry surprised at the extent of the fire given current safeguards. Cruise ships adhere to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, which sets safety standards and governs design and construction of ships.
"New ships have to use non-combustible materials for the major part of construction," Thompson said, noting this includes furnishings and structure. The materials must pass prescribed flammability tests by labs before use on ships.
"Inspectors from the U.S. Coast Guard go to the shipyard during construction to assure not only that the materials used are certified but also that they are being installed properly," Thompson said.
Ships today have sprinklers and smoke alarms in cabins, Thompson said. Princess Cruises spokesperson Julie Benson confirmed Star Princess did have them.
However, sprinklers are not required on balconies. Early speculation from photographs of the burned decks and reports of passengers suggests that the fire spread along the balconies. Photographs showed a section of cabins that were gaping black holes with twisted, sagging metal.
"Balconies are constructed of aluminum, which melts at about 800 degrees," Thompson said. He cautioned against jumping to any conclusions but said "we understand it was a hot fire and built quickly. There was something to support the fire but we don't know what."
The interior of the ship has fire zones with doors that are closed to contain a blaze, but such fire breakers don't extend to the exterior of the ship, Thompson said.
No official details of the fire have been released and no cause cited yet. There's considerable speculation the fire was started by a cigarette, but no official has confirmed this.
If it were caused by a cigarette, that could lead to more stringent rules about smoking on ships. Currently, with the exception of a few small lines that ban smoking, most ships allow smoking in specified public areas, where they provide ashtrays and sometimes sand ashtrays at deck railings.
Most lines discourage smoking in cabins, but they don't prohibit it, though some may prohibit smoking in bed. Lines also caution passengers not to throw cigarettes or butts overboard as they may blow back on deck or be sucked into the exhaust system and cause both a safety and environmental hazard.
All crew members are trained in basic fire-fighting procedures. On average, more than 150 work on fire-fighting teams, and some of the team members have advanced training, Thompson said.
The U.S. Coast Guard regularly inspects safety aspects of ships. In an inspection Oct. 25, 2005, the Star Princess "passed with flying colors," said Dana Warr, spokesperson for the Coast Guard district based in Miami.
"The vessel did an extensive fire drill and abandon-ship drill without any problem. The crew was competent and knew their responsibilities, and the equipment was up to date and well-kept," he said.
A statement from Princess Cruises said this was the first such tragedy in its 41-year history. "We are devastated by this incident," the statement read. Spokesperson Benson said the man who died was not booked in a cabin affected by the fire. News sources identified him as Richard Liffridge, 72, of Locust Grove, Ga.
It's reportedly the first death of a passenger in a cruise ship accident in North America since 1984, when a woman died in a fire on the Scandinavian Sun. In 1998 a fire that engulfed a large section of the stern of Carnival's Ecstasy and caused some 20 injuries generated hearings into ship safety. A spark during welding repairs caused the blaze.
Brett Rivkind, a Miami maritime lawyer who has sued cruise lines on behalf of passengers, said investigations focus on three key issues: what caused the fire, whether the fire detection system worked properly and promptly, and whether the crew responded according to requirements.
Though the U.S. Coast Guard sent a team of five to assist in the investigation, it does not plan to issue a report. Because the ship is registered in Bermuda, the investigation is led by the Bermuda Registry of Shipping and the United Kingdom Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
After three days in Montego Bay, the ship sailed to the Grand Bahama Shipyard for initial repairs. Princess Cruises flew passengers home from Jamaica, gave a full refund for the cruise and airfare and covered out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the changes.
Last week the Star Princess sailed to a shipyard in Germany for repair of the damaged cabins. Cruises have been cancelled until the May 15 sailing. Passengers booked on the cancelled cruises are receiving a refund of cruise and air costs and a future cruise credit of 25 percent of the fare they originally paid.
The bus crash that killed 12 passengers from New Jersey and Connecticut sailing on Celebrity's Millennium brings out the dangers of touring in remote areas. The ship was visiting the small port of Arica, Chile, on a 14-night cruise from Valparaiso, Chile, to Ft. Lauderdale, where it's scheduled to arrive today.
The group was on an independent sightseeing tour not affiliated with the cruise line. They had gone to a national park at 13,000 feet altitude, traveling over narrow mountain roads. On the return, the bus veered off the road. The driver and tour guide survived the wreck. Chilean officials said the bus had not been certified to carry passengers.
Cruise lines require tour operators they work with to be licensed, have insurance and be capable of handling emergencies, said Michael Crye, president of the ICCL trade association. Lines also check the reputation, experience and safety record of companies. Crye said the ship's staff also gives passengers information about ports and other companies besides their tour operators that they have found to be reputable.
Although the excursion was not a cruise line tour, Celebrity offered to fly victims' families to Chile if they wished, sent a special assistance team from the company and dispatched a doctor, nurse and concierge from the ship to the hospital to assist Chilean personnel. Celebrity also set up toll-free phone lines for families and opened phone lines and Internet access from the ship for onboard guests to communicate with families.
Ada Brown, an American Society of Travel Agents member and owner of Seaside Travel in Long Beach, Calif., frequently books passengers on cruises. She always cautions about touring independently.
"Frequently clients say `I won't book the cruise line's excursion because taxis and guides are right there [at the port] and they're much less expensive.' My word of caution is, `you don't' know anything about whether they have licenses or insurance. You have no idea of their qualifications or if the vehicle is in good condition,'" she said.
She advises tourists against going with just any taxi or tour operator at a dock unless they check it out first, at least asking to see a license from a government entity.
It's not known when or how the victims of the bus crash booked the tour other than they didn't buy it from the ship.
Under maritime law, Rivkind said, cruise lines have a duty to warn passengers of dangers the carrier knows of in places passengers might likely visit at a port where the ship calls, even for guests who don't book the line's shore excursions.
Brown said she has several groups booked on cruises but has had no calls or concerns voiced from travelers.
"In spite of these occasional things, it is still an extremely safe form of vacation, probably one of safest you could take. Because these things don't happen often, they hit the news, and rightfully so. It reminds us that there are still things to be careful about," Brown said.
