Storm at Sea, Ship Returns a Day Late, but all Complete with only Minor Injuries

The Pacific Sun built in 1986, had  formerly sailed as Carnival Jubilee. In 2004 it became a part of P&O Cruises. Just a week ago, late Wednesday bad weather delayed the Sun’s scheduled arrival into Auckland 24 hours later than was scheduled. This 47,000-ton vessel was carrying about 1732 passengers and 671 crew members when it sailed into an intense storm almost 400 miles north of New Zealand.
 
The ship was on its last segment of an eight-night cruise of the South Pacific when the incident occurred. It was just after dark and many of the passengers were sitting down to dinner, others were having drinks at the bar.  It was all peaceful and calm when a vicious Pacific storm came with huge 23-foot waves and winds  reaching  50-knots sending the ship into a rock and roll mode. One passenger said the water lashed as high as the fifth deck.

You can imagine the ordeal as crew members fought to steer the vessel away from the storm. This maneuver flung passengers and loose unsecured items including furniture across the ship. About 42 people were hurt, many of the worst injuries were caused when gaming machines crashed over on top of people.
  Injuries included broken ribs and limbs, a fractured pelvis, a broken collar bone, and cuts and gashes. P&O denied reports that some people had lost fingers. Passengers were treated by the ship's medical staff but three were taken by ambulance to hospital for checks when the ship reached Auckland. There were tearful reunions with anxious relatives waiting on the dockside.

The line took responsible action and stepped right in. Sandy Olsen, a spokesman for P&O disclosed that the company did offer counseling to passengers and crew shaken by the experience. P&O even arrange travel and accommodation for waiting family and friends, and extended  passengers 25 per cent off the price of any future cruise.

The Herald quotes an email from a passenger who was in the casino at the time of a particularly large roll as saying it caused machines to come loose from the floor and slam into passengers. The same passenger said she watched as another roll sent crockery flying across the dining room. "There were screams and people crying as they looked for their lost children."

Of course some of the passengers because of their experience will think twice if someone suggested a cruise vacation to them.  However, not every passenger seemed to have been put out by the incident. New Zealand's 3News TV quotes an Australian couple who described themselves as cruising addicts said all the noise about the trip was like "a storm in a tea cup."  They were in-fact going on their next cruise liner the next day after spending the night in Auckland.
 
New Zealand maritime officials inspected the ship before allowing it to set sail on another cruise the next day after arriving in Auckland. There was no significant damage to the structure of the vessel. But what comes to mind is How safe are these ships? With all the latest technology, how come the crew member sailed into such a storm? Why where the gaming machines at the ships casino not bolted securely? What more can be done to prevent future occurence?

You are invited to join in the dicussion at our cruise vacation forum.