Monday, February 27, 2012

Cruise News: Fire Aboard Costa Allegra

Costa Crociere Statement

Costa Cruises confirms that today at 10:39 CET a fire broke out on board Costa Allegra in the electric generator room. The shipboard fire-extinguishing system and emergency procedures were activated promptly and special fire-fighting squads extinguished the fire.

The fire did not spread to any other area of the ship. There were no injuries or casualties. Inspections of the engine room are ongoing to determine when the equipment can be restarted.

As a precaution, the general emergency alarm was sounded and all passengers and crewmembers not engaged in the management of the emergency reported to their muster stations.

Currently the ship is more than 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles and approximately 20 miles from Alphonse Island. Tugboats and other naval and aerial units have been dispatched to Costa Allegra.

According to standard procedures, Costa Allegra transmitted a distress signal and the relevant authorities were alerted, including the Maritime Rescue Control Center in Rome, Italy. Costa Crociere and the relevant authorities are actively monitoring the situation.

On board Costa Allegra are 636 passengers of various nationalities and 413 crewmembers.

The ship departed Saturday, Feb. 25, from Diego Suarez, Madagascar, and was cruising toward the port of Victoria (Mahè, Seychelles) where it was scheduled to arrive tomorrow Feb. 28.

Costa Allegra was built at T. Mariotti shipyards in Genoa in 1992. The 28,597-ton vessel is 188 meters (617 feet) long with eight passenger decks and 399 cabins. The vessel can carry a maximum of 1,400, including crew.

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