Msc opera, cruise disaster

[Captain Kong]

Just copied this article from the MAIL ON LINE site.
Another trip like the Carnival one a few months ago. Once the power goes off there are no flushing toilets and the crap just piles up. The new ships have the Plane type of toilets, With the old ones a bucket of water would flush it but not today.
No A/C and those toilets it must have been stinking in there.
What amazes me is the Captain said there was a free bar , the last thing you want after an explosion down below is a ship full of drunks, with free alcohol, without a toilet.
They are going to get a credit note for another cruise on there. BIG DEAL.



Cruise ship mutiny: Stranded passengers rebel after three days of blackouts, food rations and broken toilets
By Lucy Collins

Last updated at 1:03 AM on 17th May 2011
Comments (8) Add to My Stories Share
It was meant to be a luxurious and relaxing break, with passengers enjoying stop-offs at Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, St Petersburg and Copenhagen.
But the ten-day cruise quickly turned into a nightmare for the 1,700 people on board – including 400 Britons – when their luxury liner broke down in the Baltic Sea.
Holidaymakers aboard the stricken MSC Opera staged a mutiny after enduring blackouts, food shortages and no running water or working toilets for almost three days.

Stricken: Passengers on board the MSC Opera staged a mutiny after the liner broke down in the Baltic Sea, leaving no running water, food shortages and no working toilets
The passengers were yesterday towed to land in Sweden and placed on flights to take them home.
The cruise liner had set sail from Southampton on Saturday, May 7. But it ran into trouble in the Baltic Sea off Sweden on Saturday when the ship’s electricity – and attempts to restart the engines – failed.
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Retired Isle of Wight hotelier Mary Birch, 65, said her fellow passengers directed their fury at the captain and were placated with free alcohol by anxious staff. Mrs Birch said: ‘We stopped in the middle of the Baltic, nobody knew why, for about three hours. Then it came across the tannoy that the boat was experiencing some difficulties and then it stopped again for 12 hours, and then finally they got some tugs out to pull us in.
‘The toilets were unusable and then they got them working and then they didn’t work again. There was no water. Food-wise, we’ve just been on rolls.’
Mrs Birch, who was speaking to Isle of Wight Radio, added: ‘The captain we haven’t seen, there was a bit of a mutiny [on Sunday night], everybody shouting for the captain but he never appeared and then they decided to give us all free drink.’

Back on dry land: Passengers from the MSC Opera board a bus to take them to the airport to catch flights home
Her son Mark Birch, senior coxswain at the Sandown and Shanklin Inshore Lifeboat, who was not on board the ship, said passengers chanted: ‘We want the captain, we want the captain.’
He added: ‘He wouldn’t come down but they opened the bar to calm everyone down.’
Mr Birch said his mother had saved up for the cruise as she had always longed to visit St Petersburg. ‘They’ve been offered a free cruise but she’s a bit frightened of the sea and I imagine it will put her off for life.’
Jo Orchard from Exmouth, Devon, received a panicked telephone call from her parents Dennis and Linda Huntley, who took the trip to celebrate Mr Huntley turning 65. Mrs Orchard said: ‘For 24 hours, they were told nothing. They had no water, no electricity, no food, no sanitation. All they had to eat all day was a dry biscuit.
Stranded at sea: The MSC Opera, with about 1800 passengers and 200 crew members on board, had to be towed to shore
‘It was scary for them. They were just floating aimlessly in the dark.’ Their ordeal came to an end when tugs were sent out on Sunday to pull the vessel to shore.
It reached land yesterday and passengers were bussed to Stockholm and flown to Bournemouth last night.
An MSC Cruises spokesman said all passengers would receive a credit voucher for another ten-day cruise.
The company has cancelled the ship’s next excursion, due to sail out of Southampton today, which will affect around 500 passengers.



Read more: MSC Opera cruise ship: Britons stranded after power failure creates 'appalling hygiene' | Mail Online

[robpage]

Vacuum toilets are just so easy to use too !!!! , I fail to understand , and thuis is where JimmyS was pretty good for a quick answer , why was there no emergency generator working , and if there was one why could the vacuum and discharge pumps not be switched on . Another good reason not to cruisse as far as I am concerned . If Brian has the correct figures 1800 passengers to 200 crew , then when you remove the deck and engine room crews you are left with a 15:1 ratio , I am sure Union Castle ran with less that 2:1 . Makes you wonder how hard life is for the crew , doesn't it ?

[Colin Hawken]

There is another ship of the same Company arrived in Southampton this morning. Can't be her.Whether they have diverted a ship to take passengers who would have been on Opera,I don't know.The only one scheduled for today was Opera.

[Chris Allman]

They call it progress Capt, new technology etc. What a load of rubbish, ( didnt like to use the other word ) just imagine it happening in the old Cunarders or the Union Castle or P & O of the 60s, hell there would have been a letter in the Times about it. As you say a bucket of water would have sorted it.

Ony thing that went wrong with the old type bog was the clapper valves. One fell off one of the L+ H boats I was on and shall we say there was a certain risk of getting an unwanted enema and other things if one did not move sharply as the ship rolled

Chris.

[robpage]

Vacuum toilets have been around since the early 1970's at least . I have sailed with them on ships of that era . Gravity systems discharging over the side would be a huge pollutant problem in most places today . The pipe work is smaller , and does not rely on the trim of the ship to enable flow . 2000 passengers would mean constantly unblocking pipes . The technology is now quite old . More of interest though is why they lost power , and why no emergency back up .

[Tony Wilding]

HI TO ALL, HOPE THIS DOES NOT START ANOTHER WAR ! MY OPINION IS THE FLOATING APARTMENT BLOCKS ARE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER, THIS ONE NOW, A FEW MONTHS BACK SAME PROBLEM OFF MEXICO WITH A BIGGER ONE, ANOTHER OFF EGYPT, BAD WEATHER CAISED INJURIES, NOTHING IS FIXED DOWN ANY MORE, IE. TABLES, CHAIRS, NOT DESIGNED FOR HEAVY WEATHER, MAYBE THE DESIGNERS SHOULD GO TO SEA FOR A YEAR BEFOR BEING ALLOWED TO DESIGN A SHIP, ? ? , ENGINE ROOMS QUITE PLAINLY A BAD DESIGN, NO BACK UP FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES, APART FROM MECHANICAL FAILURES, WE ALL KNOW HOW THE SEA CAN CHANGE,AND THESE THINGS CANT TAKE IT, CAN HAPPEN SO QUICKLY, SOME CARRY 4000 PASSENGERS, I KNOW THEY GIVE GOOD SERVICE, MY BROTHER GOES EVERY YEAR,, SAW A VIDEO OF ONE OF THE LARGER ONES IN A BAD STORM, THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO ROLL OVER, APPARENTLY THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO DODGE HEAVY WEATHER, BUT NOT ALLWAYS POSSIBLE, IMAGINE 4000 PEOPLE ON BOARD IN A DISASTER, ? THE ONE OFF MEXICO HAD ENGINE ROOM FIRE, ONLY LUCK SAVED THEM, IT SEEMS THE ENGINE ROOM DESIGN IS FLAWED , FOR ME ITS LIKE A BUTLINS HOLIDAY CAMP AT SEA, MORE OR LESS TOTALLY ENCLOSED, OLD DESIGN CRUISE SHIPS LIKE SAGA RUBY MUCH NICER, NOW IT SEEMS PASSENGER CAPACITY IS ALL THAT COUNTS, EVERY YEAR THEY GET BIGGER, AND MORE OF THEM, ONE DAY A DISASTER WILL HAPPEN. JUST MY OPINION.

[Captain Kong]

The best ship of all is the old Queen Mary in Long Beach Cal.

She doesnt roll, very stable, she is earthquake proof. If California falls into the sea she will still be standing.
She has flush toilets.the power comes from ashore.
She is a good feeder, good entertainment.There would be no problems evacuating her in an emergency. lots of gangways onto a quayside so the danger of boarding lifeboats are eliminated.
The ideal ship for people who dont do cruises.
Well reccomended.

[Tony Wilding]

HI AGAIN, THERE IS A VIDEO ON UTUBE, OF A CRUISE SHIP IN A CYCLONE, SCARY. WORTH A LOOK.

[Colin McClelland]

MSC OPERA being towed in to NYNASHAMN after blackout in the Baltic Sea.

[happy daze john in oz]

The problem is two folsd as I see it. Firstly some of the new ships have only been designed for certian waters. Have read where the Oasis of the Seas, largest of all will only sail Caribbean waters. The second problem is with crew. The more responsible shipping companies take on good officers with experience, but some may be inclined to take on some from 'Third world' countries who do not have the experience or are prepared to take notice of condition. Last two I have been on both cancelled calls to ports as weather was not suitable. In each case the captain announced to the blods the reason for his action stating that his primary concern was passenger safety.
As for fittings not being secured, as I recall there were amny items on the old ships not secured, chairs etc.