Fire disables Azamara cruise ship near Philippines

Azamara Club Cruises said the ship was "in the process of being repaired"

A fire has temporarily disabled a cruise ship carrying 1,001 people in waters south of the Philippines, the Philippine coastguard says. Five crew were injured in the fire, which broke out on Friday, a day after the ship left Manila for Sandakan, Malaysia. None of the passengers was injured, according to the ship's operator, Azamara Club Cruises. The ship is owned by the world's second largest cruise firm, Royal Caribbean. A coastguard spokesman, Lt Cdr Algier Ricafrente, said the Azamara Quest was carrying 590 passengers and 411 crew. Azamara Club Cruises said the blaze - in one of the ship's engine rooms - had been immediately extinguished. The company said the atmosphere on the ship was calm. "However, in an abundance of caution, the captain deemed it necessary to muster all guests at their assembly stations," it said. The injured crew members suffered smoke inhalation and one of them needed hospital care.

Azamara Club Cruises said engineers had restored power to one of the ship's engines to restart air conditioning, running water, refrigeration and food preparation and the vessel was in "calm seas". The company said once the engine had been repaired, the Azamara Quest would sail for Sandakan. "When propulsion has been restored to the ship, we will be able to provide an estimated time of arrival. Until then, we will be working with our guests to determine how we can best assist them with next steps and travel arrangements," it said. Cdr Ricafrente said a Manila-based ferry and towage company had alerted the coastguard to the fire but there had been no direct contact with the ship's crew. He said the coastguard would investigate why the Azamara Quest's crew had not issued a distress call. The boat had been 139km (75 nautical miles) south-west of the Philippines' Tubbataha Reef when the coastguard heard of the incident. Lt Cdr Ricafrente said two coastguard vessels and a patrol boat were expected to reach the ship later on Saturday. Another coastguard spokesman later said a Philippine Navy ship would escort the ship until it had crossed into Malaysian waters.

Compensation offer
Azamara Club Cruises said the rest of the ship's voyage would be cancelled. Up to 60 Britons are reported to be on board. One passenger, Deborah Garnett from Yorkshire, said dinner was about to be served when the fire broke out.

"One of the engineers ran up covered in oil, running through the dining room and smoke filled the dining room and everybody was evacuated and given life jackets," she said. "The captain was dining and he ran after the engineer and went onto the bridge. Obviously, it was a bit of a panic and people were worried because they thought they were going to have to lower the lifeboats." Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it was sending a team to the region to meet the ship and see what consular assistance it could provide. It said anyone with concerns about those on board could find further information on the Azamara Quest Facebook page, website, or by calling the cruise operator's hot line on 001-408-916-9001. Earlier this year, 32 people died when a cruise ship owned by another firm Carnival - ran aground off the coast of Italy. A month later another Carnival ship lost power for three days in the Indian Ocean.