At the moment there is only one big news item concerning the Seychelles: the technical problems of the “Costa Allegra”. In the meantime, the ship has docked in the port of Mahé, the main island of the Seychelles, as the following report shows.
Victoria (dpa) – Tropical heat, no air conditioning, blocked toilets: For the more than 600 passengers on the wrecked cruise ship “Costa Allegra”, a nightmare has come to an end.
Three days after a fire in the engine room, the broken-down ship docked in the port of the Seychelles’ main island of Mahé on Thursday. The travelers went ashore. Buses took the relieved tourists to hotels.
The 36-year-old Sebastian Veit from Schwäbisch Gmünd told a reporter from the dpa news agency after he came ashore: “Nothing worked at all. I quickly realized that the damage was not minor.” A fire broke out in the engine room on Monday. The ship had tilted to port.
Passenger Franz Mayer from near Koblenz said that the crew of the “Costa Allegra” had lowered lifeboats: “We were all ready to get into the lifeboats.”
Passengers from 25 countries were vacationing on the ship, with a total of around 1000 people on board. “We asked the passengers, and of the 38 German guests, 15 wanted to return home immediately,” said Costa Cruises’ spokesman in Germany, Werner Claasen, on Thursday. They will probably fly back home via Paris.
The 23 other travelers from Germany had decided to continue relaxing in the Seychelles for the time being. The Costa shipping company is under pressure after the second ship accident in a row and is trying to provide passengers with the best possible care. The company had left it up to the travelers to fly home or take a vacation at the company’s expense.
Many passengers praised the crew and captain for their prudent actions. According to an employee of the Ministry of Health in the Seychelles, six passengers are said to have broken their arms.
The German ambassador in Kenya responsible for the Seychelles, Margit Hellwig-Bötte, said of the German travelers: “But they all seem to be in good health.” They would first have to recover from the shock.
After the fire, the cruise ship was unable to maneuver and had to be towed. “For most of the time, the French fishing trawler “Trevignon” pulled the ship alone,” explained Costa spokesman Claasen in Germany. At the beginning, two tugboats were brought in as reinforcements, but they then accompanied the “Costa Allegra” together with a navy boat.
The “Trevignon” of the shipping company Chevannes-Merceron-Ballery (CMB) had immediately rushed to help after the distress call and had maneuvered the “Costa Allegra” in tow to the port of Victoria since Tuesday. More than 100 passengers from France were also on board. Some reported in the French media about the terrible hygienic conditions, but at the same time praised the caution of the crew.
Helicopters had supplied the people with the essentials. Food such as fresh bread and batteries for cell phones, plastic dishes and medicines were also brought onto the ship.
The 26-day sea voyage was actually supposed to run from Mauritius via Madagascar through the Suez Canal to Savona in Italy.
The accident involving the “Costa Allegra” once again affects a cruise ship from the same Italian shipping company that owned the half-sunk shipwrecked “Costa Concordia”. It lies off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio.