Victoria (Reuters) – The Italian cruise ship “Costa Allegra” in distress in the Indian Ocean is on its way to the Seychelles main island of Mahe.
A French tuna trawler took the 29,000-ton ship on the hook on Tuesday to bring the more than 1,000 people on board to safety. According to the shipping company, the original plan to take the 636 passengers and 413 crew members first to the island of Desroches and then to Mahe was scrapped for safety and cost reasons. However, the arrival of the “Costa Allegra” will be delayed by one day to Thursday due to the course change.
The “Costa Allegra” sent out an emergency call on Monday after a fire in the engine room. The fire, which broke out for unknown reasons, caused the rudder system to fail, leaving the ship bobbing in the ocean 230 kilometers southwest of Mahe, unable to maneuver. Thanks to an emergency generator, there is light on board, but the air conditioning and the kitchens are still without power. Therefore, only a cold breakfast was served on Tuesday, and travelers can shower at the earliest after landing on Mahe.
However, it is easier for passengers to go ashore on the main island than on Desroches. There they would have had to take the lifeboats of the “Costa Allegra” and would then have been taken to Mahe by ferry or small aircraft. According to the authorities and the shipping company, this would have posed considerable logistical and financial problems.
According to the shipping company, food was flown to the “Costa Allegra” to make the travelers as comfortable as possible. Two tugs also set sail to support the tuna catcher.
The more than 600 passengers, including four children, come from 25 countries. With 127 travelers, the French make up the largest contingent, closely followed by 126 Italians. There are also 38 Germans, 31 Britons, 13 Canadians and eight US citizens on board. Nine members of an Italian naval unit are traveling on the “Costa Allegra” to protect it from pirates. The Indian Ocean is notorious for pirate attacks, although pirates have never yet boarded a cruise ship.
The “Costa Allegra” belongs to the same shipping company as the “Costa Concordia”, which ran aground off the coast of Tuscany in January. At least 25 people lost their lives. The shipping company Costa Cruises is a subsidiary of the US group Carnival.
Source: https://de.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idDEBEE81R05V20120228