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HomeNewsArchivesNORWAY EXPLOSION CANCELS THIS WEEK'S CRUISE

NORWAY EXPLOSION CANCELS THIS WEEK'S CRUISE

May 25, 2003 – As a result of an explosion aboard the SS Norway in the Port of Miami that claimed the lives of four crew members and injured at least 20 others Sunday morning, the cruise that would have brought the ship to St. Thomas on Thursday has been canceled.
The incident, which as of Sunday night had been categorized by the U.S. Coast Guard and Miami police as an accident, will force the cancellation of at least this week's cruise and possibly others in weeks to come.
The Norway calls at St. Thomas every Thursday and anchors in the outer harbor. The regular itinerary for the ship, owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines, is to depart Miami on Sunday afternoon with stops at Sint Maarten, St. Thomas, and Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, and return to Miami the following Sunday morning.
Coast Guard authorities were notified of the explosion in the engine room shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday, less than two hours after the 41-year-old ship docked at the Port of Miami. None of the 2,135 passengers on board were injured, and all disembarked safely from the ship, according to published and broadcast reports.
Officials said there was no fire associated with the explosion.
Authorities believe that a boiler steam leak in the ship’s engine room caused the blast. A statement from Norwegian Cruise Lines officials Sunday said they were "deeply saddened" by the deaths which happened after "an incident in the engine room."
The Norway has a four-boiler, two-steam engine propulsion system. As auxiliary power, it also has six steam turbo generators and five diesel generators.
The Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board and Miami officials are investigating Sunday’s incident.
Two years ago, ironically on Memorial Day weekend, the Norway’s Caribbean cruise was canceled after an unannounced Coast Guard inspection found more than a hundred fire safety violations including a badly repaired fire-sprinkler system. The company made the needed repairs within a few days and the ship resumed service.
The Norway was christened in 1962 as the SS France. It was taken out of service in 1974 because it was too expensive to operate profitably. In 1979 it was purchased by NCL for $18 million and the following year was not only refurbished but lengthened in a $120 million makeover. In 1990 two more decks were added. In the fall of 2001 the ship was to have been repositioned from the Caribbean to the Far East, but following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the decision was made to return the vessel to the Caribbean, where it has continued in service year-round.

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