Marine

19.4, cause of fire, verdict

US: Princess Cruises confirmed that the fire that broke out on board passenger Star Princess last month started on one of the ship’s balconies although “no definitive cause of the fire has yet been determined.” The company said in a statement it believed the fire, in which one person died, was an “isolated incident” but that it had put precautions in place so that, in the event of a similar incident, the company would be able to detect and put out the fire quickly. Measures put in place include a 24-hour fire watch on balconies and training for crew members on handling balcony based fires, as well as enhanced passenger communication and changes to balcony housekeeping procedures. Over and above these measures, Princess Cruises says it is “moving quickly to provide long-term and permanent measures to improve fire safety on our balconies.” She is currently having 100 new cabins fitted at Lloyd Werft’s yard in Bremerhaven, Germany which were supplied by Fincantieri. Fire damage is expected to cost the company around $34mn.