A fire broke out on the dinner cruise ship Spirit of Norfolk on the Elizabeth River in Virginia on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of 108, including 89 elementary school students celebrating their kindergarten graduation. Fortunately, all passengers were accounted for and there were no reported injuries. All passengers were evacuated to the excursion boat Victory Rover which ferried them to shore.
Two crew members remained on the Spirit of Norfolk to assist the firefighters and shortly afterward the vessel was towed to Pier 4 at the naval base.
“It is very deep-seated, very complex, and very difficult to extinguish,” said Tony Sickell, Naval Station Norfolk Fire Chief, describing the fire during an afternoon press conference. “We are doing everything that we possibly can right now to cool the hull and to get water to the seat of the fire in the engine room where we believe it possibly started.”
The fire continued burning in the evening and into Wednesday. The Coast Guard said in a statement issued today:
Crews are continuing firefighting measures to extinguish the fire. Due to ongoing firefighting operations, the vessel is considered too unstable for crews to enter, however, exterior firefighting measures continue. Based on the instability of the ship, salvage contractors are developing a plan to safely enter the ship.
Built in 1992, the Spirit of Norfolk accommodates up to nearly 500 passengers and is owned by the California-based Hornblower Group.
Spirit of Norfolk catches fire near Naval Station Norfolk
Thanks to Mary Habstritt for contributing to this post.
Thankfully no more of our children were lost.
As a former cruise ship Safety Officer I think it very unwise to have such a large group of kindergarten age children on board this type of vessel.
Now we await the Coast Guard and NTSB reports of equipment that should have been aboard and was not, in addition to layout faults in the design of the vessel. This always seems to come to light after these incidents and not during routine USCG Inspections.
Good Watch