Passengers, crew evacuated from cruise ship after fire
Passengers and crew members were evacuated from a cruise ship sailing in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park because of a fire on board earlier this week.
After a “fire incident” contained to the engine room of UnCruise Adventures’ Wilderness Discoverer ship on Monday, other vessels in the area helped disembark 51 guests and 16 crew members, the cruise line said in a news release.
“We are relieved to confirm that there have been no injuries resulting from the fire,” Capt. Dan Blanchard, UnCruise’s owner and CEO, said in the release. “Our highly trained crew promptly extinguished the fire using established emergency protocols, and CO2 was successfully deployed for everyone's safety.” Eleven crew members remained on board.
Cruise ship medical facilities: What happens if you get sick or injured (or bitten by a monkey)
The line is providing guests with full refunds. They were transferred to Princess Cruises’ Sapphire Princess ship, and later moved to another ship before being disembarked at park headquarters and given hotels and flights home.
There were “no discernible environmental impacts” in the area as a result of the incident, according to UnCruise, and an investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
Wilderness Discoverer was built in 1992 and can accommodate 76 guests.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].
- Alaska Insight
- Watch KAKM Live
- Indie Alaska
- Ways to Watch
- There is Hope
- AK Passport
- In My Family
- KSKA Schedule
- Hometown, Alaska
- Listen to KSKA Live
- All Radio Programs
- Outdoor Explorer
- Addressing Alaskans
- State of Art
- Alaska Economic Report
- Hear me now
- Military Voices
- One Small Step
- Alaska Morning News
- Talk of Alaska
- Alaska News Nightly
- Traveling Music
- Black History in the Last Frontier
- Latest News
- Environment
- Mental Health
- Rural Health
- Alaska Legislature
- Washington, D.C.
- Public Safety
- ANCSA, 50th Anniversary
- Midnight Oil
- Daily Digest
- AKPM Community Education Engagement
- Race Matters
- Ready to Learn
- Library Explorers
- Molly of Denali
- Learning Media
- Parent Resources
- Watch PBS KIDS
- Workforce Development
- Ways to Give
- Benefits of Membership
- Together We Are Stronger
- AKPM Merchandise
- E-Newsletters
- Organization
- Public Documents
- Public Meetings
- Accessibility Commitment
- Donor Portal
Passengers evacuated after fire breaks out on cruise ship in Glacier Bay
Nearly 70 passengers and crew were evacuated from a small cruise ship on Monday morning after an engine room fire disabled UnCruise’s Wilderness Discoverer in Glacier Bay.
The fire was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard around 7:30 a.m.
“By the time we got there, they had put the fire out,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Ian Gray said. “All of the passengers were taken off and were in good health.”
The Sapphire Princess, a larger Princess Cruises ship that was sailing nearby, responded to radio calls from the Wilderness Discoverer and used one of its lifeboats to bring over the 51 passengers and 16 crew members. A handful of crew members stayed behind on the ship, which is being towed to a shipyard in Ketchikan.
Local and federal authorities will examine the damage in the coming days.
“Once it’s moored up at the pier, we’ll start the investigation process,” Gray said. “We’ll get Coast Guard personnel aboard and probably more than likely the Alaska State Troopers.”
A different UnCruise ship picked up the Wilderness Discoverer’s passengers and brought them back to the company’s headquarters in Juneau on Monday afternoon. UnCruise representatives said all of the passengers would get full refunds.
Correction: 51 passengers and 16 crew members were taken off the Wilderness Discoverer.
Anna Canny, KTOO - Juneau
Related articles more from author, why alaska’s u.s. house race is one of the most expensive in the nation, in the final days before the election, get out the native vote works to break down barriers, engaging voters across diverse communities | alaska insight.
IMAGES
VIDEO