The funnel of a Carnival Cruise Lines ship caught on fire on Thursday while the vessel was in the port of Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos archipelago.
A large plume of fire and billowing black smoke could be seen coming from one of the funnel’s two openings on the 2,980-berth Carnival Freedom (built 2007) while the ship was in port.
Arnold Donald-led Carnival Corp had scant information on the incident, other than to say that the fire had been put out by the ship’s emergency response team.
“All guests and crew are safe, and the ship’s guests were cleared by local authorities to go ashore,” the New York-listed owner said in a statement. “We continue to assess the situation.”
Carnival said the vessel had left Florida’s Port Canaveral on Monday on a five-day cruise to the eastern Caribbean.
The fire broke out when the Carnival Freedom was moored on the opposite side of the same pier where Carnival Cruise Line’s 6,600-berth Mardi Gras (built 2020) was located. That ship received no damage as a result of the fire.
Carnival has not disclosed the extent of damages that the Carnival Freedom may have sustained as a result of the blaze.
The Panamanian-flagged ship was built by Fincantieri’s yard in Sestri, Italy and has a current market value of $204m, according to Vessels Value. It was worth $776m when it was first launched.
This fire has occurred as media reports swirl that Carnival may sell its luxury brand Seabourn to Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund.
Carnival has not denied the reports but has said it does not “comment on rumours or speculation” as a general policy.
