CDC director: Covid cases on cruise ships surged 30-fold in two weeks

Table Of Content

• More from CBS News
• Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas
• Key dates in Costa Concordia shipwreck, trial and cleanup
• Thousands more flights canceled on Christmas Day, putting a damper on holiday travel
• Norwegian safety body criticizes cruise ship that nearly ran aground in 2019 storm
• Carnival Cruise Line’s Triumph

This list is full of the worst cruise ship disasters in history, from disease outbreaks, to power outages, to shipwrecks. Passengers aboard the Carnival Sunshine described shattered glass, water pouring into rooms and hallways, the ship pitching about and a lack of communication from cruise staff. Some passengers and crew members needed "minor assistance" from medical staff, a Carnival cruise spokesman told CBS News. A storm off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, battered a Carnival cruise ship for hours late Friday night before it docked, leaving passengers terrified.

More from CBS News

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats. It was the third outbreak this week affecting cruise ships operated by Carnival and Royal Caribbean departing Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The ship has 2,497 passengers and 1,112 crew members and was scheduled to return to Miami on Sunday following an 8-day cruise. Passengers were required to be vaccinated and they were tested before leaving last Saturday, according to Carnival. MIAMI — A COVID-19 outbreak took place on a South Florida-based cruise ship for the third time this week, as the number of coronavirus cases in Florida hit its highest level since the start of the pandemic. The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull.

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas

"I felt like (my daughters) were going to get trampled, and putting my arms around them and just holding them together and letting the sea of people go by us." Ten years after the deadly Costa Concordia cruise line disaster in Italy, survivors still vividly remember scenes of chaos they say were like something straight out of the movie "Titanic." “It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

Key dates in Costa Concordia shipwreck, trial and cleanup

But as cases continued to mount across the globe, cruise lines disclosed more outbreaks. Ships operating in U.S. waters reported about 5,000 Covid cases to the CDC from Dec. 15 through Dec. 29. The stark increase in cases comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned against cruise ship travel, regardless of passengers' vaccination status. Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 300-meter (1,000-foot) long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. With Giglio Island lying in a protected marine area, environmental issues relating to the Concordia wreck were of particular concern.

Regulatory and industry response

Forecasters said there would be gusty winds, dangerous surf and rip current conditions along portions of the U.S.'s southeastern coast through Sunday. Dozens of people were injured during the ship’s harrowing ordeal, including 36 who were admitted to hospitals. A social media user on X said their parents were passengers on Spirit of Discovery during the cruise.

Tragic story of cruise ship disaster than killed 33 passengers - LADbible

Tragic story of cruise ship disaster than killed 33 passengers.

Posted: Thu, 07 Mar 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

It was headed for Stavanger in southern Norway when it had engine problems amid a storm on March 23, 2019, and issued a mayday call. But while en route to the Spanish seaside town on the edge of the Bay of Biscay, the captain received word that the port at La Coruña would be closed because of bad weather. Hoping to stay ahead of the storm, the captain decided to start routing Spirit of Discovery back to the U.K. The calamity caused changes in the cruise industry like carrying more lifejackets and holding emergency drills before leaving port.

Norwegian safety body criticizes cruise ship that nearly ran aground in 2019 storm

The PA system wasn’t working properly on the boat, but the safety officer ran downstairs to survey the damage. Reports vary about how many passengers were impacted — most tallies number 30 dead and 70 injured. Several passengers also complained that a mix of Greek-, English- and Mandarin-speaking crew members led to few people understanding what anyone was saying.

years later, Costa Concordia disaster is still vivid for survivors

The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland. Through the confusion, the captain somehow made it into a lifeboat before everyone else had made it off. A coast guard member angrily told him on the phone to “Get back on board, damn it! The ship anchored in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocks in an area known for shipwrecks. Passengers saw a large wave crashing through glass doors and knocking people across the floor of an area where they had been instructed to gather. One passenger, Alan Grisedale, filmed the enormous waves that rocked Spirit of Discovery in the Bay of Biscay and shared the footage with BBC News.

The ship reportedly headed into 40-knot winds and 30-foot swells, and thus, the typical sail-away outdoor deck party with British entertainers Moss and Tracy Hills was moved to an indoor lounge. The sea conditions worsened that night, leading to the ship rolling from side to side, and eventually, an explosion was heard due to a lack of repairs for the waste disposal system. This all led to the ship losing power and water filling its generator room, so the generators were shut down and the ship was led adrift. A distress call was sent and answered by numerous South African helicopters and a Dutch container ship. Shockingly, the captain and many crew members were among the first to be airlifted to shore, leaving the entertainment staff to coordinate the rescue efforts and help passengers to safety.

During the 19-month trial, prosecutors claimed that he was an “idiot,” while Schettino countered that his actions had saved lives and that he was being scapegoated. In addition, he noted the steering error by the helmsman, but a maritime expert testified that regardless of the mistake, the collision was unavoidable. In February 2015 Schettino was convicted on all charges and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison. He appealed the verdict, but it was upheld in May 2017; Schettino began serving his sentence shortly thereafter. Costa Concordia disaster, the capsizing of an Italian cruise ship on January 13, 2012, after it struck rocks off the coast of Giglio Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Several of the ship’s crew, notably Capt. Francesco Schettino, were charged with various crimes.

When the Royal Pacific was first launched as a passenger ferry in 1964, it could carry 250 passengers, 91 cars, and 16 trucks. Sold and converted into a cruise ship in the late 1980s, the boat’s maiden voyage was a two-night “cruise to nowhere” from Singapore and sailed by Phuket, Malacca, and Penang before returning home. At around 2 a.m., when most passengers were asleep, the crew heard a loud bang, and the plates on the buffet table crashed to the ground. A Taiwanese trawler, Terfu 51, had accidentally rammed the ship, leaving a six-foot gash in the side. As the trawler pulled away, there was a deafening sound of metal scraping against metal.

Although the ship had noted listing (tilting) since its inception and some measures had been taken to rectify this, the SS Eastland was still suffering from being top-heavy when boarding for a cruise in 1915. The ship was meant to sail from Chicago to Michigan City, Indiana, carrying workers from Western Electric Company’s Hawthorne Works for a picnic. On July 24, 2,572 passengers boarded, with many congregating on the open upper decks. While still docked, the ship began to list to the port side, and reportedly, at some point, more passengers rushed to the port side, causing the ship to roll onto its side completely. Despite the river’s bottom being just 20 feet below and the shore being about the same distance, a total of 844 passengers and crew members died, including 22 entire families.

The Costa Concordia was owned by Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & PLC. When launched in 2005, it was Italy’s largest cruise ship, measuring 951 feet (290 metres) long with a passenger capacity of 3,780; by comparison, the Titanic was 882.5 feet (269 metres) long and could accommodate up to 2,435 passengers. It featured four swimming pools, a casino, and reportedly the largest spa on a ship. In July 2006 the vessel undertook its maiden voyage, a seven-day cruise of the Mediterranean Sea, with stops in Italy, France, and Spain.

Nearly 480 passengers were winched off the ship by helicopter despite high winds in a daring rescue operation. The captain then decided to halt the evacuation, and about 900 people were still on board when the ship limped into the Norwegian port of Molde on its own engines. So far, certain ships have been operating under the CDC's conditional sailing order, which sets safety procedures like mandated testing for foreign-operated cruise ships operating in American waters. During this time, work also began to remove the vessel in what was the largest maritime salvage operation in history. It was not until September 2013 that the 114,000-ton Concordia was finally righted.