UPDATE:
Carnival Cruise Line has now released a video which shows the Carnival Vista loading onto the large Boka Vanguard transport vessel earlier today. The repair of the Azipod issue is now underway just off the coast of Freeport, Bahamas.
PREVIOUSLY:
Carnival Vista has arrived in Freeport, Bahamas to begin the first-ever floating dry dock at the Grand Bahama Shipyard.
Carnival Vista Floating Dry Dock
The large Carnival cruise ship has arrived at Freeport in preparation for the first of its kind floating dry dock. Can you believe that the 135,000-ton cruise ship will be transferred onto the semi-submersible heavy transport vessel, Boka Vanguard which is operated by Netherlands-based Boskalis.
The huge transport vessel arrived at Freeport on July 5 to prepare for the complex operation which has never been done before. You can take a look at some drone video footage of the two ships next to each other in Freeport, the Carnival Vista arrived on July 12:
Three sailings have been canceled so that the Carnival Vista can have its ongoing Azipod propulsion issue fixed. Several cruises have already been impacted by the technical issue with the cruise line having to alter itineraries out of Port of Galveston, Texas which is where the cruise ship is based.
The dry dock will last for two weeks and the Grand Bahama Shipyard will also be involved. In April 2019 the usual dry dock was damaged after a crane collapsed on the Royal Caribbean operated cruise ship Oasis of the Seas, the ship and dock was were damaged. As a result, other ships including Carnival Vista have been unable to use the dry dock until it is repaired.
The Carnival cruise ship which is the first in her class after joining the fleet in 2016 will return to its homeport in Galveston to begin her week-long Caribbean July 27 sailing. The ship will resume her regular year-round cruises without any changes.
Cruise Hive will continue to follow the repair process and keep readers updated.
Video Footage: CCL Drone