A cruise ship which is based out of the Port of Palm Beach, Florida was delayed today after a yacht was on fire nearby.
Port of Palm Beach Cruise Ship Delayed
The Grand Classica cruise ship is operated by Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line was delayed today arriving back at Port of Palm Beach on the Florida east coast.
A fire had broken out from one of the 125-foot yachts at the nearby Boat Yard in Riviera Beach early on Tuesday morning. According to local news, large flames were raging from the yacht causing toxic smoke to impact the entire area including the cruise dock.
En route to breaking news of a massive yacht fire in Riviera Beach. This is near Port of Palm Beach. @Chopper5WPTV over scene with live footage on @FOX29WFLX right now pic.twitter.com/JjkowbSYVl
— Alanna Quillen (@AlannaWPTV) May 7, 2019
As a result, the Grand Classica cruise ship had to stay away from docking at Port of Palm Beach causing the disembarkation of around 600 passengers to be delayed. the ship was originally scheduled to arrive at 8:00 AM.
Yacht fire At a boat yard between The port of Palm Beach and the Riviera Beach Boat docks The Fire Has the coast guard ordering the cruise ship Bahamas paradise not to dock at the port of Palm Beach until the fire is out pic.twitter.com/QZhaisxMru
— Johann Hoffend (@Chopper5WPTV) May 7, 2019
The U.S. Coast Guard did eventually let the Bahamas Paradise vessel to enter the port and dock at around 10:45 AM. The next scheduled cruise will depart today as normal with no delay and a port official has stated it is safe for cargo and passenger operations.
CRUSIE SHIP UPDATE: Coast guard has cleared the crusie and it’s expected to dock soon. No delays are expected for the cruise leaving later this evening. Interview with Jarra Kaczwara with the Port of Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/cbGNH6L3ln
— Janny Rodriguez (@JannyReports) May 7, 2019
No injuries have been reported which is also good to hear. However, the burning yacht is expected to continue into the night but fire crews do have it under control. No damage has occurred to nearby by boats or buildings apart from the smoke. It is not known what caused the fire and an investigation is apparently underway.
Grand Classica offers short sailing to the Grand Bahama Island in the Bahamas and back usually lasting 2-nights. The ship is over 52,900 gross tons with a guest capacity of 650.
