Apparently a fire broke out onboard the Costa neoClassica which is operated by the European based Costa Cruises.
According to reports the fire broke out in the ships funnel while the 56,800 gross ton ship was sailing in the Red Sea yesterday evening (December 23rd). The good news is that the fire was extinguished by crew personnel quickly and it didn’t affect any onboard operations.
Cruise hive got in touch with Costa Cruises and gave us the following statement:
Genoa, Dec 24th- Yesterday at about 9.25pm Italy time a fire was detected coming out of the funnel on board Costa neoClassica while sailing the Red Sea, destination Aqaba on her planned route to Indian Ocean.
The shipboard personnel promptly intervened and the fire was quickly extinguished. The safety of guests and crew was never put at risk and no injury was reported. As a precaution and as per procedures General Emergency signals were given, however the guests were released shortly thereafter.
Ship services continued to function throughout without interruption. The ship reached her destination port in Aqaba and is now berthed. Proper investigations on root causes are in progress and the situation is normal. According to the assessments performed, it is confirmed that damages caused by the fire are exclusively concentrated on the external part of the funnel.
The departure of the ship from Aqaba is expected to be slightly delayed, in order to allow clearance from Classification Society and Maritime Authority officers. The arrival in Eliat is supposed to be as per schedule tomorrow morning at 6.00 am (local time).
The Costa neoClassica was refurbished in Dec 2014, she can host a total of 1,680 Guests, and she is 53,000 GT. The ship is currently performing a 25 days cruise to Indian Ocean.
The Costa neoclassica departed Savona, Italy on December 18th on a 28-day voyage to multi destinations that will end up at Mauritius on January 11th 2015. An investigation is now underway by Costa on the cause of the fire and there is not expected to be any further delay.
The Costa neoClassica was previously known as Costa Classica and has recently undergone a multi million Euro upgrade. The vessel had been in dry dock since 18th December.
Photo By:Â 663highland
