Splendid Rescue for the Splendor

Passengers and crew were rescued and delivered to San Diego safe and sound

On November 8th, 2010 the Carnival Cruise The Splendor experienced a fire on its engine room which caused the loss of power and electricity leaving adrift the vessel with 3,300 passengers plus 1,167 crew members about 130 miles west of Ensenada, Mexico just a day after its departure from Long Beach, California.
Without hot water and with limited food supply, the 952-foot vessel sent a distress call to get supplies and assistance in order to be towed to a nearby port. While the US Navy provided help through the helicopters of the USS Ronald Reagan and delivered 50,000 pounds of food and water, the Towing Companies CMP and SMBC provided three tug boats to perform the salvatage of the stranded Cruise.

While both companies are subsidiaries of the Spanish Boluda Maritime Corporation, SMBC is a joint venture between Boluda and the US towing company Moran Towing Corporation whose headquarter are located at New Canaan, CT.

The tugs assigned to this operation were the VB Chihuahua (5,427 hp), the VB Coral (4,154 hp) and the SMBC Monterrey (6,600 hp); while the first two are property of CMP, the third one is property of SMBC. All tugs are equipped with Z-drive traction and FiFi 1 Fire fighting systems.

The tugs arrived on November 9th and successfully towed the Carnival Splendor to San Diego, where they got the assistance of three Harley Tugs in order to proceed to a safe berthing.

The salvatage operation took approximately 24 hours at a constant speed of 6.5 knots.

After the successful operation Coast Guard Commander Michaels Leon Guerrero thanked the fine crewmen of the three tugs as well as the managerial staff of both companies, whose fast response prevented for anything bad to happen.

About Moran Towing Corporation
Moran, a 150-year-old corporation that was founded as a small towing company in New York Harbor, is leading provider of marine towing and transportation services. Moran operates within three primary areas fo business activity: ship docking, LNG activities, and general towing; marine transportation of petroleum and dry bulk products; and contract and specialty towing.
The company currently owns and operates 95 tugs and 30 barges and serves 16 ports, each with its own localized management, dispatch and engineering functions. All are operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

About Boluda Maritime Corporation
With nearly two centuries plying the world’s seas Boluda Maritime Corporation is the second largest towing company worldwide and the first in Spain. Based on three principles: quality, expansion and diversification, Boluda Maritime Corporation has shown a rapid and solid growth, diversifying its business areas and broadening its commercial shipping related activities.

With a presence on the entire Spanish coast and in Portugal, France, Italy, West Africa and Latin America, the corporation has a hand in nearly every area the industry consists of, offering an integrated service from its many divisions: harbor towage, off-shore, marine salvage, marine transport of goods, shipbuilding and repair, tanker transport and supply of hydrocarbon fuels, operation of cargo terminals, shipping and forwarding agency.

Pictured: (1) The SMBC Monterrey towing the Splendor, (2)The VB Chihuahua able seamen helped on a successful rescue