Italian Coast Guard Responds as Mega MSC Cruise Ship Loses Propulsion Power
MSC World Europa, one of the largest cruise ships in the world with a reported 8,500 people aboard, lost propulsion early Monday, August 25, off the coast of Italy. The incident drew wide media attention with sensational reports saying it had grounded or crashed. The Guardia Costiera responded to the ship, and it was emphasized that the vessel was never in any physical danger.
Introduced in 2022 as the first cruise ship to exceed the 200,000 gross ton mark, the ship was making a week-long cruise circuit in the Western Mediterranean and sailing between Genoa and Naples when, according to passengers, the vessel stopped at approximately 0530 Monday morning. The incident was reported to the Coast Guard control center at approximately 0730, and two patrol boats and a helicopter were dispatched to survey the situation.
At 215,863 gross tons, the massive 1,094-foot (333-meter) vessel is reported to have a total of 8,585 people aboard, including 6,496 passengers on an end of summer cruise and 2,089 crewmembers. Some of the passengers were due to disembark today in Naples, and others were waiting to join the ship.
The Coast Guard placed officers aboard the ship to survey the situation and reported it was told that the ship was experiencing an electrical problem with its propulsion. The ship is one of the largest to be fueled with LNG and uses Azipods for propulsion. It was built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique and is second in size only to Royal Caribbean International’s sister ships Icon and Star of the Seas. MSC introduced a second ship of the class this year and has ordered four more World Class ships.
Passengers were reported calm while the ship was drifting approximately eight miles off the coast of the Italian island of Ponza. The ship was able to continue to run its generators and was maintaining passenger services.
Two tugs from the ports of Gioia Tauro and Naples were dispatched, and plans were being made to tow the ship, if necessary, the approximately 50 miles to Naples. However, by early afternoon, MSC Cruises was reporting that the crew had been able to initially restore partial propulsion. The Coast Guard did a further inspection, and the ship was moving at 15 knots with a Coast Guard escort to Naples. It docked at 2100 local time on Monday night.
MSC said technicians would continue to repair and inspect the cruise ship. Passengers were proceeding with the disembarkation and embarkation. The plan called for the ship to resume its cruise on Tuesday, sailing for Messina.