Carnival Charters Flights For Liberty Passengers Stuck In St. Thomas Following Fire In Engine Room

ST. THOMAS — Seven hundred and seventy passengers from on board Carnival Liberty, which was disabled at the WICO dock on Monday, will be flown to Puerto Rico today, according to a press release WICO issued today.

Carnival Cruise Lines has chartered flights to take passengers home after a small fire in the engine room Monday cut short a seven-day Caribbean cruise.

“Carnival Cruise Lines has decided to end the cruise early and assist passengers in returning to their home cities,” said Joseph B. Boschulte, President and CEO of the West Indian Company, Ltd, the company that manages the dock where the ship remained berthed. “One-hundred-seventy passengers took a charted flight to Barbados on Tuesday. The Carnival-chartered flights continue today with six flights scheduled for San Juan. The cruise line will continue to facilitate departures until all passengers have left.”

Carnival Liberty will remain in port until all passengers disembark and the ship is able to leave.

Passengers were safely evacuated when fire broke out shortly before noon on Monday. They re-boarded the ship about 8:15 p.m. Monday night and remained in port.

Carnival Liberty was on its second day of a seven-day Caribbean cruise when the incident occurred. The ship’s automated fire suppression system extinguished the fire. Local emergency personnel were on the dock to assist if needed.

No one was injured in the incident. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Carnival Liberty’s operating systems affecting air conditioning, water, electricity, toilets, elevators and food service remained fully operational while passengers were on board.

WICO’s management and staff will continue to assist and co-operate on every level until the matter is fully resolved along with maintaining normal business operations.

Back Story

All passengers and crew onboard the Carnival Liberty were safely evacuated Monday after a small fire broke out while the ship was docked in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, The West Indian Company, Ltd. (WICO) announced on Monday.  No one was injured.

“A fire broke out briefly late this morning in the engine room of the Carnival Liberty while most passengers were on shore,” Joseph B. Boschulte, President and CEO of the West Indian Company, Ltd. said. “Fortunately, the fire was extinguished by the ship’s automated suppressive system. We appreciate the rapid response assistance by the Virgin Islands Fire Department, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the Virgin Islands Port Authority and the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and the entire WICO team, who implemented our emergency action plan.”

The West Indian Company, Ltd. manages the dock where the Carnival Liberty was berthed. Boschulte added that because of outstanding inter-governmental cooperation, along with the generosity and quick response of private businesses, passengers were kept cool under tents, received water, ice and food, were transported to an adjacent resort while waiting for clearance to board, and were kept up to date on the ship’s status and departure time.

Members of St. Thomas Rescue and Emergency Medical Services also were on hand to assist with any medical emergencies.  

The cause of the fire has not as yet been determined. Carnival Liberty was scheduled to depart at 5:00 p.m., but passengers began re-boarding at 8:15 p.m.  An expected departure time has not been determined. WICO will continue to provide updates on the status of the Carnival Liberty.

The ship was on its second day of a seven-day Caribbean cruise when the incident occurred. It was the only ship in port.