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A radio program in Sydney, Australia, the Alan Jones radio show, is reporting that Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ Vasco Da Gama (formerly the P&O Pacific Eden) lost power to its engines in the Gulf of St. Vincent off Adelaide, Australia earlier today.

The radio station 2GB’s Steve Price spoke to passengers onboard, who reportedly said:
  • Approximately 900 passengers are onboard the stricken ship. 
  • The ship is running on auxiliary power only with minimal or no engine power – drifting “in circles.”
  • Lights are working, but not toilets. No power for cooking – restaurants are closed.
  • Reception staff have not been told anything to update passengers. Passengers are wandering around the ship not knowing what’s going on and very little information was being given to them.
  • Ship is close to Adelaide, but apparently many passengers expect to miss flights out of Adelaide.

You can listen to a a passenger’s graphic account here. “We’re drifting. We’ve got no power, no water, no toilets, no cooking, nothing! . . . The ship’s just going around in circles, it’s being blown around by light breezes. We’re just completely buggered.”

9 News Adelaime has posted an image on Twitter of the cruise ship:

No official statement yet from the ship’s owners Cruise and Maritime Voyages. 

If you have a comment or question, please leave one below or join the discussion on our Facebook page.

Update: We received the following statement from CMV:

“Further to your story posted online, find below an update on Vasco da Gama.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) cruise ship MV Vasco da Gama went into a controlled precautionary blackout early this morning at approx 0545hrs whilst sailing in the vicinity of the Port of Adelaide. Local authorities were notified of the incident as a precaution by the ship’s Captain.

An alarm light on the engine control room’s panel led the vessel’s officers to initiate a controlled blackout as a precaution against damage to systems onboard and in order to investigate the alarm.

All precautionary post-incidents checks were completed with no causes for concern identified. Power was fully restored later in the morning and the vessel resumed sailing towards the port of Adelaide per its scheduled itinerary.

The 55,877 GRT Vasco da Gama is currently on a East Coast Discovery cruise with 828 passengers on board. The ship has an excellent record of reliability and all passengers on board were kept informed of the technical problem experienced.”

Photo Credit: Cruise and Maritime Voyages’ Vasco Da Gama (via CMV)