MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The crippled cruise ship whose sewage-filled breakdown in the Gulf of Mexico subjected thousands to horrendous conditions tore loose today from the dock where it’s being repaired, lumbered downriver and crunched into a cargo ship.
Wind gusts near hurricane strength shoved the 900-foot Carnival Triumph free from its mooring in downtown Mobile, Ala., where the ship was brought in a five-day ordeal that began when an engine fire stranded it off of Mexico in February. Four tug boats were using several mooring lines to secure the ship to a nearby pier, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Colclough.
The violent weather Wednesday also blew a nearby guard shack into the water. One shipyard worker was rescued and crews were searching for another, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said, but the cruise ship’s mishap was unrelated.
Some crew members and workers had been staying on the ship while it was being repaired and people could be seen looking out the windows and on the deck of the ship Wednesday. Carnival said all its crew members and contractors who were working aboard were safe.
An engine fire disabled the Triumph on Feb. 10 and thousands of passengers were disabled for days. Passengers say they endured terrible conditions on board, including food shortages, raw sewage running in corridors and tent cities for sleeping on deck.
Tugs slowly towed the ship into port in Mobile, Ala., where it has remained under repair.
