A luxury cruise ship -- and about 2,000 passengers expecting to embark on a weeklong sea voyage -- spent Saturday stranded in Seward as repair crews raced to fix a 10-foot-long hole in the ship's hull. Authorities said the damage to the 960-foot Summit posed no danger to passengers or crew members and caused no pollution.
The hull was damaged Wednesday when the huge vessel, while under the control of a marine pilot who called out instructions as a crew member steered, hit a rock leaving Hubbard Glacier, according to a spokesman for Celebrity Cruises, the ship's owner.
After hitting the rock, the ship sailed on to Valdez, where divers spotted a "slice" in one blade of the starboard propeller but murky water blocked further investigation, Celebrity spokesman Michael Sheehan said in a telephone interview from Miami, Fla.
By 2 a.m. Friday, the ship docked in Seward. That's where divers discovered the extent of the damage: the 10-foot-long hole in a ballast tank midway along the ship's hull on the starboard side, Sheehan said.
The ship's hull also sustained a 140-foot-long crease, "as if somebody drove their car along a post and it just put a dent all the way down the length of the side of the car," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jim Robertson, chief of inspections for Marine Safety Office in Anchorage.
Pilots take over the navigation of some vessels in dangerous or difficult waters. A representative of the Southeast Alaska Pilots' Association was not available for comment Saturday.
Summit passengers wrapping up a seven-day trip north from Vancouver, British Columbia, disembarked in Seward on Friday. But a new crop of passengers, booked for a trip south to Vancouver, arrived the same day expecting to get underway that night.
Instead, they got $300 in onboard credit vouchers and free drinks to ease the pain of the delay.
"There was a happy hour last night," Sheehan said. Yes, he said, that is unusual. "Obviously, we're trying to correct the issue and we wanted to keep the customers happy and satisfied."
Early Saturday morning, the massive Coral Princess docked in Seward, forcing the Summit off the cruise ship dock and to an anchorage in Resurrection Bay.
To get off the ship and into town Saturday, Summit passengers packed into 150-person tenders zooming from the disabled ship to a hastily raised tent at a dock in the small boat harbor.
Locals said downtown Seward filled with displaced cruisers looking to while away a gorgeous, sunny day.
Tourist-friendly businesses booked up fast.
"Inside the restaurant, it's swamped," said Chance Humphreys, a host at Ray's Waterfront, a popular tourist destination overlooking the harbor. "The town is actually just crawling with people right now."
Some locals said the crowds seemed a bit bewildered.
"Most people are elderly people just wandering, looking around, not knowing what to do, buying 10-cent postcards and stuff like that," reported Troy Merritt, a night doorman at the Yukon Bar who works days at a local pawn shop.
Ship officials had originally expected to leave Seward sometime Saturday night, but late in the evening divers were still in the water repairing the damage.
Once underway, the Summit will skip at least one stop, Juneau, to make up for lost time, Sheehan said.
A Coast Guard official said late Saturday that the earliest the ship would be ready to leave would be today.
Passengers spent most of the day Saturday under the impression they would be leaving Saturday night. "People assume they're going out tonight," said Erin Gillespie, who was taking reservations Saturday afternoon for Godwin Glacier Dog Sled Tours.
Summit passengers kept her busy, Gillespie said. "We booked up our whole afternoon. ... I've turned away a lot of people. They're looking to waste some time because they have the time."
A Coast Guard inspector from Anchorage was joined in Seward on Saturday by a Lloyd's of London surveyor who will inspect the ship for the cruise line. Lloyd's is Celebrity's classification society, serving as an inspection authority that reports to the government of the Bahamas, where the ship is registered, Sheehan said.
The hole did not endanger the vessel or its passengers because it punctured a ballast tank at the middle of the ship that fills with water to stabilize the vessel for a smooth ride, ship and government officials said.
The repairs are multiphased: First a diver attaches a temporary patch to the outside of the Summit. Then crews pump water from the tank so they can weld the ruptured steel.
The repair plan must be approved by the Coast Guard before the ship will be allowed to depart for Vancouver and a more permanent fix. The Lloyd's surveyor will issue a certificate that allows the vessel to sail.
Once it sails from Seward, the Summit will stop next in Hubbard Glacier.
Anchorage Daily News
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