Drama off Port Adelaide as cruise ship Vasco da Gama has blackout
A luxurious cruise ship was due to make its maiden call to Adelaide this morning – but there was drama on the high seas when it lost power for about two hours and appeared to be listing while off Outer Harbor.
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It was due to make a triumphant maiden call to Adelaide this morning, however things didn’t go to plan when CMV Australia’s Vasco da Gama lost power off Outer Harbor and appeared to be listing.
About 5.45am, the ship with about 828 passengers on board experienced a blackout, causing concern among some passengers.
Passenger John told FIVEaa radio said there were a lot of worried people on board.
“We’re supposed to be berthing in Adelaide at 8am this morning,” he said at the time.
“There are a lot of people with ongoing flights who are keen to get off the boat... there are quite a lot of concerned people on board and of course there’s no electricity.”
CMV Australia said the MV Vasco da Gama went into a controlled precautionary blackout and that 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 on-board and in order to investigate the alarm,” a statement from CMV read.
“All precautionary post-incidents checks were completed with no causes for concern identified.”
Power was fully restored about two hours later and the vessel resumed sailing towards Port Adelaide as “per its scheduled itinerary”, docking about 10am.
“The ship has an excellent record of reliability and all passengers on board were kept informed of the technical problem experienced,” the statement said.
Vasco da Gama was formerly P&O Cruises’ Pacific Eden, and can carry up to 1220 guests and 630 crew.
The 55,877 GRT (gross register tonnage) ship is currently on an East Coast Discovery cruise.
The ship is expected to bring over 8500 guests and crew to Adelaide and South Australia’s regional tourist destinations throughout the season.
It will homeport in Adelaide and Fremantle, also cruising from London (Tilbury), Auckland, Sydney and Singapore.
It is due to be the first ever cruise ship to visit Wallaroo, with its first call tomorrow.
It is also due to call at Wallaroo on December 18 and January 3, while other South Australian ports of call during its summer season include Penneshaw and Port Lincoln.
Copper Coast Council Mayor Roslyn Talbot said the residents of the Copper Coast were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the cruise ship over summer.
“Not only will the visitors be in the community for the day of their visit, enjoying all we have to offer, we are sure that they will enjoy the experience so much they will want to revisit us perhaps for a longer stay,” Ms Talbot said.
Yorke Peninsula Tourism chair Craig Costello also said the day was a significant one for the region.
Earlier this morning, CMV Australia managing director Dean Brazier said the line was thrilled to have Vasco da Gama visiting Adelaide for the first time.
