Passengers Sue Over Disabled Cruise Ship

Passengers on the cruise ship Triumph filed a class-action lawsuit in a federal court in Florida against Carnival Corp. over a fire that disabled the cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico for five days.

Matt and Melissa Crusan of Oklahoma filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and other passengers, alleging that Carnival should have anticipated the mechanical and/or engine issues that caused the ship’s engine to catch fire because of similar issues in the past.

The Triumph, which departed from Galveston, Texas, on February 7 for a four-day cruise along the coast of Mexico, was disabled on February 10. The cruise ship was carrying over 4,200 people, including 3,100 passengers, when the vessel became disabled, losing power and plumbing.

The suit claims that passengers were placed at unnecessary risk of injury due to conditions on the vessel after it became disabled, including being served spoiled food and being exposed to human waste on the deck of the ship.

The ordeal was not over until the Triumph was pulled into port in Mobile, Alabama, on February 14 by tug boats, although disembarking did not end until February 15.

An investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed that a leak in a fuel-oil return line in one of the ship’s engines was to blame for the fire.