US Coast Guard responds to fire aboard Carnival Liberty in St Thomas

Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed that a fire broke out aboard its cruise liner Carnival Liberty while in port in St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands on Monday.

The confirmation in a statement from the cruise line came after the US Coast Guard on twitter reported that it was responding to an incident aboard the 3,000-passengers ship.

While the fire, which started in the engine room, was suppressed by the ship’s automated firefighting systems, the cruise line said all passengers were evacuated to shore as a precaution.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Carnival Cruise Lines added in the statement, confirming that all passengers and crew were accounted for with no reported injuries.

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Carnival Liberty is on the second day of a seven-day cruise that left San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday, according to Carnival.

The cruise line said passengers would be allowed back on the boat after authorities deemed it was safe, but it wouldn’t set sail again until at least 8 p.m.

The ship remained in port in Charlotte Amalie on St Thomas on Tuesday at the time of writing, with all passengers having spent the night on-board following a technical inspection.

“All guests remained ashore through this evening while the ship’s technical systems were evaluated. Presently, all hotel services including air conditioning, elevators, toilets, galleys, etc. are fully functional. At approximately 8 p.m. EDT the U.S. Coast Guard gave permission for guests to reboard,” the statement said.

“A team of experts is in the process of conducting a deeper technical assessment of the affected engine room that is expected to be completed in the morning. At this time it has not been determined when the ship will depart St. Thomas,” the cruise line added.