A Norwegian Cruise Line ship got off to a bad start during its current transatlantic voyage. The Norwegian Star suffered a power outage even before it reached the Atlantic.
Ship Towed Back to NYC Pier
This left the ship adrift in the Hudson River shortly after departing the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.
According to an online post, the vessel was incapacitated for “several hours” before being helped back to the Manhattan pier by tugboats.
The outage disabled propulsion, air conditioning, and running water. Guests’ online posts described several attempts at restarting the power without success.
Thankfully, the problem was rectified relatively quickly, and the ship departed again about eight hours behind schedule after receiving clearance from the US Coast Guard. It is unclear what caused the outage.
“As a result of a technical propulsion issue, the captain made the decision to return to the port with the assistance from two tugboats,” a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said. “After further inspection, the issue was quickly resolved by the time the ship returned to port“
The Norwegian Star, which was constructed in the early-2000s, has suffered propulsion problems a number of times in the past, most recently in 2019. The loss of the Azipod propulsion system on the ship in 2017 was the basis for a successful $159 million lawsuit the cruise line won against manufacturer ABB in 2022.
Transatlantic Port Calls Unaffected by Delay
The delay isn’t expected to cause any revisions to the cruise itinerary, and it made its first port of call in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as planned on July 14.
The ship is on a 14-night transatlantic sailing to Iceland. Scheduled calls include Prince Edward Island, also in Canada, and then Nuuk and Paamiui, Greenland.
It makes three stops in Iceland – Isafjordur, Akureyri, and Grundarfjordur before disembarking in Reykjavik in late July.
