Norwegian Cruise Ship Runs Aground After Sudden Loss of Power

The ship was floated off the reef at high tide later with no injuries.

A Norwegian Cruise Line ship ran aground earlier this week after reportedly suffering a loss of power (LOP), but was later floated off during high tide the same day with no injuries, the company announced Wednesday. 

According to reports, the Norwegian Dawn "temporarily lost power as the ship was departing King's Wharf, Bermuda" and hit the reef near Bermuda’s North Channel.

In an official statement, the cruise liner said that the ship had "experienced a temporary malfunction of its steering system while departing Bermuda, causing the ship to sail slightly off course, resulting in the vessel making contact with the sea bed."

A rise in LOP incidents this year has been connected with vessels switching between fuel oil and Emissions Control Area (ECA) compliant distillate fuel, but it is unclear if this was the case with Norwegian Dawn.

The vessel had been on a seven-day trip between Bermuda and Boston carrying 2,443 passengers and 1,059 crew at the time of the incident. 

Inspectors from DNV GL, along with a technical operations team from Norwegian Cruise Line and an independent dive team, reportedly underwent efforts to check for damage.

"The team confirmed the structural integrity of the ship and the technical issue which caused the steering malfunction was identified and corrected," the company said. 

During the inspections, the cruise line said that "the ship remained fully operational with the full complement of onboard services available to guests." 

The ship is now reportedly on its way back to Boston for an on-time arrival. 

Norwegian Cruise Line also added that the incident would likely have an "immaterial" impact on earnings per share. 

Last year, the company also announced that the Norwegian Dawn would be one of six ships that would be undergoing scrubber retrofits between 2014 and 2016.