Sovereign Of The Seas Docks In Fort Lauderdale After Partial Power Loss

The Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Sovereign of the Seas made an unscheduled stop at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., this morning, to end its cruise due to a partial loss of electrical power at approximately last night. The ship was scheduled to terminate its cruise at 9 a.m. this morning in Port Canaveral.

"All of our guests and crew are safe and comfortable," said Jack Williams, president of Royal Caribbean International. "Our decision to divert the ship to Port Everglades was made to minimize any inconvenience to our guests."

The ship, which held 2,478 guests and 920 crewmembers, was approximately 50 miles east of Fort Lauderdale when an electrical transformer on the port side of the ship failed, disrupting the distribution of power to certain areas of the ship. In spite of the shut down, the ship has three of its six diesel generators functioning, as well as two of its four main engines and its emergency generators.

Arrangements are being made to transport guests back to Port Canaveral where the cruise originated on Thursday, December 14. The three-night cruise stopped in Nassau, Bahamas, on Friday and Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay, Bahamas, on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean has been communicating with local U.S. Coast Guard officials and other shipping authorities to keep them fully informed of the situation.

Royal Caribbean is canceling Sovereign's regularly scheduled four-night cruise that would have departed Port Canaveral at 5 p.m. today. The company expects the ship to resume service on Thursday, December 21, sailing from Port Canaveral.

The captain has kept passengers abreast of the situation through announcements, while onboard technical experts are working to resolve the situation. Additional marine operations personnel from Royal Caribbean are expected to meet the ship upon its arrival in Port Everglades.