Cruise drifts off Australian coast with over 900 passengers after power blackout

A cruise ship with nearly 900 passengers was left 'drifting' off the coast of Adelaide, Australia in the St Vincent's Gulf on December 6. The ship named Vasco da Gama was reportedly on a 58-hour night tour which was supposed to finish in the south-eastern part of the nation when the Captain ordered a 'precautionary blackout'. However, it further left the liner with 'no power, no water, no toilets, no cooking, nothing' for several hours. Reportedly, one passenger told a local radio station that it was like a 'ghost ship'. He called the conditions onboard 'horrific' and said that the ship was 'drifting' on being blown around by light breezes'. 

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Authorities call it a controlled blackout 

The ship finally appeared on the coast after a two-hour delay and CMV spokesperson told a local news channel that their ship went into a controlled blackout at 5:45 am (local time) while sailing in the vicinity of Port of Adelaide. The person said that the authorities were informed about the precautionary step and all the post-incidents checks were completed. It was also said that power was fully restored later in the morning and the vessel resumed sailing towards the port as per its scheduled itinerary. 

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The spokesperson also informed that the 55,877 GRT Vasco da Gama was on the East Coast Discovery cruise with 828 passengers onboard has an excellent record of reliability and all passengers on board were kept informed of the technical problem experienced in the ship. The ship had set off from Tilbury, London in October and had travelled across the Pacific to New Zealand and then Australia.  The CMV authorities also told the passengers on their next cruise ship to check-in as normal and informed about a small delay. 

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