Three crew members die aboard Monarch of the Seas after being overcome by methane
Three crew members died aboard Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas from methane gas exposure during onboard maintenance this morning while the ship was docked at the Port of Los Angeles, and five to ten other crew members needed medical treatment. The accident happened in a non-public area, so no passengers were effected, and by all accounts the end-of-cruise disemebarkation of the ship proceeded normally.Royal Caribbean sources tell us that it is not currently known whether the ship will sail later today as planned to the Mexican Riviera.
DailyBreeze.com (AP): Cruise ship gas leak kills 3 workers at Port of L.A.
Update 9/3/05: The gas was apparently hydrogen sulfide, which occurs in sewage, not methane as originally reported. The ship was released and sailed yesterday evening for its next departure, although Royal Caribbean informed us the sailing was later in the day than scheduled.
Labels: Royal Caribbean
1 Comments:
We just returned from a 4 day cruise on the Monarch of the Seas and can verify that the problem of sewage gas was either not solved last month, or they had the same problem again. When we were in San Diego on Oct 11 we awoke from afternoon naps to find our cabin full of sewage-gas... smelled just like any other black-water holding tank on any boat or rv. We got out of the cabin asap, but not quick enough to not suffer as a result of inhaling the fumes. I had a headache for several days, but my 75 yr. old husband also suffered serious lung problems and nausea. He spent the next two days in bed coughing, unable to eat, and was barely able to leave the ship yesterday under his own power. Went to bed as soon as we got home and is still weak and unable to eat normally.
The whole experience was scary, and because the crew --from the cabin supervisior to someone from the pursor's office-- denied anything being wrong, we were afraid to see the onboard M.D. Finally, the following afternoon, the pursor admitted there had been a "gasket problem" but that it had been fixed and inspected by the Coast Guard. We didn't notice any more fumes, but it was a bit late for my husband to enjoy the cruise; he's just trying to stay alive long enough to get his lungs clear again.
If the Monarch's crew had just taken responsibilty and admitted there was escaping sewer gas and immediately taken action, something might have been done to help my husband. As it is, they all followed some lines by rote that I imagine is part of their training after the deaths of 3 crew members in Sept. made the news.
No-more-cruses
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