Fireplace is the most important hazard of any vessel at sea. On Saturday, crew of the Carnival Freedom needed to cope with that hazard firsthand when the ship’s funnel caught on fireplace in the course of the cruise.

The incident occurred at round 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, with the ship crusing in The Bahamas. In keeping with a passenger on the ship, Heath Barnes, the fireplace was brought on by lightning as Freedom went by a thunderstorm.

“I knew the growth and thunder that I heard shortly earlier than the fireplace hit one thing. It was the loudest I had ever heard in my life,” he posted on Fb.

Photographs shared on-line present the port facet of the funnel in flames and laying aside a thick, black smoke:

Crew on board cruise ships are skilled in firefighting and have been in a position to put out the flames, with somewhat assist from mom nature. Carnival says the captain was in a position steer the vessel towards heavy rain to assist with the efforts to extinguish the fireplace.

In an announcement to information station WFLA.com, Carnival shared the next:

“The ship’s fireplace response staff was rapidly activated, and the ship’s captain additionally turned the vessel in direction of the heavy rain within the space to maximise the efforts to place out the flames. Eyewitnesses reported the potential for a lightning strike and that’s being investigated however can’t but be confirmed.”

The information station stories that there have been no accidents to passengers, however two crew members that fought the fireplace have been handled for “minor smoke inhalation.”

A picture of the aftermath reveals one wing of the funnel closely broken after the flames have been put out:

If the sight of a Carnival funnel on fireplace appears acquainted, nicely, it’s a little bit of deja vu. The identical actual ship had its funnel catch fireplace in 2022 whereas in Grand Turk.

At the moment the funnel was broken so closely the cruise line needed to cancel its cruises for 2 weeks for repairs

Freedom then returned with a brand new streamlined funnel with out the well-known “wings.” Solely later when the ship was in drydock was it then changed with the common Carnival-style winged funnel.

No phrase but on if Freedom will see any canceled cruises from this incident. The ship was deliberate to be at sea as we speak earlier than returning to Port Canaveral Monday morning. It’s now headed to Freeport, The Bahamas.

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