Cruise ship CARNIVAL PANORAMA
The Carnival Cruise ship, “CARNIVAL PANORAMA,” is being temporarily having a section of its funnel removed to decrease its height. The ship faced clearance issues passing under a bridge en route to its designated repair yard due to its excessive height. The funnel is to be reassembled after the repairs are complete.
In early November, the ship encountered “steering and propulsion problems”. This resulted in a significantly reduced cruising speed, forcing the cancellation of two scheduled port calls and a slow return journey to California.
For repairs, Carnival initially projected the ship to be out of service for four cruises, the repair duration was later extended to six cruises.
Vigor’s Portland shipyard in Oregon was available for urgent repairs, but the ship’s air draft, exceeded the bridge clearances along its route to the shipyard. To address this, plans were made to remove a portion of the ship’s substantial funnel, commonly referred to as the “whale tail.”
Subsequently, the ship was relocated to Ogden Point, a deepwater port in Victoria, British Columbia, on November 20th. Crews are currently working alongside the ship to erect a large crane scaffolding and remove the section of the funnel, reducing the ship’s air draft. Western Stevedoring, which manages Ogden Point, adjusted their maintenance schedule to accommodate the cruise ship in the berth. Other maintenance work on the berth was reportedly postponed to January.
Once the ship’s air draft is adequately reduced, it will proceed to Vigor’s yard in Portland for repairs. Following the repairs, the ship will return to Victoria to reattach the funnel section and resume operations, aiming to resume cruises from Long Beach starting on December 23.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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