Cruise Ship Fire Strands 1,700

By MEG RICHARDS
12:27 AM ET 09/21/99

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A cruise ship left adrift not far from Tropical Storm Harvey got one engine started and headed further out into the Gulf of Mexico to escape the strengthening storm. Seas around Carnival Cruise Line's Tropicale swelled up to 12 feet as the vessel, carrying 1,700 passengers and crew, moved away from the storm's projected path.

``Basically we are going to do a big loop in the Gulf and turn around, with a very safe distance between us and Harvey, and follow the storm back in to Tampa,'' Carnival spokesman Tim Gallagher said.

Gallagher said the Tropicale will rendezvous with a tug boat, and the tug will escort the ship into port in case the engine fails again.

At 11 p.m. EDT, Harvey was centered about 110 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, moving northeast at nearly 10 mph. It had top sustained winds of about 60 mph.

The ship, meanwhile, was about 160 miles southwest of the city and traveling farther away at about 9 mph. The Port of Tampa was closed by the Coast Guard late that Monday.

The Tropicale had been scheduled to return to Tampa on Monday morning after a four-day cruise through Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. But both of the 660-foot vessel's engines were damaged in a fire Sunday night, leaving it adrift about 100 miles southwest of Tampa, Gallagher said.

Crews managed to restart the starboard motor Monday afternoon. Originally, a tug boat was expected to meet up with the ship and tow it to Key West.

``If they were under their own power they could break through these waves with no problem, otherwise they are at the mercy of the seas,'' Coast Guard spokesman Jeff Murphy said. ``They could be rocking and rolling a bit with each swell.''

The cruise ship, which was carrying 1,096 passengers and 605 crew members, still had air conditioning, working toilets and electricity for guest rooms.

Coast Guard spokesman Harry Craft in St. Petersburg, 22 miles away from Tampa, said his office had received many calls from passengers' relatives and friends.

``There's really not much we can do,'' Craft said. ``If there were seven or eight people out there, we'd probably send out a helicopter and get them out of there, but we're talking about 1,700 people.''

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