A Carnival Cruise ship began listing shortly after it left port in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Many passengers began to panic as the ship tilted dramatically to one side after an equipment malfunction.
One of the fin stabilizers failed to keep the ship upright.
“I didn’t think anything of it, since it’s not uncommon for ships to rock back and forth. But it didn’t rock back. It kept leaning,” David Crews told News 6. “Plates and silverware started sliding off the tables. Then the tables themselves started to slide. Glasses and plates started to fall and shatter. At this point, it was pure chaos. Screams. Cries. Panic.”
Photos show tableware and food broken and strewn everywhere and items toppled from shelves.
This is the inside of the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship on Sunday evening. @CarnivalCruise says the ship listed (tilted or leaned) because of a technical issue just hours after leaving @PortCanaveral.
(H/t to David Crews for the pictures) pic.twitter.com/usSaQsZBzG
— Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) October 31, 2018
The cruise line issued a statement about the incident, noting that the safety of the vessel was not compromised.
“On Sunday evening, Carnival Sunshine experienced a technical issue which caused the ship to list. There was never any issue with the safe operation of the ship and our officers quickly intervened to correct the situation. Following the incident, evening events resumed for our guests. Carnival Sunshine proceeded on its Caribbean cruise as scheduled. We are very sorry for the disruption this caused. The ship remains fully operational and will sail as scheduled on Friday, November 2, 2018. We remain confident of the safety of the ship as we are committed to the safety of our guests and crew.”
While the ship sailed its regular itinerary, some passengers returned home when it docked in the next port in the Dominican Republic.