Tuesday, March 19, 2013
After a series of high-profile problems, travelers question safety and maintenance of cruise ships.
The U.S. cruise ship industry has been dogged in recent weeks by a series of mishaps involving Carnival Cruise Lines vessels that have encountered mechanical issues. The first setback was in mid February when the Carnival Triumph lost power in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. The incident left 3,000 passengers without electricity, hot food and reduced access to toilets. Following that incident, the Carnival Dream cut short a Caribbean cruise when it lost back-up generator power while docked in St. Maarten. The cruise line flew passengers home early while the ship was repaired. The incidents fall roughly a year after the Carnival-owned Costa Concordia ran aground and partially sank in Italy. That incident resulted in 32 …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Environmental regulators issue permit for expanded cruise terminal.
State regulators have issued a permit that allows the South Carolina Ports Authority to move forward with a $35 million cruise terminal on the Cooper River. Environmental and neighborhood groups has sought to block the permit, which was a request to drive pilings below an already existing warehouse, according to the Associated Press. The Ports Authority says the expanded terminal paves the way for a large-scale riverfront mixed-use development. Neighbors oppose the expanded terminal because of negative impacts from added tourists and decreased air quality, among other issues. A lawsuit seeking block the project is still ongoing. Read more about the permit approval on Live5News.com.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Coast Guard flies in to rescue man in medical distress.
A passenger aboard the Charleston-based Carnival Fantasy was medically evacuated Tuesday as the passenger vessel steamed 60 miles off the coast of Jacksonville. The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah at 8 a.m. Tuesday dispatched a Dolphin helicopter to evacuate the unidentified 56-year-old man who was experiencing respiratory failure, according to a Coast Guard statement. "Once on scene at approximately 10 a.m., the helicopter crew was able to safely hoist the man along with his wife and a ship's nurse," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jessica Potter in a written statement. Coast Guard crews were able to "transport them to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville where (the passenger) was transferred in stable condition," Potter said. The…
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Georgia women who transported hashish get six years prison in Bermuda.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Two Georgia women who sailed aboard the Charleston-based Carnival Fantasy with more than $400,000 in hashish taped to their bodies, were sentenced to six years in an Bermuda prison on Monday, according to Bermuda news outlets. Read more about the womens' arrest. Alloah Releford, 24, and Latoya Powell, 27, were arrested in October after American authorities uncovered a four-person plot to transport marijuana resin, also known as hashish, from Charleston to Bermuda, a Bermuda newspaper reports. Two other women were arrested in Charleston, but Releford and Powell were detained when the ship docked in Bermuda, the Royal Gazette reports. Cruise ship drug smuggling is a growing trend. The Bermuda judge came down particularly hard on the women, …
Saturday, January 28, 2012
South Carolina man falls to death on Charleston-based Carnival ship.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Saturday, January 28, 2012
A South Carolina man has died aboard the Charleston-based Carnival Fantasy, according to WCBD-TV. The man apparently died when he fell from a top floor of the ship's interior atrium, according to the TV station. The incident happened while the ship was docked in Nassau, Bahamas. The ship is due back, as scheduled, in Charleston on Monday. Read the full story on WCBD.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
In a win for Ports Authority, state's highest court will take up case.
The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit that challenges the legality of Charleston's growing cruise-ship industry. Neighborhood and environmental groups are suing Carnival Cruise Lines, alleging the Carnival Fantasy, which docks in Charleston every five days, amounts to an illegal hotel operation and that also violates city zoning laws with its large smokestack fin. The Supreme Court's decision to hear the case allows lawyers to sidestep local courts, a victory for Carnival and Ports Authority, which had both argued cases relating to maritime industry have statewide impact and should be heard at the highest level. "We are pleased that the Supreme Court has granted review of this case in its original jurisdiction, and we look …
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Cruise industry cited in international list of threatened sites.
Charleston’s historic district is listed among 67 sites in the world most threatened to lose valued historic significance due to development. The list, released this week by the World Monument Fund, lumps the city’s historic district with a 13th Century Hopi settlement in Arizona and a 5th Century Buddhist Temple in China, among others. The city can blame an expanding cruise tourism business for the designation, but not everyone agrees that the designation is justified. “Charleston Historic District … now accommodates massive cruise ships that release throngs of tourists into the city. The waves of increased visitors impact the city’s urban and social fabric,” the fund writes on its website. Read more about the ongoing cruise debate. “Its …
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Groups suing to prevent cruise ships in Charleston Harbor say Supreme Court shouldn't hear case first.
- GOVERNMENT
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Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Groups suing to prevent the Carnival Fantasy and other cruise ships from docking in Charleston Harbor say their suit should be heard locally, not before the South Carolina Supreme Court, as the South Carolina Ports Authority has previously argued, according to an Associated Press story. A pleading filed with the high court Monday said the case is basically a local zoning and environmental case and “no central legal question of statewide applicability is present.” It also said there are “no extraordinary circumstances” to justify the justices taking immediate jurisdiction. Residents and environmental groups sued Carnival earlier this year alleging the company’s vessels docking in this historic city are a public nuisance, amount to illegal …
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Man was passenger aboard Charleston-based Fantasy.
- NEWS
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Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A 79-year-old American man, who departed for Bermuda aboard the Charleston-based Carnival Fantasy, died Sunday while snorkeling in Bermuda, according to the Royal Gazette newspaper. The death isn't considered suspicious, the newspaper reports, but an autopsy is expected. The newspaper did not say where the deceased man was from. The victim was part of a tour group and swimming approximately a mile offshore at the time of the incident. Police said the man was taken ashore and attended to by EMTs, but pronounced dead by a physician at 12.55pm. The Fantasy set sail for Bermuda on Sept. 15 and is due back on Wednesday.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Carnival and Port talk up benefits of cruise passengers to local economy
CHARLESTON – Carnival Cruise Lines rolled out a red carpet today for business and political leaders who support the cruise line and its continued docking of the Fantasy at the Port of Charleston. Members of the Cruise Business Council dined on a four-course lunch aboard the Fantasy while Carnival and Ports Authority officials talked up the link between cruise passengers and the local economy. Carnival unveiled a coupon book meant to drive ship passengers into local shops, hotels and restaurants. The Port rolled out its survey of passengers meant to show how much business they contribute to the local economy. “We want to demonstrate how much we value this partnership,” said Jennifer de la Cruz, Carnival’s senior vice president of public …
JoSCh
2:59 pm on Thursday, March 21, 2013
I know Gloria, standards have fallen off drastically. Mr Farnsworth ran for school board; can you imagine an educator making a specious claim and then saying that the burden of proof lies on someone else? more ›