| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2008 |
Incident |
||||
| 3.5.08 |
Pacific Sun |
The ship was on its way to Noumea (from Brisbane) when it
was forced to drop anchor in a shipping channel near Moreton Island due
to engine problems. The ship remained anchored overnight (while repair
crew tried to fix the problem) and resumed its voyage the following
morning (after being stationery for more than 15 hours). It is not
known how the delay will affect the itinerary. |
Engine problems |
||||
| 22.1.08 |
Pacific Star | The ship returned one day late from an 8 day cruise from Auckland to Vanuatu and Mystery Island after confronting high seas (7 metres) associated with Cyclone Funa. According to the New Zealand Herald, five passengers reported injuries. The ship sailed into the worst of the storm on Sunday night (January 20), which smashed glasses, moved furniture, and caused the cruise ship to issue warnings asking passengers to take care around the ship and avoid exposed decks. An announcement at 10.50pm asked passengers to return to their cabins or remain seated, explaining that the "rolls" the ship was experiencing were due to two swells coming from different directions. | Extremely heavy seas -- Delay |
||||
| 8.1.08 |
Pacific Sun | Another pedophile has been evicted from a P&O ship.
According to the Daily
Telegraph, "In relation to the latest paedophile
... the company had become
aware of his prior offence and exercised their right to disembark him
from the Pacific Sun cruise ship in Noumea." According to Radio New
Zealand International police in New Caledonia deported the man
after
he and his family were taken off the ship -- he was believed to pose a
risk to the 250 children on board. |
Passenger evicted / deported |
||||
| 5.1.08 |
Pacific Star | According to TV New Zealand, French police were called to the ship during a stopover in Lifou Island, in New Caldedonai's Loyalty Islands group where they removed and sent home a 37 year old Australian man who allegedly attacked a 46 year old New Zealander. The woman was found in a state of shock and and suffering bruises in the early hours of the morning of New Years day. She told police in New Caledonia she had been raped in the man's cabin while the ship was docked, but said she was too drunk to recall all the details, local sources said. It is understood the Australian man said he had engaged in consensual sex with the woman. Police are also investigating accusations of drink-spiking during the cruise (see Daily Telegraph). | Rape |
||||
| 4.1.08 |
Pacific Dawn | Radio New Zealand reports French police in New Caledonia on December 22 deported an Australian citizen with a paedophile history who was on board the ship. The 43-year-old was arrested during a stopover in Noumea after police received information from their Australian federal counterparts, that the individual was a high risk repeat offender, and had served 18-months jail in New South Wales in 2004. At that time he was found guilty of disseminating paedophile pictures and indecent assault on minors. This brings to four the total of arrests of Australian citizens with a paedophile history since October last year. | Passenger deported |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2007 |
Incident |
||||
| 20.12.07 |
Pacific Star | Hundreds of passengers are demanding compensation after two of five ports were missed on the 11 night cruise to Tonga and Fiji that ended today -- ports missed were Vava’u in Tonga and Yasawa-i- Rara in Fiji for which passengers were given a A$100 onboard credit. There were apparently engine problems that contributed to the problem; the engines should be repaired sometime during the next cruise, (TV story is available here), an eight-night Christmas cruise that will also skip a port -- Ouvea in the Loyalty Islands. This is to allow for an unscheduled overnight in Noumea on Sunday where she is to undergo repairs; passengers will receive a A$50 shipboard credit. | Engine problems -- Missed ports |
||||
| 13.11.07 |
Pacific Dawn | Two Australian citizens (aged 40 and 42) with a paedophile
history were refused entry to New Caledonian by police in Noumea when
they arrived on the ship. Noumea's daily newspaper says the two men
from Perth were classified as possible re-offenders and put on a plane
to return to Australia. On October 23, New Caledonia deported
another Australian man who had been convicted on multiple counts of
raping minors in Australia. The ship left Sydney November 9 on a
two-week cruise of the South Pacific. |
Passengers deported | ||||
| 23.10.07 |
Pacific Star | A 43-year-old man was arrested on the island of Lifou (New
Caledonia) and deported because he was on a list of sex offenders
provided to border police in the territory. The man been
convicted in Australia on a dozen counts of raping and fondling
children; he did not alert Australia authorities upon leaving
Australia, as required by law. The ship was on a seven day cruise
from Brisbane -- it had visited Noumea (New Caledonia) the day before
and was enroute from Lifou to Vanuatu. |
Passenger deported |
||||
| October |
Pacific Star |
There was apparently a small fire in an electrical panel
that caused a mustering of crew to prepare for a possible emergency.
The source of the smoke/fire was located and brought under control.
(See You Tube) |
Fire | ||||
| 8.8.07 |
Pacific Star | Hundreds of passengers are stranded at Auckland's Princes Wharf and the plug was pulled on its planned departure on Tuesday (August 7) afternoon. P&O says the ship has been delayed due to maintenance work (a corroded ventilation pipe) and that it will depart Wednesday evening (30 hours later than planned). Because of the delay a call at Mystery Island in Vanuatu has had to be cancelled.The company is apologising for the late departure and says every passenger will receive an on-board credit as compensation. UPDATE 5AM August 9 (NZ time): According to the New Zealand Herald, as of 12:30AM the ship has still not departed. There have also been problems with toilets not working. Update 7AM August 9 (NZ time): The cruise has now been cancelled. Passengers will receive a full refund and a 25% credit toward a future cruise. The cruise was to have ended in Brisbane. | Delayed departure -- Cancellation |
||||
| 7.8.07 |
Pacific Sun | A 31-year-old man was found unconscious in a toilet cubicle in the early hours of the morning while the cruise ship was at sea. He was removed and treated by medical personnel but could not be revived. The ship returned to Noumea, where New Caledonian authorities boarded and began investigating. A spokeswoman for the New Caledonian Police Aux Frontieres (PAF), or border police, said they were not ready to release the results of their inquiries. Local media reported the PAF had interviewed three passengers who had spent the night with the man. New Caledonian authorities carried out an initial post-mortem examination, but a further autopsy will be conducted when the vessel returns to Sydney, the NSW police spokeswoman said. | Pax death |
||||
| 13.7.07 |
Pacific Star |
According to New
Zealand Herald, passengers were so ill as the ship was
battered by storms off Auckland that they have been given free doctors'
visits and $100 vouchers. About 1000 passengers left Auckland on
Tuesday for an eight-night cruise and were hit by the atrocious
conditions. People on board reported passengers being sick and damage
to the boat by swells of up to 10m. One passenger said the dream
trip to Vanuatu had started like the holiday from hell. P&O
Cruises spokeswoman Sandy Olsen said some of the ship's external
windows and doors, as well as its television satellite equipment, were
damaged in the storm. Conditions
were so bad the ship has cancelled a planned stopover in Lifou, New
Caledonia, and will head straight for Vila to make its scheduled Friday
night stopover. UPDATE July
15: The ship has arrived in Vanuatu and a decision made
to cancel the remainder of the cruise. Some of the ship's windows
and external doors were damaged along with it's satellite equipment
during the unusually bad weather conditions encountered. The
Pacific Star will sail to Brisbane without passengers onboard and be
put into dry dock for further inspection and repairs. Passengers
will receive a full refund plus a 25% discount on a future
cruise. The cruise scheduled for July 18 has also been cancelled
and the same compensation provided to affected passengers. |
Sail into Storm --- Cancelation |
||||
| 14.4.07 |
Pacific Star | Sixty-fice passengers were denied boarding of the a cruise
for which they had confirmed reservations because the comapny had
overbooked the ship. The cruise left for Brisbane with calls at
New Caledonia and Vanuatu. A company spokesperson said all would
have their fares refunded and had also been offered a free seven night
cruise anytime in the next 12 months along with a $500 onboard
credit. A reader of this page has offered the following: The overbooking for the Pacific Star was
the result of a
failure of one of the tenders (life boat) on the previous cruise ...
They have to have a minimum of
25% spare capacity on life boats when they sail (IMO Regulations, SOLAS
regulations) so the company had to reduce the souls on board
figure from both passengers and crew. |
Overbooked -- Pax Asked
to Leave |
||||
| 29.3.07 |
Pacific Sun | According to Australian News (see
here) five passengers were detected by the drug dog squad in
possession of illicit drugs -- four were charged with possessing
prohibited drugs (includiung LSD, GBH, speed, and cannabis). This
is particularly relevant given the inquest (presently in recess) into
the death of Diane Brimble, a woman who was drugged, raped, and
apparently murdered on a P&O Australia cruise in 2002. |
Drug Bust |
||||
| 25.1.07 |
Pacific Star | A 16-year-old girl claims she was sexually assaulted
(presumably by another passenger) onboard the ship. The police
are investigating. Unrelated, during the investigation a
23-year-old Australian man was arrested and charged with possession of
a dangerous drug. |
Sexual Offense (Pax on Pax) | ||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2006 |
Incident |
||||
| 13.11.06 |
Pacific Star (1) |
The Sunshine
Coast Daily reports taxi drivers in Vanuatu went on strike,
refusing to transport the ship's passengers and forcing them to walk 5
km to town, after it was leaned that government is investigating the
illegal dumping of 500,000 litres of oil on the island.
Apparently deep holes were dug, lined with thin plastic, and then
filled with oil and raw sewage. The site is within 1 kilometer of
a village and school, and is just above a river used for drinking,
washing, and swimming. The motivation: it would cost
US$30,000 to appropriate dispose of the waste at apporved facilities in
the region whereas dumping illegally cost less than $200. The
company faces a potential fine of $35 million. |
Environmental |
||||
| 31.3.06 |
Pacific Sun (2) |
The ship returned to Sydney several hours after leaving in order to evict a 29 year old male passenger who had "assaulted a female staff member and a male security guard." The man was issued with a criminal infringement notice and fined $400. The ship is on a fully-booked three day "Runaway to Sea" cruise to nowhere. While P&O says it doesn't do booze cruises, passengers describe the cruise otherwise: "Three days on the piss," said one. "Just a grogfest, isn't it?" said another. "Like a floating RSL," reckoned another. | Passenger evicted |
||||
|
|||||||
| 6.3.06 |
Pacific Sky (3) |
Five hours after leaving Singapore the ship experienced
engine problems, came to a shuddering halt, and sat anchored in the
Malacca Strait for 30 hours while crew tried to fix the problem.
The cruise finally resumed on one engine and the ship is en route to
Port Kelang (Malaysia) for repairs, expecting to arrive Monday
night (missing the first port: Malacca).
Ironically, some passengers were on this cruise as a "freebie" as
compensation for a previous cruise that experienced problems.
Repairs were completed while passengers were
offered complimentary trips to Kuala Lumpur. The ship was expected to leave Tuesday evening and continue
a revised voyage at reduced speed,
omitting Phuket and arriving in Singapore as scheduled on March 11.
Passengers will each receive A$350 compensation for the
changes to the itinerary. Repairs are expected to be completed in time
for Pacific Sky's scheduled departure at 10pm
Saturday on a seven-night round cruise to Thailand and Malaysia. |
Engine failure --- Stranded 30 Hours in Malacca Strait |
||||
| 5.2.06 |
Pacific Sun |
While docked in Sydney, a crew member was pasting rust
protection on the ship's bridge area when he fell about 23 metres (70
feet) to the wharf below. He sustauined massive head injuries and
multiple fractures and died on impact. |
Crew Accidental Death |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2005 |
Incident |
||||
| 25.11.05 | Pacific Star |
The maiden voyage of the ship has been cancelled because the ship's refurbishment has been delayed. Passengers on the 10 day cruise from Brisbane to New Caledonia and Vanuatu scheduled for December 18 will receive a full refund and a 20% discount on a future cruise. The ship -- the former Costa Tropicale and Carnival Cruise Line's 1982-built Tropicale -- is expected to make its scheduled cruise December 28 from Brisbane. | Cancelation | ||||
| Oct.05 |
Pacific Sky |
A former employee has alleged that he witnessed the dumping
of oil at sea, leaving a 3km oil slick. He said that from the
casual nature in which the dumping was carried out, it appeared that
the practice was not uncommon. |
Environmental | ||||
| 4.9.05 |
Pacific Sky |
The ship suffered engine problems and drifted onto the reef of Bayonnaise near the isle of Pines (New Caledonia) on Sunday. Police divers found it suffered no damage. Two tugs arrived on Monday from Noumea to free the ship and a Lloyds surveyor is en route from Brisbane to certify the ship is fit to sail. The incident occurred in calm conditions and all on board are safe. | Grounded on reef | ||||
| 23.6.05 |
Pacific Sky |
The 8 night South Pacific cruise scheduled to depart from
Sydney on June 25 has been canceled because repairs of the ship are
still not completed. (The ship has been at a Brisbane dry-dock
for the past 3 months). Passenegrs were notified less than 48
hours before the planned departure that the cruise was cancelled so
they could make "immediate alternative holiday arrangements." The
will receive a full refund and a 25% future cruise credit. |
Cancelation |
||||
| 31.5.05 |
Pacific Sun Pacific Sky |
The date for completion of repairs has again (for a third time) been extended. As a result, the Pacific Sun will replace the Sky for a two-week charter on June 21 in Auckland. Consequently, Pacific Sun's 11-night round cruise from Sydney on June 14 will be cut to seven nights and will terminate in Auckland and her 10-night round voyage from Sydney on July 4 will be replaced with a seven-night cruise from Auckland to Sydney on July 7. | Cancelations |
||||
| 4.5.05 |
Pacific Sky |
Two additional cruises have been cancelled to accommodate
repairs to the ship's gearbox. The cancelled cruises are a
four-night cruise from Brisbane to Aukland departing June 4 and a
13-night "Samoa Sunrise" cruise from Aukland departing June 8. |
Cancelation |
||||
| 30.3.05 |
Pacific Sky |
Two cruises were canceled earlier in the month because of
mechanical problems (see March 19). The company today announced
cancelation of five more cruises. The vessel will be out of
action until June. |
Cancelations |
||||
| 20.3.05 |
Sapphire Princess |
The ship is "limping" to Malaysia after a malfunction in an engine turbine between Darwin and Indonesia on Tuesday -- a scheduled stop in Bali was canceled in order that the ship arrive in Thailand on time. P&O Cruises spokesman John Richardson said crew members were having trouble starting one of the gas turbines used to boost the ship's speed from 17 to 22 knots. "The gas turbines operate separately to the diesel engine, which is fine, and they allow the boat to perform high speeds." A technician is due to join the boat in Singapore on Tuesday morning. The 19-day cruise began on March 9th in Sydney. | Engine Problems Canceled port |
||||
| 9.3.05 | Pacific Sky |
The ship was forced to abort a cruise 6 days into a 12 day
cruise because of mechanical problems with the ship's starboard
gearbox. Passengers were offloaded in Noumea and flown back to
Brisbane by charter flight. Passengers received a full refund and
a 25% credit on a future cruise. The following cruise was also
canceled because repairs would not be completed in time. Those
passengers received a full refund and a 20% futurer cruise credit. |
Engine Problems Cruise Canceled |
||||
| 16.2.05 |
Pacific Sun |
Only weeks after being christened Pacific Sun will be met by water police when it docks at Darling Harbour tomorrow. A passenger died when the ship was off Vanuatu on an 11 day cruise from Sydney. It is believed the man died of natural causes, but there hasn't been a post-mortem so all that is know for sure is that he is dead. | Passenger death |
||||
| 8.2.05 | Pacific Sky |
A 24 year old man is believed to have jumped overboard while
returning from a 10-day cruise to the South Pacific Islands. The ship
was bound for Brisbane. The man "had been drinking all night and he ran
outside and then jumped off the side of the boat." |
Suidide |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2004 |
Incident |
||||
| 14.11.04 |
Pacific Sky |
The ship was taking on passengers when the engines' water
intake became clogged with jellyfish and the engines automatically shut
down. The ship was waiting for delivery of 60 tons of water
before the engines could be restarted. It was expected to depart
from Brisbane on its seven day cruise up the Queensland coast the next morning, 15 hours late. |
Engine Problems / Delay | ||||
| 3.11.04 |
Pacific Sky |
The ship turned back to Brisbane from a 12 day South Pacific
cruise
after it developed engine problems that prevented it from operating at
full speed. The departure of the cruise had been delayed for more
than a day after it was discovered the ship had a faulty boiler, and
was further delayed to repair a damaged gearbox in the starboard
engine. The problem causing the ship to abort the cruise was
also with the starboard engine. |
Engine Problems / Cancelation |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2003 |
Incident |
||||
| 28.12.03 |
Pacific Sky |
The previous
cruise
was marked by a rowdy bunch of high school graduates who, by
passenger accounts, were drunk and disorderly, harrassed and
disregarded the staff, threw deck chairs overboard, called 'man
overboard' the night before arriving in Sydney -- the captain stopped
the ship, ordered a headcount and sent a boat down to the water, only
to discover that it was a hoax. This cruise
had its departure delayed 3.5 hours. |
Rowdiness |
||||
| 23.3.03 |
Pacific Sky |
Repairs
are taking longer than expected so the March 23
cruise is cancelled. It was announced March 31 that the ship
should be ready to sail on April 2. |
Cancelation |
||||
| 15.3.03 |
Pacific Sky |
The
ship had to turn back to
Auckland on an 11 day cruise to Fiji that began March 12. The
ship took on 17 tonnes of water after it sprang a leak through cracked
and corroded plating on the side of the 19-year-old ship. Cracks
in the same area had reportedly been repaired prior to the ship's
departure from Aukland. Cruise cancelled. Associated Press
reported that the ship has been impounded because safety inspectors
found serious rust in its hull. P&O is confident that the
ship will be repaired in time for its March 23 departure. |
Cracks in hull/ Cancelation |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
2002 and earlier |
Incident |
||||
| 24.9.02 |
Pacific Sky |
A 42 year old woman was stupefied and sexually assaulted by fellow cruise passengers who considered throwing her body overboard after she died in their room, a Sydney inquest was told on March 8, 2006. Mother of three Dianne Brimble, 42, set out on the holiday of a lifetime aboard the P&O cruise ship Pacific Sky on September 23, 2002. The following morning she was found dead, apparently of an overdose of the date rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate, otherwise known as GBH or fantasy. Mrs Brimble's body was found in a cabin belonging to four men she had met at a disco on the ship the previous night. | Rape -- Murder (?) |
||||
| 9-18.1.02 |
Pacific Sky |
Two
passengers admitted to hospital with the meningococcal
virus several days
after cruise -- one man (21 years old) dies. P&O Princess
stressed that the infection was not related to the ship but to
individual contact. |
Illness / Death |
||||
| Jul.01 |
Pacific Sky |
Hits major storm, Cuts and
bruises to passengers. Docks 36 hours late. |
Weather - Delay |
||||
| 22.09.99 |
Fair Princess |
While serving as a floating
hotelk for journalists at the Sydney Olympics, there was fear of an
outbreak of Legionnaire's. Dozens of passengers had become ill on
a 12 day cruise that preceded the Sydney assignment. Several were
hospitalized in Noumea; two have since died. |
Legionnaire's Disease |
||||
| 18.2.97 |
Fair Princess(4) |
There were problems on the
ship's inaugural cruise, including electrical, plumbing, and air
comditioning problems as well as a burst pipe that caused flooding in
one restaurant and some cabins. As well, a fire broke out in the
casino,
sending passengers to muster stations. No one was injured and
things were brought under control. |
Fire |
||||
| dd/mm/yy |
Ship |
Reported Illness Outbreaks |
| 18.10.07 |
Pacific Sun | According to ABC News in Australia, A teenage girl is in a stable condition in a Hunter Valley hospital with a suspected case of meningococcal disease, which she may have contracted while on a Pacific Islands cruise aboard the ship from October 1 to 11. Close contacts of the girl believed to be at highest risk of contracting the disease have been contacted, but the risk to other cruise ship passengers is believed to be very low. |
| 7.6.06 |
Pacific Sun |
Shortly
after leaving May 30 for a 10 day cruise up the Queensland coast to
Port Douglas and Willis Island, gastrointestinal illness (believed for
be norovirus) spread around the ship. The cruise line said 60
passengers were quarantined; passengers onboard said the number ill
could be in
the hundreds. |
| 20.5.04 |
Pacific Sky |
The
ship returned from a 12 night South Pacific cruise.
It was confirmed by a NSW
Health spokeswoman that 32 passengers and 24 crew members had
been ill with gastroenteritis. |
| 9.5.04 |
Pacific Sky |
140
passengers reported illness consistent with norovirus
during an 11 day cruise from Sydney. The cuise line was quoted as
blaming poor personal hygiene among some passengers for the outbreak. |
| 7.1.04 |
Pacific Sky |
60
passengers reported affected by gastro illness on the New
Year Follies' cruise. There had also been an outbreak on the
previous cruise. |
| 28.12.03 |
Pacific Sky |
Up
to 200 passengers
suffered nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea which last up to 3 days -- most
likely the result of norwalk-like virus. The
previous
cruise
was marked by a rowdy bunch of high school graduates who, by
passenger accounts, were drunk and disorderly, harrassed and
disregarded the staff, threw deck chairs overboard, called 'man
overboard' the night before arriving in Sydney -- the captain stopped
the ship, ordered a headcount and sent a boat down to the water, only
to discover that it was a hoax. This cruise
had its departure delayed 3.5 hours. |