Source: Cruise Junkie dot Com

Events at Sea by Statendam

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The events listed have been reported in the public domain or to cruisejunkie by passengers or crew members onboard.  The list is by no means comprehensive.  For that reason it is necessary to be cautious in drawing conclusions from the potentially limited data.  Keep in mind that some companies may be more transparent than others about things that go wrong; conversely, some companies may be better at concealing events and thereby project an appearance that is inaccurate.  With that said, the following list is still interesting, as are the patterns when viewed separately by ship.




dd/mm/yy
2010
Incident
19.2.10 CTV (Canada) reports a crew member aboard a ship housing 2010 Olympic security forces is bring treated for leprosy. Leprosy is typically characterized by skin rashes and nerve damage. It is easily treated with antibiotics. The crew member visited a doctor aboard the ship, who in turn referred the case to a dermatologist in Vancouver. Samples were sent to a lab and came back positive. The crew member was immediately treated. Leprosy is not highly contagious to begin with, and there is no risk of the disease spreading 24 hours after treatment. The crew member worked in the engine room so had no contact with passengers and there is no indication that it spread to any other crew members.
Leprosy
dd/mm/yy
2009
Incident
21.12.09 The 10 day cruise ending today had a number of problems. According to a passenger, the cruise started out on a troubling note as we had a delayed departure due to mysterious "engine problems". We had a GI outbreak, which I guess you would call "code red". We were no longer allowed to help ourselves to food and had to be served, salt and pepper shakers were removed from tables, and so many of the crew got sick that other crew members who didn't normally work in the restaurants were now working in the restaurants. Luckily I didn't get sick. In addition, the call at Half Moon Cay was canceled because the captain said they had a big storm the night before which destroyed 70% of the beach, and Other ports throughout the cruise we arrived late, left late, and left early. The schedule was never stuck to and we were shorted many hours on each island. On top of this, the shore excursion had major bus problems, including one catching fire -- we had three buses with three different drivers for one tour.
Engine problems; shore excursion problems
2.11.09 The ship was cited for violating Alaska Wastewater Quality Standards in September. On September 16 the ship's effluent exceeded the allowable level of pH. Environmental
dd/mm/yy
2007
Incident
31.10.07
Australia's The Age reports that the ship "...was damaged and came within seconds of running aground while entering Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne) without a pilot in board and without perission in December last year."  A top-level marine investigation of the December 6, 2006 incident found serious lapses by both the ship and the Port of Melbourne.  Despite compulsory pilotage, the ship continued torard the port and travelled at a speed well above the recommended limit.  The port was criticised for not challenging the ship's entry into the port.  One of the ship's stabiliser fins had been damaged; a full grounding had been narrowly averted.
Near-grounding
dd/mm/yy
2006
Incident
24.6.06
At approx. 5:30 AM the fire alarm (5 short blasts) went off.  The fire was contained in the “stack of the incinerator that burns garbage”, and a fire crew was kept standing by to make sure it didn’t flare up.  I was partially awake, therefore being able to hear the alarm.  But most of our fellow cruisers did not hear the alarm.  A “survey” was taken later that day asking the question about the speakers in the staterooms, etc.  When I asked fellow cruisers, I found out that like in my room, the “speakers” were not operational.  The captain thanked those who responded to the survey, but nothing was done to correct any of the speakers, and even to the end of the cruise, announcements were barely audible unless you opened the cabin doors.  Fire
21.2.06
The ship aborted its planned port call at the Port of Napier (New Zealand) because of "difficult sea conditions."  Extreme surge prevented the ship from being morred safely and no alternative berth was available given the surge conditions.
Cancelled port call
dd/mm/yy
2005
Incident
14.2.05
The following is from Carnival Corporation's Annual Report filed today:  In August 2004, Holland America Line was notified by the National Park Service ("NPS") that the Volendam and Statendam may have violated opacity standards while operating in Glacier Bay. On November 10, 2004, NPS notified Holland America Line in separate letters that a Violation of Record would beentered in the permanent park files for each ship.
Environmental
dd/mm/yy
2004
Incident
5.1.03
An elderly man was suspected to have jumped overboard the night before disembarkation at San Diego following a roundtrip cruise from San Diego to Hawaii.  According to a spokeswoman for Holland America Line, "'We're a 130 year old company and it happens very rarely, but it is not unheard of on a cruise ship' to lose a passenger."
Person overboard
dd/mm/yy
2002
Incident
11.8.02
Announced on August 7, that the August 11 cruise was canceled because repairs to the electrical generation system was taking longer than expected.
Cancelation
4.8.02
Five tug boats called to tow the ship back to Vancouver after a small fire in the ship's generator rooms knocked out four generator and the ship's two main propulsion motors.  One  generator continued to operate, so there were lights but no A/C.  Incident happened when the ship was 24 miles from Vancouver, in Strait of Georgia (call for help came at 9 PM). Efforts to repair the problem took too long so the cruise was canceled. (The Canadian Coast Guard says there was a fire; HAL says that a breaker panel overheated and melted, tripping other generators and the propulsion system.)  See: See: TSB Report on Switchboard Fire Passenger Vessel Statendam Strait of Georgia, British Columbia, 04 August 2002, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Report Number M02W0135 Fire
dd/mm/yy
Earlier
Incident
11.8.96
The ship barely averted a collision with a tugboat towing a barge of propane in BC's Inside Passage,  The tug/barge took evasive action, which prevented the accident.  See: Near-collision Between the Cruise Ship "STATENDAM" and the Tug/barge Unit "BELLEISLE SOUND"/"RADIUM 622" Discovery Passage, British Columbia 11 August 1996, Transportation Safety Board of Canada Report Number M96W0187 Near collision




Illness Outbreaks at Sea by Statendam

dd/mm/yy
Reported Illness Outbreaks
23.3.07
Passengers were advised by letter from the Captain that there was a highly contagious  virus aboard among crew and passengers.   The number affected by the illness and the precise nature is unknown.  The cruise began in Hong Kong on March 22 and ended in  Osaka April 5.  Given that no US ports were in the itinerary, the ship is not required to report the illness outbreak to the CDC.
24.6.06
From a passenger: We had an outbreak of norovirus on board -- at the completion of our cruise we were told we had to vacate our staterooms by 8:00 am so the ship could have a “deep sanitization” done.  We were told by our dining room head waiter that about 30-35 people had come down with it.
17.4.06
Several hundred passengers and crew took ill due to Norwalk virus on the cruise which began in Osaka on April 3 and ended today in Hong Kong. The ship had guests fill out a health questionnaire prior to embarking in Osaka, which was a sign of things to come. The illness broke out in code red by day 3 with 75 cases and spread like wildfire. Several hundred passengers were ill by the cruise end. This apparently has been on-going since February, according to the crew, but this breakout was the worst. The ship was being fumigated room by room and all facilities were closed down throughout the cruise due to cleaning and the spread of the illness.  Guests embarking on 4/17/06 were also filling out the same questionnaire and the vessel was to be in code red for at  least the first four days of the subsequent sailing.  According to a passenger on that cruise: There were many restrictions during the cruise. Regardless, many people were ill, although Holland America staff downplayed just how many. Infected people and their traveling companions were quarantined
to their cabins for the duration of their illness plus one day. Room service was to deliver meals, but they were hard to reach, probably due to all the calls they were receiving.
Dec.05
From a passenger:  We sailed from San Diego to Auckland Nov. 17/05 to Dec. 22/05.   There was an outbreak of GI illness involving at least 60 - 70 passengers and unknown number of crew.  My husband was very ill for 24 hours and nauseous for a week but they didn't count him as they said he wasn't sick enough.  Passengers who were treated had to pay large fees - they said the illness came on board with people who boarded in Peru.
25.11.02
Reports that 9 passengers and 6 crew on the 10-day cruise to Mexico had "the flulike virus that is spread by contact."  (Source:  KGTV, KFMB-TV (San Diego))
15.11.02
38 passangers (3.25%) and 4 crew (.73%) came down with Norwalk-like virus in the most recent cruise; the ship was the subject of a super-cleaning before embarking new passengers. (Source:  KGTV (San Diego); CDC)
Mar. 98
CDC reports an illness outbreak ... no additional details.


Illness Outbreaks by: