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Insignia fire investigation completed, ship under tow to San Juan drydock

Insignia fire investigation completed, ship under tow to San Juan drydock
Authorities have completed their shipboard investigation of the Insignia cruise ship engine room fire, which left three workers dead on Dec. 11. The vessel is en route to San Juan for drydock repairs.

Insignia departed St. Lucia under tow on Thursday.

An Oceania Cruises spokesman told Seatrade Insider the company is in the process of evaluating how long repairs will take to complete and whether any future voyages, including the start of the world cruise, may be impacted.

'We will have a better assessment on when the vessel will re-enter service by the middle of next week,' spokesman Jason Lasecki said.

The next itinerary posted for the ship on Oceania's website is 'Around the World in 180 Days,' scheduled to depart Jan. 10 from Miami. The first segment of that circumnavigation is a 10-day stint to Bridgetown, Barbados.

Completion of the shipboard investigation means authorities have gathered the information they needed on site, not that any report is ready. If known, there has been no public disclosure of the cause for the fire, which broke out while Insignia was alongside at Port Castries, St. Lucia.

All passengers were safely evacuated but one engine room crew member and two contract workers died.

The Marshall Islands registry is leading the investigation with the participation of the US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.

TAGS: ships accident