Azamara Quest arrives in Sandakan, Malaysia, under own power

The cruise ship Azamara Quest arrived at Sandakan (Sabah), Malaysia, on April 1, 2012, at approximately 9:23 p.m. local time. Power had been restored following an engine room fire that broke out Friday, March 30, at approximately 8:19 p.m. ship time when the ship was located 200 miles off the coast of Balikpapan (Borneo), Indonesia, in calm seas.

Five crew members were reported injured by smoke inhalation. The fire was quickly extinguished but power was not reported restored until 11.30 p.m. EST.

The ship was then able to proceed under its own power to Sandakan, though the ship was still without air conditioning.

Azamara Club Cruises is a subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Cruises that operates two of the  around 700 passenger capacity R-Class ships originally ordered at Chantiers de l’Atlantique for Renaissance Cruises and completed by the French shipbuilder in 2000

Azamara said that one crew member that was more severely injured was immediately transferred to a local area hospital on the ship’s arrival in Sandakan. Guests had the option of staying onboard the ship while it is docked in Sandakan, or being transferred to a local area hotel until they continue on their vacation.

The cruise line said that Larry Pimentel, its president and chief executive officer, would be flying to Sandakan in order to meet with Azamara Quest guests and crew personally. Mr. Pimentel was scheduled to arrive in Malaysia on the morning of April 2.

“I would like to sincerely thank our amazing Azamara Quest guests for their patience and understanding,” said Mr. Pimentel. “We understand that this was a difficult journey, and we appreciate their upbeat and positive attitude. We look forward to welcoming them back soon.”

“I would also like to commend the crew onboard Azamara Quest, not just for their valiant and courageous efforts during the fire, but for the way they have worked tirelessly to make our guests as happy and comfortable as possible until the ship arrived in port. The entire crew has been absolutely brilliant, and I couldn’t be prouder of the exemplary way each and every one of them responded to this incident.”

Azamara said the damage caused by the fire would require it to cancel the rest of Azamara Quest’s voyage. The ship had been on a 17-night sailing that departed Hong Kong, China, on Monday, March 26, and includes port calls to Manila, Philippines; Balikpapan (Borneo), Palapo (Sulawesi), Benoa Bali, Semarang and Komodo, Indonesia and was to have concluded in Singapore on Thursday, April 12.

April 1, 2012