Coast Guard Bars QE2 Cruise, Cites Safety Problems
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NEW YORK — The U.S. Coast Guard has barred the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2 from leaving New York for a Caribbean cruise after inspectors found numerous fire and safety violations aboard the ship, a Coast Guard spokesman said Friday.
“They will have to stay in port until all violations are corrected,” said Petty Officer Charles Smith, a Coast Guard spokesman.
Angry passengers who arrived Thursday evening in New York aboard the vessel, said they had a nightmarish transatlantic voyage from Britain. They said toilets flooded, running water turned brown and debris spilled into the corridors.
Coast Guard inspectors boarded the liner Thursday evening near Ambrose Lighthouse in New York Harbor.
“We have terminated their voyage until the corrections are made,” Smith said.
The QE2 was supposed to sail again at midnight Thursday on a 15-day Christmas Caribbean cruise with 1,000 passengers to St. Martin, St. Lucia, Barbados and Aruba but remains docked at New York’s Pier 90 on the Hudson River.
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