MS Monarch

History

About a third of the ship burned during its completion afloat in 1990, due to an accident involving some welding equipment. At the time, the cost to make repairs was so significant that it was not clear if the ship could be repaired. After consideration, the ship was placed in dry dock and the damaged bow section was removed. This section was then rebuilt and the metal recycled to construct the next ship of the class, Majesty of the Seas.

Monarch had an outdoor basketball court, two shuffleboard courts, and a rock climbing wall. There were also two full-sized salt water pools. She was refurbished in May 2003 to add the rock-climbing wall. The fitness center, spa and children's area were also enlarged. Prior to being retired from the Royal Caribbean International fleet, Monarch of the Seas (as she was then called) sailed to the Bahamas out of Port Canaveral, Florida.

In 2007, Monarch became the first major cruise ship in the world to be captained by a woman, the Swede Karin Stahre-Janson, who remained the only one until 2010 when the British captain Sarah Breton took charge of of P&O Cruises.{{cite web

On 1 April 2013, after serving for Royal Caribbean International for 22 years, Monarch was transferred to Spain's Pullmantur Cruises, joining her sister ship . Before sailing for Pullmantur, Monarch underwent another refurbishment to some of her cabins, casino and shops. She began sailing year-round in the Southern Caribbean on 27 April 2013.{{cite web |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921153940/http://www.cruiseind.com/monarch-of-the-seas-transferred-to-pullmantur |url-status=dead

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Monarch and were placed into "cold lay-up" and Pullmantur Cruises filed for financial reorganization. According to reports, the interiors of the ships were stripped of "everything of value". Pullmantur Cruises announced that MS Monarch, MS Sovereign and MS Horizon were to be sold to breakers for scrap in Aliağa, Turkey. She was beached on 22 July 2020 and scrapping started on 5 April 2021 with the removal of the pilot's cabinet.

Incidents

Grounding off St. Maarten

After evacuating a sick passenger at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles on December 15, 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef while departing, opening a gash along the starboard hull 40 by in size. The ship started taking on water and began to sink by the bow. Three of its watertight compartments were completely flooded and several others partially flooded.

The ship was intentionally grounded on a sandbar to prevent further sinking. All passengers were evacuated by crew members and local tender operators. There were no deaths. The grounding breached two of the ship's diesel fuel tanks and an overflow tank causing a small fuel spill of approximately 100 USgal. There was also severe damage to the ship. A joint investigation by the Norwegian Maritime Investigator and the United States Coast Guard found that the accident was due to "…a myriad of human performance deficiencies." Reports also indicate that navigation out of the port was done visually rather than using electronic navigation and that the relocation of a vital buoy was not reflected on charts.

The ship was drydocked for repairs for three months at Atlantic Marine's Mobile, Alabama, facilities. 114 of the ship's compartments had to be cleaned. The work also included replacement of machinery, 460 tons of shell plating, and 18 mi of electrical wiring.

American comedian John Pinette was aboard the ship at the time of the incident, referencing it in his 2005 DVD 'I Say Nay Nay'.

Gas leak

While docked at the Port of Los Angeles in August 2005, maintenance on a sewage pipe caused a small amount of raw sewage and an unknown amount of hydrogen sulfide gas to escape. Three crew members were killed and 19 others were injured. Reports said that the deaths were almost instantaneous as the crew members were not wearing breathing apparatus at the time.

Captain's death

Thirty-eight-year-old Captain Joern Rene Klausen was found dead in his stateroom aboard Monarch early the morning of January 30, 2006. The ship was returning to Los Angeles from a three-night cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. According to reports, the death appeared to be from natural causes.

Coronavirus pandemic

On 14 March 2020, Panama repatriated 1,504 Colombian tourists from the cruise ship Monarch due to coronavirus fears. Since the port of Cartagena, Colombia was closed, the people had to fly from Colón, Panama.

On 17 April 2020, a Honduran crew member died of the virus in a hospital in Panama City. He had been medically evacuated after having trouble breathing, and tested positive at the hospital.

References

References

1. "><". PressTur.
2. "Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Grounding of the Monarch of the Seas". [[U.S. Coast Guard]].
3. {{csr
4. [http://psix.uscg.mil/PSIX/PSIXDetails.aspx?VesselID=368390 Monarch of the Seas], USGS
5. (March 24, 2003). "Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas to be completely refurbished in late-5/03". [[Travel Agent (magazine).
6. (March 20, 2012). "Royal Caribbean Moving Monarch of the Seas to Pullmantur – Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News.
7. "Pullmantur Ship Management awards Merima a refurbishing project | Merima".
8. (May 21, 2012). "Pullmantur to Base Monarch of the Seas in Southern Caribbean – Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News.
9. (11 June 2020). "Pullmantur Ships Move to Cold Lay-up". Cruise Industry News.
10. (21 June 2020). "Is Pullmantur Cruises Ending Operations?". Walker & O'Neill Maritime Lawyers.
11. (13 July 2020). "Monarch Arrives in Aliaga for Scrapping". Cruise & Harbour News Magazine.
12. "Famed Monarch Cruise Ship Beached for Scrapping".
13. (December 16, 1998). "Monarch of the Seas Incident Summary". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
14. (December 16, 1998). "Disaster Averted On Luxury Line". CBS News.
15. Bryant, Dennis L.. (September 27, 2006). "The Law of E-Navigation".
16. Maritime Investigator of Norway & US Coast Guard. "Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Grounding of the MONARCH OF THE SEAS on Proselyte Reef in Great Bay, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles".
17. Becerra, Hector. (Sep 3, 2005). "Gas Kills 3 Crewmen on Ship; Sewage bursts from a pipe during repair on a cruise liner at the Port of L.A. Twenty others are injured, but no passengers are hurt.". Los Angeles Times.
18. (Sep 5, 2005). "3 Workers Who Died on Cruise Ship Identified". Los Angeles Times.
19. (February 2, 2006). "CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN DIES ON TRIP". Long Beach Press-Telegram.
20. (February 2, 2006). "Monarch of the Seas master dies.". Europe Intelligence Wire.
21. (7 April 2020). "In Memoriam: Cruise Ship Crew Members Lost in COVID-19 Pandemic". Crew Center.