Passenger tells of storm scare aboard cruise ship
A passenger told yesterday of frightening scenes aboard the holiday cruise ship SuperStar Leo when it ran into severe tropical storm Hagupit on Wednesday, forcing it to change course and return to Hong Kong a day late.
Passengers were slammed against walls, tables overturned and luggage fell from overhead lockers, the passenger said.
The vessel's operator, Star Cruises, confirmed the day-long delay was caused by the closure of Hong Kong harbour, which forced Leo to seek shelter near Dangan Island, about 30km south of Tsing Yi in mainland waters. However, the company denied anyone had been injured.
The passenger said weather conditions deteriorated quickly after 1pm on Wednesday and the ship was rocked heavily until after 5pm. Leo was scheduled to return to Ocean Terminal at 4pm on Wednesday but eventually returned to Hong Kong at 10am on Thursday.
'The floor tilted 20 to 40 degrees at times. Stuff was falling from the galleys. We went to the buffet restaurant and our table overturned and the dishes went flying,' the passenger, who asked not to be named, said.
He said the captain announced at 1pm that the ship was running into rougher waters than he had anticipated because information supplied by the Observatory said Hagupit was only a tropical depression with a much lower wind speed.
The company yesterday would not confirm or deny this. Hagupit's wind speeds increased from 90km/h at 11am to 110km/h by 1pm on Wednesday. The No 8 typhoon signal was hoisted in Hong Kong at 1.40pm and lowered to a No 3 12 hours later.
The passenger said about four people had to be taken off the ship in wheelchairs, while a couple he knew also had cuts and bruises.
But a Star Cruises spokeswoman said no one was injured according to the ship's records. 'Sometimes, some passengers request to be put in wheelchairs for various reasons when they get off the boat. This does not mean they were injured.
'As the Hong Kong harbour was closed, the captain turned the ship south of Dangan Island and headed for shelter along with a lot of other ships.'
The 13-deck 75,338-tonne vessel was carrying 1,636 passengers and 1,280 crew on a four-day, three-night trip between Hong Kong and Halong Bay in Vietnam. It left Hong Kong last Sunday. The cruise costs from $1,699 to more than $7,000.
Leo's Wednesday cruise to Xiamen was cancelled but the company said its scheduled cruise last night, also to Xiamen, departed as scheduled.
The Observatory said yesterday it had released up-to-date information about the tropical storm to the public.
But information could be delayed through communication channels that were not under its control.
Graphic: LEO14XGET
