MS Monarch of the Seas

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Career
Monarch of the Seas

Flag	Norway
Port of Registry:	Oslo
Maiden Voyage:	November 17, 1991
Status:	In Service
General characteristics^[1]
Builder:	Chantiers de l’Atlantique; St. Nazaire, France
Gross Tonnage:	73,941 gross tons
Displacement:	47,508 tonnes
Length:	268.33 m (880 ft, 4 in)
Beam:	32.20 m (105 ft, 8 in) waterline
Draft:	7.55 m (24 ft 9 in)
Power:	21,840 kW
Propulsion:	Two controllable pitch propellers rear; two thrusters each side forward
Speed:	22 knots (25.3 m/h)
Complement:	2,744 passengers

MS Monarch of the Seas is the second of three Sovereign class cruise ships owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International. She was built in 1991 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, France.

At 73,941 gross tons, Monarch was one of the largest cruise ships in the world at time of her completion. She can carry up to 2,744 passengers. Her godmother is Lauren Bacall.

Monarch has an outdoor basketball court, two shuffleboard courts, and a rock climbing wall, which is marketed as an exclusive feature of Royal Caribbean International. There are also two full-sized salt water pools.

Monarch is currently sailing 3- and 4-night cruises to Baja Mexico out of its home port in Los Angeles, California. Starting November 2008, Monarch will replace Sovereign of the Seas when Sovereign transfers to Pullmantur Cruises, a Spanish cruise operator owned by Royal Caribbean International. In a reposition cruise to its new home port of Port Canaveral, Monarch will sail a 16 day cruise through the Panama Canal. ^[2]

[edit] Grounding Off St. Maarten

After evacuating a sick passenger at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, the Netherland Antilles on December 15, 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef while departing. The ship started taking water and began to sink by the head. Three of her watertight compartments were completely flooded and several others partially flooded. She was intentionally grounded on a sandbar to prevent further sinking. All passengers were evacuated and no lives were lost. A small fuel spill resulted as well as 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.”^[3]

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