MS Monarch

Monarch with Royal Caribbean livery anchored off Coco Cay
Name: 1991–2013: Monarch of the Seas
2013–present: Monarch
Owner: 1991–present: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Operator: 1991–2013: Royal Caribbean International[1]
2013–present: Pullmantur Cruises
Port of registry: 1991–2004: Oslo  Norway[2]
2005–present: Nassau,  Bahamas
Route: Southern Caribbean
Builder: Chantiers de l'Atlantique; Saint-Nazaire, France
Laid down: 31 July 1989
Launched: 22 September 1990
Acquired: 15 October 1991
Maiden voyage: November 11, 1991
In service: 1991–present
Identification: Callsign C6FZ9
IMO number: 8819500
MMSI number: 311735000
Status: In active service as of 2012
General characteristics
Class and type:Sovereign-class cruise ship
Tonnage:73,937 GT
47,505 NT[3]
Length:268.33 m (880 ft 4 in)
Beam:32.20 m (105 ft 8 in)
Draft:7.55 m (24 ft 9 in)
Decks:12
Installed power:Four Pielstick-Alsthom diesel engines, 21,840 kW (combined)
Propulsion:Two controllable pitch propellers
Two bow thrusters
Speed:22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity:2,744 passengers

MS Monarch (built as Monarch of the Seas) is the second of three Sovereign-class cruise ships owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. As of April 1, 2013, Monarch is operated by RCCL's Pullmantur Cruises brand. It was built in 1991 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards in Saint-Nazaire, France.

At 73,941 GT, Monarch was one of the largest cruise ships in the world at time of her completion. She can carry up to 2,744 passengers.

Monarch has an outdoor basketball court, two shuffleboard courts, and a rock climbing wall. There are also two full-sized salt water pools. She was refurbished in May 2003 to add the rock-climbing wall, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Seattle's Best Coffee, a Latin Bar, disco, Asian-fusion restaurant and conference center. The fitness center, spa and children's area were also enlarged.[4] Prior to being retired from the Royal Caribbean International fleet, Monarch of the Seas (as she was then called) sailed 3 and 4 night cruises 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 MS Artemis of P&O Cruises.[5][6]

On April 1, 2013, Monarch was transferred from Royal Caribbean International to Spain's Pullmantur Cruises to join her sister ship MS Sovereign after serving for Royal Caribbean International for 22 years.[7] Monarch will be sailing year-round in the Southern Caribbean for Pullmantur beginning April 27, 2013.[8][9]

Incidents

Grounding off St. Maarten

After evacuating a sick passenger at Philipsburg, St. Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles on 15 December 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef while departing, opening a gash along the starboard hull 40 by 2 metres (131.2 by 6.6 ft) in size.[10] The ship started taking on water and began to settle by the head. Three of its watertight compartments were completely flooded and several others partially flooded.

It was intentionally grounded on a sandbar to prevent further sinking. All passengers were evacuated by crew members and local tender operators. No lives were lost. The grounding breached two of the ships diesel fuel tanks and an overflow tank causing a small fuel spill of approximately 100 US gallons (380 l; 83 imp gal). There was also severe damage to the ship.[10][11] 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 of electronic navigation and that the relocation of a vital buoy was not reflected on charts.[12][13]

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 replacement of machinery, 460 tons of shell plating, and 18 miles (29 km) of electrical wiring.

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, Boris Dimitrov of Bulgaria; Willie Tirol of The Philippines and Radomilja Frane of Croatia, 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.[14][15]

Captain's death

38 year old Captain Joern Rene Klausen was found dead in his stateroom aboard the Monarch early the morning of January 30, 2006. The ship was returning to Los Angeles from a three-night cruise to Ensenada, Mexico.[16] According to reports, the death appeared to be of natural causes.[17]

Pictures of Monarch with RCI Livery

References

  1. ↑ "><". <PressTur<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  2. ↑ Report of Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Grounding of the Monarch of the Seas
  3. ↑ Monarch of the Seas, USGS
  4. ↑ "Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas to be completely refurbished in late-5/03". Travel Agent (magazine). March 24, 2003. Look for Royal Caribbean International's Monarch of the Seas, one of RCI's older ships, to be completely refurbished in late May before it begins Los Angeles service in June.
  5. ↑ "Q&A: World's first female captain of a major cruise ship". USA Today. 5 November 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  6. ↑ "Sarah Breton:The first female cruise ship captain". Daily Express. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  7. ↑ "Royal Caribbean Moving Monarch of the Seas to Pullmantur - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  8. ↑ "Pullmantur to Base Monarch of the Seas in Southern Caribbean - Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". Cruise Industry News. 2012-05-21. Retrieved 2014-04-26.
  9. ↑ "Monarch of the Seas Transferred to Pullmantur". CruiseInd. 20 March 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Monarch of the Seas Incident Summary". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1998-12-16. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  11. ↑ "Disaster Averted On Luxury Line". CBS News. 1998-12-16. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  12. ↑ Bryant, Dennis L. (September 27, 2006). "The Law of E-Navigation". Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ 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. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  15. ↑ "3 Workers Who Died on Cruise Ship Identified". Los Angeles Times. Sep 5, 2005. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  16. ↑ "CRUISE SHIP CAPTAIN DIES ON TRIP". Long Beach Press-Telegram. February 2, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  17. ↑ "Monarch of the Seas master dies.". Europe Intelligence Wire. 02-FEB-06. Retrieved 2009-01-01. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monarch of the Seas.