Diamond Princess (ship)

Last updated

Diamond Princess (ship, 2004) - cropped.jpg
Diamond Princess anchored in Toba in December 2019
History
Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg [1] United Kingdom
NameDiamond Princess
Owner Carnival Corporation house flag.svg Carnival Corporation & plc
OperatorPrincess Cruises
Port of registry
Builder Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
CostUS$500 million
Yard number2181
Laid down2 March 2002
Launched12 April 2003
Christened2004
Completed26 February 2004
Maiden voyage2004
In serviceMarch 2004
Identification
StatusIn service
Notes [1]
General characteristics
Class and type Gem-class cruise ship
Tonnage115,875  GT
Length290.2 m (952 ft 1 in)
Beam37.49 m (123 ft 0 in)
Height62.48 m (205 ft 0 in)
Draught8.53 m (28 ft 0 in)
Decks16
Installed power Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines
PropulsionTwin propellers
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity2,670 passengers
Crew1,100 crew
Notes [1]

Diamond Princess is a British-registered cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Asia during the northern hemisphere summer and Australia during the southern hemisphere summer. She is a subclassed Grand-class ship, which is also known as a Gem-class ship. Diamond Princess and her sister ship, Sapphire Princess, are the widest subclass of Grand-class ships, as they have a 37.5-metre (123 ft 0 in) beam, while all other Grand-class ships have a beam of 36 metres (118 ft 1 in). Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess were both built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Industries.

Contents

There have been two notable outbreaks of infectious disease on the ship – an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by norovirus in 2016 and an outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. In the latter incident, the ship was quarantined for nearly a month with her passengers on board, and her passengers and crew were subject to further quarantine after disembarking. At least 712 out of the 3,711 passengers and crew were infected, [2] and by mid-April 2020 nine had died. [3] [4]

Design and description

Diamond Princess at Yokohama in June 2014. Diamond Princess 20140620 134607.jpg
Diamond Princess at Yokohama in June 2014.

The diesel-electric plant of Diamond Princess has four diesel generators and a gas turbine generator. The diesel generators are Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines, two straight 9-cylinder configuration (9L46), and two straight 8-cylinder configuration (8L46). The 8- and 9-cylinder engines can produce approximately 8,500  kW (11,400  hp ) and 9,500 kW (12,700 hp), respectively. These engines are fueled with heavy fuel oil (HFO or bunker c) and marine gas oil (MGO) depending on the local regulations regarding emissions, as MGO produces much lower emissions, but is much more expensive.[ citation needed ]

The gas turbine generator is a General Electric LM2500, producing a peak of 25,000 kW (34,000 hp) fueled by MGO. This generator is much more expensive to run than the diesel generators, and is used mostly in areas, such as Alaska, where the emissions regulations are strict. It is also used when high speed is required to make it to a port in a shorter time period.[ citation needed ]

There are two propulsion electric motors, driving fixed-pitch propellers and six thrusters used during maneuvering – three at the bow and three at the stern. The propulsion electric motors (PEMs), are conventional synchronous motors made by Alstom Motors. The two motors are each rated to 20 MW and have a maximum speed of 154 rpm. (Rated speed of 0-145 rpm.)[ citation needed ]

In June 2017 Diamond Princess was retrofitted with a hull air lubrication system to reduce fuel consumption and related CO2 emissions. [5]

Construction and career

Diamond Princess was built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard. Her only sister ship is Sapphire Princess, with whom she swapped names during construction. She and her sister ship were the largest cruise ships to be built by Mitsubishi since the Crystal Harmony in 1991.

The ship was originally intended to be christened Sapphire Princess. However, construction of another ship – the one intended to be Diamond Princess (currently sailing as Sapphire Princess) – was delayed when fire swept through her decks during construction. Because completion of the damaged ship would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, which was also under construction, was renamed Diamond Princess. The name swap helped keep the delivery of Diamond Princess on time. [6] Due to the fire and name swap, both vessels would be the last Carnival Corporation & plc vessels built by Mitsubishi until the completion of AIDAprima in 2016. [7]

She was the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard, and the first to forego the controversial "wing" or "shopping cart handle" structure overhanging the stern, which houses the Skywalkers Nightclub on Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess and Star Princess, and which was originally also a feature of Grand Princess prior to her 2011 refit.[ citation needed ]

Prior to 2014, Diamond Princess alternated sailing north and southbound voyages of the glacier cruises during the northern summer months and in the southern summer, she sailed from Australia and New Zealand. Starting in 2014, she undertook cruises from Yokohama for Tokyo or Kobe in the northern summer season. [8]

For the 2016–17 season, she sailed round-trip cruises in the northern winter months from Singapore. [9] Kota Kinabalu was added as part of her destination along with Vietnamese port of Nha Trang in December 2016. [10] She resumed voyaging from Sydney for the 2017–18 season. [11]

After the 2018 Australia and New Zealand cruises, Diamond Princess was re-positioned into South-East Asia for most of 2018, varying between Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. [12]

2016 gastroenteritis cases

In February 2016, Diamond Princess experienced a gastroenteritis outbreak, caused by norovirus sickening 158 passengers and crew on board, as confirmed after arrival in Sydney by NSW Health. [13]

Coronavirus disease 2019

On 20 January 2020, an 80-year-old passenger from Hong Kong embarked in Yokohama, sailed one segment of the itinerary, and disembarked in Hong Kong on 25 January. He visited a local Hong Kong hospital, six days after leaving the ship, where he later tested positive for COVID-19 on 1 February. [14] On its next voyage, 4 February, the ship was in Japanese waters when 10 passengers were diagnosed with COVID-19 during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. [15]

The ship was quarantined on 4 February [14] in the Port of Yokohama in Japan. [16] The infected included at least 138 from India (including 132 crew and 6 passengers), 35 Filipinos, 32 Canadians, 24 Australians, 13 Americans, 4 Indonesians, 4 Malaysians, [17] and 2 Britons. [18] [19] [20] Home countries arranged to evacuate their citizens and quarantine them further in their own countries. As of 1 March, all on board including the crew and the Italian captain Gennaro Arma had disembarked. [21]

As of 16 March, at least 712 out of the 3,711 passengers and crew had tested positive for the virus. [22] [23] As of 14 April, fourteen of those who were on board had died from the disease. [24] On 30 March, the ship was cleared to sail again after the ship was cleaned and disinfected. [25] [26] [27]

On 16 May, Diamond Princess departed from the Port of Yokohama. [28] Japan ended up paying 94% of the medical expenses incurred by the Diamond Princess passengers. [29] All cruises throughout 2020 remained cancelled [30] and as of March 2021 the ship was bunkering in Malaysia and the outer port limit (OPL) area of Singapore Port. [31]

Quarantine!, a book written by passenger Gay Courter on her experience on board the quarantined vessel, was released in November 2020. [32] [33] The HBO documentary The Last Cruise tells the story of the voyage. [24]

Post-pandemic return to service

After the lay-up induced by the COVID-19, Diamond Princess was announced as returning to service in August 2022. However, the first three months of scheduled cruises had to be cancelled due to staffing issues. [34]

Diamond Princess officially returned to service in November 2022. [34]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Cruises</span> Cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc

Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company is incorporated in Bermuda and its headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California. As of 2021, it is the second largest cruise line by net revenue. It was previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises. The line has 15 ships cruising global itineraries that are marketed to both American and international passengers.

MS <i>Westerdam</i> Vista Class cruise ship owned by Holland America Line

MS Westerdam is a Vista-class cruise ship owned by Holland America Line. She is the third ship of the class to be operated by the line, as well as being the third ship to bear the name Westerdam. Her sister ships are Oosterdam, Zuiderdam, and Noordam. The beginning of the four ships' names represent the four directions of the compass in Dutch.

<i>Margaritaville at Sea Islander</i> Cruise ship, launched 1999

Margaritaville at Sea Islander is a Spirit-class cruise ship previously owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. She was built in 2000 by the Kvaerner Masa-Yards Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland as Costa Atlantica for Costa Cruises. Costa Atlantica was sold to CSSC Carnival Cruise Shipping in 2019. After four years she was sold to Margaritaville at Sea, re-entering service in June 2024.

MS <i>Island Princess</i> (2002) Cruise ship

Island Princess is a Coral-class cruise ship for the Princess Cruises line. She is the sister ship to Coral Princess and together they are the only Panamax ships in Princess's fleet. She was constructed at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, France.

<i>Sapphire Princess</i> Cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises

Sapphire Princess is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises that entered service in 2004 as the sister ship of Diamond Princess. At the time she was one of the world's largest cruise ships, with a capacity of 2,670 passengers and is the second Gem-class ship built by Princess Cruises. Sapphire Princess was christened on 10 June 2004, in Seattle—the first cruise ship ever to be christened in that port.

MV <i>Artania</i> Cruise ship

MV Artania is a cruise ship chartered since 2011 by Phoenix Reisen, a German-based travel agency and cruise ship operator. She was built for Princess Cruises by Wärtsilä at the Helsinki Shipyard, Finland, and was launched on 18 February 1984.

KRI <i>dr. Soeharso</i>

KRI dr. Soeharso is a hospital ship of the Indonesian Navy. It was initially designed and built in 2003 in South Korea as a landing platform dock named KRI Tanjung Dalpele. However, after its launch it was redesignated as a multi-purpose hospital ship. In 2020, dr. Soeharso was used to transport Indonesian crew from cruise ships during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Yokohama</span> Port in Japan

The Port of Yokohama is operated by the Port and Harbor Bureau of the City of Yokohama in Japan. It opens onto Tokyo Bay. The port is located at a latitude of 35.27–00°N and a longitude of 139.38–46°E. To the south lies the Port of Yokosuka; to the north, the ports of Kawasaki and Tokyo.

<i>Ruby Princess</i> Cruise ship

Ruby Princess is a Crown-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. At 113,561 GT, the vessel is the third and last in a series of three ships, known as the Crown class, that was built with design modifications distinguishing them from their older Grand-class sister ships. Delivered in 2008 by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, Ruby Princess also became the ninth and final Grand-class ship to join the Princess Cruises fleet.

The Keihin Ferry Boat is a ship operating company in Yokohama. Founded in 1963, the company operates water buses and an excursion cruise ship, both within the Port of Yokohama. The services include public lines listed below, as well as event cruises and chartered ships.

MS <i>Asuka II</i> Cruise ship built in 1990

MS Asuka II (飛鳥II) is a cruise ship owned and operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha. She was originally built by the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan, as Crystal Harmony for Crystal Cruises. In 2006, Crystal Harmony was transferred from the fleet of Crystal Cruises to that of Crystal's parent company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, and entered service under her current name. As of August 2022, she was the largest cruise ship in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiheiyō Ferry</span> Passenger ferry based in Nagoya, Japan

The Taiheiyō Ferry is a privately-owned cruiseferry operator connecting Nagoya, Sendai, and Tomakomai in Japan. It is a subsidiary of the Nagoya-based Meitetsu Group, a group of companies that focuses primarily on rail transport in the Chūkyō metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships</span>

Early in 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the disease spread to a number of cruise ships, with the nature of such ships – including crowded semi-enclosed areas, increased exposure to new environments, and limited medical resources – contributing to the heightened risk and rapid spread of the disease.

The Yokohama Northwest Route, signed as Route K7, is one of the tolled routes of the Shuto Expressway system serving the Greater Tokyo Area and is one of seven of the routes in the system serving Kanagawa Prefecture. The route is a 7.1-kilometer-long (4.4 mi) expressway running west from a junction with the Tōmei Expressway in Aoba-ku, Yokohama, to the Daisan Keihin Road in Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama. Alongside the Yokohama North Route and the Daikoku Route, it connects the Tōmei Expressway in northern Yokohama to the region-spanning Bayshore Route.

Kentaro Iwata is a Japanese physician, professor and infectious diseases expert at Kobe University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospital ships designated for the COVID-19 pandemic</span>

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, navies from several countries deployed hospital ships to combat the disease. Aside from providing health services, hospital ships would allow civilian hospitals to offload some of the patients, relieving the pressure on facilities ashore. However, this also means that each ship would battle the onboard outbreaks of their own

COVID-19 pandemic on <i>Diamond Princess</i> COVID-19 viral pandemic on Diamond Princess

The Diamond Princess is a British-registered luxury cruise ship that is operated by Princess Cruises, a holiday company based in the United States and Bermuda. In February 2020, during a cruise of the Western Pacific, cases of COVID-19 were detected on board. The vessel was quarantined off Japan for two weeks, after which all remaining passengers and crew were evacuated. Of the 3,711 people on board, 712 became infected with the virus – 567 of 2,666 passengers, and 145 of 1,045 crew. Figures for total deaths vary from early to later assessments, and because of difficulties in establishing causation. As many as 14 are reported to have died from the virus, all of them older passengers – an overall mortality rate for those infected of 2%.

COVID-19 pandemic on <i>Grand Princess</i>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, former passengers of the cruise ship Grand Princess who had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were being linked to cruises they had taken on the ship while it traveled between California, Mexico, and Hawaii. After the first confirmed death on 4 March 2020, Grand Princess was rerouted to the San Francisco Bay Area, where it was anchored offshore while test kits were airlifted to the ship. Preliminary testing found 21 positive cases, and the ship later docked in Oakland on 9 March 2020, with over 3,000 people entering quarantine.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the national and local governments of the Philippines have coordinated numerous international and domestic evacuations.

<i>The Last Cruise</i> 2021 American documentary film

The Last Cruise is a 2021 documentary film directed by Hannah Olson. It is about the COVID-19 outbreak on the Diamond Princess. It premiered at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and was released on March 30, 2021 by HBO.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Diamond Princess". VesselTracker. 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Feuer, William (28 March 2020). "CDC says coronavirus RNA found in Princess Cruise ship cabins up to 17 days after passengers left". CNBC. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  3. ↑ Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (14 April 2020). "横浜港で検疫を行ったクルーズ船に関連した患者の死亡について (About death of patient associated with cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama Port)" (in Japanese).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "How Dangerous is Covid-19?". 25 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Air lubrication system". Seatrade-cruise. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  6. ↑ "Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Cruise Ship Sapphire Princess To Be Delivered to Princess Cruises" (Press release). Hideo Ikuno, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. 26 May 2004. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "AIDAprima headed for Europe after Mitsubishi HI delivery". Seatrade Cruise News. Seatrade. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Princess Cruises Unveils 2015 Japan Cruise Program". Princess Cruises. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Princess Cruises Debuts 2016–2017 Exotics Sailings". Princess Cruises. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Elliott, Mark (2 December 2016). "Princess Cruises adds Kota Kinabalu to Asian season". Travel Asia Daily. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "Emerald Princess cruise ship to debut in Sydney: Another cruise giant to call Australia home". Traveller. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Cruise Search Results:Princess Cruises". www.princess.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  13. ↑ Brown, Michelle (4 February 2016). "Cruise ship hit by norovirus gastroenteritis docks in Sydney". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 7 February 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Updates on Diamond Princess". Princess. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Entries from 1 to 27 February 2020
  15. ↑ Peel, Charlie; Snowden, Angelica (6 February 2020). "Coronavirus: Cases double on Diamond Princess overnight, still in lockdown". The Australian . Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  16. ↑ Thompson, Julia; Yasharoff, Hannah. "Coronavirus cases on Diamond Princess soar past 500, site of most infections outside China". USA Today . Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  17. ↑ Perimbanayagam, Kalbana (18 February 2020). "Dr Dzulkefly: Only four Malaysians on board Diamond Princess". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  18. ↑ Fraser, Ted (17 February 2020). "Number of Canadians on Diamond Princess testing positive for COVID-19 virus rises to 32". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Bangkok, Justin McCurry Rebecca Ratcliffe in (18 February 2020). "British couple on Diamond Princess question positive coronavirus test". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  20. ↑ Allman, Daniel; Silverman, Hollie; Toropin, Konstantin (17 February 2020). "13 Americans moved to Omaha facility from evacuation flights, US officials say". CNN . Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  21. ↑ "All crew members have left virus-hit ship in Japan: Minister". News24 . Agence France-Presse. 1 March 2020. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  22. ↑ "新型コロナウイルス感染症の現在の状況と厚生労働省の対応について（令和２年３月17日版）". Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (in Japanese). 17 March 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  23. ↑ "クルーズ船感染者数６９６人に訂正 厚労省". Sankei Digital, Inc. (in Japanese). 5 March 2020.
  24. 1 2 Hannah Sampson (1 April 2021). "'Afraid we would never see our families again': HBO documentary highlights agony of Diamond Princess crew". The Washington Post.
  25. ↑ Clarke, Patrick (1 April 2020). "Diamond Princess Cleared to Sail Following Thorough Cleaning". travelpulse.com. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  26. ↑ "横浜港で検疫を行ったクルーズ船に関連した患者の死亡について". www.mhlw.go.jp (in Japanese). 10 April 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  27. ↑ "横浜港で検疫を行ったクルーズ船に関連した患者の死亡について". www.mhlw.go.jp (in Japanese). 15 April 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. ↑ "「ダイヤモンド・プリンセス」が横浜港を出港 マレーシアへ" [Diamond Princess departs Yokohama Port for Malaysia]. NHK (in Japanese). 16 May 2020. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "Japan paid 94% of medical costs for foreign passengers on coronavirus-hit cruise ship". The Japan News . 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  30. ↑ "Carnival's North American Brands Cancel Sailings Until 2021". TravelPulse. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  31. ↑ "DIAMOND PRINCESS, Passenger (Cruise) Ship - Details and current position - IMO 9228198 MMSI 235103359 - VesselFinder". www.vesselfinder.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  32. ↑ Arradondo, Briona (12 November 2020). "Author details first months of pandemic spent on cruise ship, in quarantine". FOX 13 News. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  33. ↑ Courter, Gay (11 November 2020). "New book relives Diamond Princess Covid catastrophe". Asia Times. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  34. 1 2 "Diamond Princess, known for its COVID outbreak, returns to service for first time since 2020".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.