Two weeks after a fire in the funnel aboard cruise ship Carnival Freedom (IMO 9333149) the vessel resumed sailing on June 11th, but with a distinctively altered shape to the affected funnel.
No passengers or crew were injured in the fire, which was quickly extinguished, but a portion of the funnel was severely damaged.
The ship had sailed directly to the Grand Bahama Shipyard on Freeport in the Bahamas after its passengers were transferred to a sister ship for the trip home to Port Canaveral, Florida. It was in the shipyard for less than two weeks.
Protruding from the main body of the funnel were two wings giving the funnel its shape referred to as the “whale tail,” similar to the famed ocean liner France, built in 1962. After the fire on the Carnival Freedom, one of the two wings was destroyed. To expedite the return of the cruise ships to service, Carnival, working with Grand Bahama, apparently decided to remove the wings from the funnel and to place new grill work along the top. They repositioned the exhausts from the engines and also repaired grill work along the rear of the funnel and repainted it. The cruise ship has therefore returned to service without its signature “whale tail.”
Carnival Cruise Line said that the funnel would be restored in the future when the vessel underwent its next scheduled overhaul in dry dock. As of June 13th the vessel was stopped at Princess Cays, Bahamas.
2007-built, Panama-flagged, 110,556 gt Carnival Freedom is owned by Carnival Cruise Line and managed by Carnival Corp of Doral, Florida, USA. It is entered with Steamship Mutual and UK Club. As of May 28th it remained at Grand Turk.
