SEATTLE — A cruise ship returned to Seattle on Sunday after a voyage during which the vessel suddenly listed sharply, injuring more than a dozen passengers and shattering glassware.
“It was like the Titanic. People were flying around in chairs, The gift shop was destroyed,” said Sharon Suttle, a travel-consultant manager from Greensboro, N.C., said at the dock. “I was afraid for my life. It was scary.”
The jarring movement occurred when the autopilot failed. A crewman then had to disengage the autopilot, causing the rudders to swing and the ship to swerve momentarily, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Scott Casad said Sunday.
Following Saturday’s accident, 14 passengers were treated — some for broken bones — after the Norwegian Sky made a scheduled stop at Victoria, British Columbia, Richard Reeve, maritime coordinator for the Canadian Coast Guard in Victoria, said Sunday.
A computer error apparently led to the autopilot malfunction, Casad said. The Coast Guard cleared the vessel to continue operating but ordered that its autopilot not be used while an investigation continues, he said. The ship left Seattle and headed for Alaska Sunday evening.
Terry Gallagher, spokesman for Norwegian Cruise Line, said he had no further details Sunday afternoon.
Darren Morley, a Canadian Coast Guard search and rescue coordinator, said the ship’s officers told him they had “experienced a large roll” at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Many passengers were in the dining room at the time.
“We had just finished lunch, and we heard a grinding noise and everything started tilting,” said Judy Fields, 55, of La Grange, N.C.
“The ship sort of righted itself, then it happened again and everything fell off the table. It really felt like it was going to tip over,” said Alice Crady, 71, of Tampa, Fla.
The 76,000-ton Norwegian Cruise Lines ship was carrying 2,000 passengers. The 853-foot vessel, which is based in Seattle, had left for Alaska on May 13. The cruise through Alaska’s Inside Passage included port calls at Juneau, Skagway and Glacier Bay, Port of Seattle spokesman Doug Williams said Sunday.
The Strait of Juan de Fuca runs between Washington’s Olympic Peninsula and Canada’s Vancouver Island.
