Coast Guard to Check Backup Power on Crippled Cruise Ship

The Coast Guard will be looking into backup power systems on board a cruise ship that was stranded for several days in the Gulf of Mexico before it was towed to Mobile, Alabama. The main investigation will be handled in the Bahamas where the ship is registered.

The Coast Guard says it will finish on-board investigations this week into the fire that broke out February 10 on the Carnival Triumph. It says fuel leaked on to a hot surface in the engine room and caught fire. Backup systems kicked in, but the Coast Guard isn’t providing more details yet.

More than 4200 people were on a cruise from Texas to Mexico when the ship became disabled, and passengers have described unsanitary conditions onboard after the power went out.

The Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board will lead U.S. interests in the investigation by Bahamas authorities.