MS Monarch of the Seas
Encyclopedia
MS Monarch of the Seas is the second of three Sovereign class
Sovereign class
The Sovereign class is Royal Caribbean International's third generation of cruise ships.The three ships of the class were built in Saint-Nazaire, France at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyards. The first modern "megaships" to be built, they also were the first series of cruise ships to include a...
cruise ship
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
s owned and operated by Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International
Royal Caribbean International is a Norwegian and American cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. With 42 ships in service under 5 different brands and one more under construction, it controls a 25.6% share of the world cruise market...
. It was built in 1991 at the Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
shipyards in Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
At 73,941 gross tons, Monarch was one of the largest cruise ships in the world at time of its completion. It can carry up to 2,744 passengers.
Monarch has an outdoor basketball court, two shuffleboard courts, and a rock climbing wall, which is marketed as an exclusive feature of Royal Caribbean International. There are also two full-sized salt water pools. It was completely refurbished in May 2003 prior to beginning service from Los Angeles. The refurbishment added a 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. Today Monarch sails 3 and 4 night cruises to the Bahamas out of its home port in Port Canaveral
Port Canaveral
Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with nearly 2.8 million multi-day cruise passengers passing through during 2010. As a deep water cargo port, it has a high volume of traffic. Over of bulk...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with stops in Coco Cay
Little Stirrup Cay
Little Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, is one of the Berry Islands, a collection of cays and small islands and is located approximately 55 miles north of Nassau. The island is less than a mile wide from east to west and less than a 200 yards from north to south...
and Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
.
In 2007, Monarch became the first major cruiseliner in the world to be captained by a woman, the Swede
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Karin Stahre Janson, who remained the only one until 2010 when the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
captain Sarah Breton took charge of MS Artemis of P&O Cruises.
Grounding off St. Maarten
After evacuating a sick passenger at PhilipsburgPhilipsburg, Netherlands Antilles
Philipsburg is the main town and capital of the country of Sint Maarten, on a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. It functions as the commercial center of Saint Martin island, whereof Sint Maarten encompasses the southern half...
, St. Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles
Netherlands Antilles
The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...
on 15 December 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
while departing opening a 40 by gash along the starboard hull. The ship started taking water and began to sink 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 2 diesel fuel tanks and an overflow tank causing a small fuel spill of approximately 100 gallons (378.5 l) resulted. There was also severe damage to the ship. A joint investigation by the Norwegian Maritime Investigator and the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
found that the accident was due to “…a myriad of human performance deficiencies.” Reports also indicate that navigation out of the port was done by eye rather than use of electronic navigation and that the relocation of a vital buoy was not reflected on charts.
The ship was drydocked for repairs for three months at Atlantic Marine
Atlantic Marine (company)
Atlantic Marine is an American shipbuilding and construction company. It operates two shipyards, one in Mobile, Alabama and the original corporate location, a smaller one in Jacksonville, Florida where its headquarters is located...
’s Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
facilities. One-hundred and fourteen of the ship’s compartments had to be cleaned. The work also included the replacement of machinery, 460 tons of shell plating, and 18 miles (29 km) of electrical wiring.