By now you’ve no doubt heard about the storm ravaged Anthem of the Seas cruise. The ship returned early from a 7-day Bahamas cruise and has been docked at her homeport of Cape Liberty, New Jersey since late Wednesday. Since returning home we have learned that while the ship suffered mostly cosmetic damage, there was some damage to her port (left) azipod. Specifically, four clutches were burned out and the azipod was shut down as a precaution. Not only are those clutches being replaced, but they replaced the clutches in the right azipod as a precaution.
The U.S. Coast Guard has been heavily involved in the inspection process, along with the Bahamian government as the ship is flagged in The Bahamas. Yesterday, the USCG issued a statement indicating that all tests and inspections of the ship were proceeding normally. According to the Coast Guard, “At this time all repairs appear to be on track and all systems tests are progressing satisfactorily.”
As I noted in my article published on InsideFlyer.com yesterday, it is a good idea to monitor Royal Caribbean’s website or stay in touch with your travel professional if you are scheduled on today’s sailing. That said, it appears it’s a go.
What is an azipod? In layman’s terms, it’s the propellor unit, but is powered by electricity and can be maneuvered to steer the ship. In other words, it acts as both a propeller and a rudder. For the technically interested, here’s a video from Royal Caribbean on the construction of azipods.
