Earlier this evening, Holland America Line’s ms Westerdam returned to the Port of Seattle following a small fire in the ship’s boiler room.
The ms Westerdam was only a few hours into it’s sailing before the small fire was detected on the lower decks of the ship. Following procedure, fire teams aboard the ship acted quickly in extinguishing the fire located in the boiler room. As fire teams extinguished the fire, the ship’s command contacted the local United States Coast Guard station, notifying the agency of the ship’s condition.
After the fire had been extinguished, a local tugboat assisted the ms Westerdam back to her dock in the Port of Seattle. Upon arriving at the dock, Coast Guard officials boarded the ship to begin an investigation of the incident. Holland America Line has stated the ship should be able to set sail from Seattle following the investigation.
Holland America Line proactively notified the public with notices on its social media account and with the following statement posted on the Holland America Line website:
“There has been a small fire in one of the boiler rooms onboard ms Westerdam as she sailed from Seattle earlier this evening which was quickly extinguished. All guests and crew are safe. Out of an abundance of caution and in coordination with the United States Coast Guard the ship has returned to Seattle. The ship is fully operational and there has been no impact on guest services. It is anticipated that the ship will depart again once the assessments are competed and continue her voyage to Alaska.
The 82,348-ton Westerdam was beginning a 7-day Alaska cruise that departed Saturday afternoon. The situation is being evaluated and more information will be provided as it becomes available. There are 2,086 guests and 798 crew onboard.”
The ms Westerdam had just set sail on a seven night Alaska sailing at the time of the incident. This article will be updated as new information becomes available.
2:00pm Update: The ms Westerdam has set sail from The Port of Seattle following an inspection and clearance by the United States Coast Guard. The ship will continue on a revised Alaskan itinerary, skipping Sitka, Alaska and instead spending the day at sea. Guests aboard the ms Westerdam will receive $250 of onboard credit per stateroom as well as a 25% discount on a future Holland America Line cruise. The line states the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
