Holland America Line's Westerdam Catches on Fire
Posted on June 29, 2014 by Jim Walker
King 5 News in Seattle reports that the the Holland America Line (HAL) Westerdam caught fire this evening as it was sailing to Alaska and was forced to turn around and return to Seattle. The news station is saying that the fire broke out in the engine room.
HAL released the following statement:
"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 HAL Westerdam anticipated that the ship will depart again once the assessments are completed and continue her voyage to Alaska."HAL's statement does not explain exactly what caused the fire and omits the fact that after the fire was put out, it flared up again. Descriptive phrases like a "small" fire which was "quickly" extinguished can be misleading many times.
