Safety Record
On August 19, 2007 the Spirit of Columbia ran aground in Latouche Passage in Prince William Sound. The Captain piloted the ship too close to shore while bear viewing. The US Coast Guard sent two HH-60 helicopters, a C-130 aircraft, and the Cutter Sycamore to assist the crew free the vessel.
The second grounding of 2007 came on November 8 when the Spirit of Nantucket, now known as the Spirit of Glacier Bay, hit an uncharted object in the Intercoastal Waterway near Virginia Beach, VA. Coast Guard ships from Portsmouth, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina, as well as police and fire units from Virginia Beach, arrived to help the distressed ship.
Two additional groundings occurred in 2008 beginning with the Spirit of Alaska hitting a rock in Tracy Arm while cruising the Inside Passage of Alaska on June 4, 2008. Though the incident was minor, it did require a coast guard inspection and cancellation of the remainder of the cruise.
The most recent grounding, and by far most dramatic, involved the Spirit of Glacier Bay, formerly known as the Spirit of Nantucket. On July 7, 2008 the ship was cruising Tarr Inlet in Glacier Bay National Park when it ran aground on a silt bar. The ship was stuck for over nine hours while awaiting the incoming tide.
After the July 7th grounding, the US Coast Guard released a statement revealing that Cruise West was part of a special program designed to review the company's safety procedures and maintenance records due to their recent string of incidents at sea.
Read more about this topic: Cruise West
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