Goddess of the Night accidents and incidents

June 2024Other Incidents

In May 2024, the shipowner (Seajets Group) announced that Goddess of the Night is chartered to serve as a hotel ship for 2600 police officers during the 50th G7 summit (June 13-15, 2024) in Fasano (Brindisi Province, Apulia Region, Italy).

During the charter period, the ship was to be permanently docked at Port Brindisi from June 9th to June 17th, functioning as a floating hotel for the police force. An additional 1900 officers will be housed in land hotels (in Bari and Brindisi), bringing the total number of involved security personnel to 4500.

According to the marine brokerage firm Ferrando & Massone, the cruise ship was chartered directly to the Ministry of the Interior from Seajets. About two months ago, representatives from the Ministry and the Police inspected the Goddess of Night and another vessel but ultimately selected the larger ship.

Goddess of Night was scheduled to arrive in Brindisi on the morning of June 9th and remain until the evening of June 17th. Each stateroom will accommodate max 2 passengers and the ship will provide 3 meals daily for ~2600 people.

Each stateroom is equipped with a safe for storing individual weapons, and various technical rooms around the ship are available for departmental equipment and armament storage.

Update: On June 13th was reported that the Italian police had detained the ship in Port Brindisi over allegations of substandard onboard hygiene. Complaints from officers and their union representatives cited issues like "dirty and damaged" staterooms (unusable/malfunctioning toilets, dilapidated showers, flooding/leaking pipes), and inoperative HVAC systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning).

The affected personnel was relocated to alternative lodging.

The Brindisi police started investigations, reporting significant hygiene, health, and accommodation shortcomings suggesting "the crime of fraud in public supplies".

Goddess of the Night returned to Greece in July, arriving at Port Astakos on July 1st.

March 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Costa Magica/Coronavirus) On March 19, 2020, the liner remained anchored near homeport Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe). Costa Magica was denied docking and passenger disembarkation in several Caribbean island ports after 2 people (1 crew and 1 passenger) with flu-like symptoms tested Coronavirus-positive. In Pointe-a-Pitre all passengers (2309) were disembarked but the ship and all its staff/crew (960) remained under quarantine. Later, 2 of the ex-passengers tested positive for COVID-19.

The ship's entire staff/crew (except only engine and deck crew) remained isolated in individual passenger cabins for several days. On March 19, via helicopter from the ship was medevaced a seriously ill crew.

The 7-day "Caribbean From Guadeloupe Cruise" (itinerary March 13-20) was planned as roundtrip from Pointe-a-Pitre but all call ports were canceled - including Road Town (Tortola BVI, Mar 15), Philipsburg (St Maarten, Mar 16), St Johns (Antigua, Mar 17), Kingstown (St Vincent Grenadines, Mar 18) and Fort-de-France (Martinique, Mar 19). The vessel was allowed only to visit St Maarten for refueling and loading provisions.

On March 26, Costa Magica and Costa Favolosa were allowed to anchor near PortMiami (3 mi / 5 km offshore). The ships reported a total of 30 people (crew) with flu-like symptoms. The vessels were allowed anchorage only to medevac (via lifeboats) seriously ill crew - 6 from Magica and 7 from Favolosa. The sick crew were hospitalized for testing and observation. Both vessels were subsequently allowed to make a technical stop (docking for provisions and bunkering) at Freeport Bahamas.

After Magica was denied docking in Martinique and Guadeloupe, it navigated in circles off Cuba's coast (near Antilla) hoping to dock and disembark its crew and repatriate them from Havana Airport. All cruisers (from both ships) were finally disembarked in Martinique and Guadeloupe and repatriated via chartered flights. Following the debarkation, Magica had 4 confirmed cases (3 passengers, 1 crew), while Favolosa had 6 (3 passengers, 3 crew).

(law news) On August 10, 850 French passengers filed in Paris (France) a collective suit against Costa Cruises. The class action included a total of 180 complaints - including manslaughter (complaints from the families of the 3 passengers who died of Coronavirus). Between March 6 and 13, the vessel was refused to dock in most of the itinerary's Caribbean islands (Barbados, Grenada, St Lucia, Trinidad).

28 October 2018Ship Collision / Allision

(Costa Magica) On October 28, 2018, due to harsh weather in Western-Central Mediterranean (heavy rain storm with strong winds), in call port La Spezia (Italy) Celebrity Constellation broke moorings, departed from the pier, became adrift and contacted (with its stern) the berthed Costa Magica.

Three tugboats were dispatched to assist the drifting Celebrity ship but failed to prevent the collision. Both cruise liners sustained only minor hull damages - central-aft (Constellation) and bow-starboard (Magica). Soon, the tugs managed to take under control and re-dock Celebrity Constellation.

The incident occurred during 7-day Mediterranean cruise (itinerary Oct 27 - Nov 3) roundtrip from homeport Savona to La Spezia, Civitavecchia-Rome, Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona, and Marseille.

24 February 2017Fire Accident

(Costa Magica) On February 24, 2017, at ~1:30 am, the ship suffered an engine room fire accident, while en-route from Martinique to Guadeloupe. The accident occurred at the end of 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise (itinerary Feb 17-24) roundtrip from homeport Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) to the Antilles, Trinidad, and Tobago. The list of call ports included Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo, Catalina Island), St Maarten Island (Philipsburg), Antigua (St Johns) and Martinique (Fort-de-France).

There were all 3 confusing announcements made via the ship’s PA (public address) system. The first was about an emergency on crew deck A. The second was about an emergency on service deck 0 (in the luggage area). The last was about an emergency in the ship’s engine room.

There were no official statements made by the shipowner Carnival Corporation or the ship operator Costa Crociere.

According to unofficial sources, the fire lasted for ~1,5 hours. No smoke was visible and the corridors’ fire doors were not closed, neither the ship’s ventilation/air-conditioning was affected. Passengers reported a decrease in the vessel’s cruising speed during the incident.

While no injuries were reported, soon after the fire was extinguished, a medical team was requested at one of the onboard muster stations (E).

After the vessel safely berthed at Pointe-a-Pitre, it was inspected and no deficiencies were found. The next scheduled cruise was not affected.

16 February 2017Crew / Passenger Deaths

(Costa Magica) On February 16, 2017, a 27-year-old male crew was found dead in his cabin (possibly suicide) when the ship berthed at Heritage Quay in ports of call St Johns (Antigua, Caribbean). The man (Conciecao Silva, from India) worked on the ship as a dishwasher.

The hanging (fully dressed) body was found by the roommate, who allegedly took it down and attempted to revive him. The ship doctor pronounced the man dead on the scene.

02 October 2014Crew / Passenger Crimes

(Costa Magica) On October 2, 2014, when the ship docked in call port Piraeus-Athens (Greece), the police boarded and arrested 4 passengers (1 woman, 3 men) for possession of firearms. The ship was on 7-day Mediterranean cruise itinerary to Greece and Turkey, roundtrip from homeport Venice Italy.

The Piraeus departure was delayed. The incident was not announced via the PA system, so all the passengers were unaware of it. The arrest for possession of firearms was reported only by Croatian news media, using unofficial information provided by an anonymous crew.

According to the crew, when the ship docked in Piraeus, the 4 passengers were unsuccessfully invited several times to report to the Reception Desk. After that, the ship’s security and Greek police officers entered their cabins and conducted a search, during which 4 pistols were found. The passengers were quickly located, arrested and disembarked.

Neither Greek or Italian news media reported the incident. According to Costa Crociere’s official statement (Oct 14), 5 passengers were arrested – for boarding in Venice with false documents.

02 June 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

(Costa Magica/overboard) On June 2, 2012, a 21-year-old female crew jumped overboard. The woman (Lais Santiago, of Brazilian origin) worked on the ship as an assistant waiter. She was last seen at 6 pm (June 1) and reported missing at 3 pm (June 2).

The incident occurred on a Mediterranean itinerary, while the ship was en-route from Valletta Malta to Catania Sicily (approx 20 mi / 30 km off Sicily’s coast). The Italian authorities (police and coast guard) were notified. CCTV camera footage showed her climbing over the railing, hesitating for a while, then jumping overboard at 2 am on June 2.

04 January 2006Crew / Passenger Deaths

(Costa Magica/overboard) On January 4, 2006, a 15-year-old female passenger fell overboard. The incident occurred at ~2 am, while the ship was en-route to call port Cozumel Mexico. The cruise ship, assisted by two Mexican Coast Guard vessels, conducted search operation, but the body was never found.

This accident received huge international media coverage because the young girl (Lynsey O’Brien, of Irish origin) was extremely drunk after being served multiple alcoholic drinks at one of the ship’s bars. The teen was traveling with her whole family – including her two sisters and the brother.

She accidentally fell from their cabin’s balcony after bending over the railing and trying to vomit. The investigation showed that she was served 2 vodkas with mixers and 8 various alcoholic cocktails (a total of 10 alcoholic beverages) in a 45 min period – before the bartender cut her off.

The accident was witnessed by one of the sisters and immediately reported it to the ship’s security. The mother later stated that on the way down, the girl probably hit her head on one of the lifeboats below and fell unconscious into the sea.

On July 8, 2013, the teen’s father (Paul O’Brien) committed suicide at age 49.