The Nassau Bahamas-flagged ship of CMV-Cruise and Maritime Voyages - Vasco da Gama, was carrying 828 passengers plus ~600 crew on a voyage from Sydney NSW to Adelaide South Australia when an alarm was triggered in the vessel's engine room at ~5:30 am on Friday, December 6.
The captain made the decision to switch off power to the entire vessel ~2 mi (4 km) from port, prompting concerns Vasco da Gama had started to lean (list).
Passengers had already endured dramas on CMV Vasco da Gama when the Tasmanian part of the voyage was canceled due to rough weather.
According to CMV's Managing Director Dean Brazier, the situation had been triggered by an alarm in the engine control room of the ship. He defended the way the crew members had responded.
At the time of the accident, the ship was on a 5-day, one-way cruise from Sydney to Adelaide which departed on December 1.
For other CMV Vasco da Gama accidents and incidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.