Coral Princess is a Coral-class cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises. The Panamax vessel, along with sister ship Island Princess, was debuted in 2003.

Coral Princess
Coral Princess leaving Fremantle in 2023
History
Bermuda
NameCoral Princess
Owner Carnival Corporation & plc
OperatorPrincess Cruises
Port of registryHamilton,  Bermuda
Ordered2000
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique
CostUS$360 million
Yard numberNo.C32
Laid down2000
Launched2 March 2002
Sponsored byMireya Moscoso
Christened18 January 2003
CompletedDecember 2002
Maiden voyage3 January 2003
In service3 January 2003
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeCoral-class cruise ship
Tonnage91,627 GT
Length294 m (964 ft)
Beam
  • 32 m (106 ft) (waterline)
  • 37 m (122 ft) (bridge wings)
Height62 m (204 ft)
Draft8.2 m (27 ft)
Decks16
Installed power
Propulsion
  • [Diesel-electric]
  • Two shafts; fixed pitch propellers
Speed22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Capacity1,970 passengers
Crew900

Design and construction

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The Coral Princess its the first of two in the panamax series Coral-Class. The ship was ordered by P&O Princess in December 1999 to be constructed at Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France.[1] This was the first return to a French shipyard by Princess Cruises since the Sitmar Cruises ordered Star Princess in the 1980s.[1]

This ship was the first cruise ship to have a General Electric 25,000kW gas turbine located in the funnel with a driving an alternator and two 16,200kW diesel-alternators fitted in the main machinery room and using Wärtsilä prime movers.[2]The placement freed up additional passenger space allowing the two lower decks dedicated to public amenities where most other ships offer only one.[3]

 
Coral Princess funnel with the symbolic gas turbine cylinders.

In relation to the gas turbines, the funnel would have two cylindrical representative turbines placed on top the funnel. Although serving no function, the ship was the first to debut the representative gas turbine cylinders on top. This design element would also be duplicated on the Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess.[4]

The ship would have 1,545 staterooms (1,105 outside/440 inside) and carry 2,000 passenger double occupancy and 895 crew.[5]

The ship would be completed in December 2002, and maker her maiden voyage in January 2003.[citation needed]

Service history

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The Coral Princess would be one of the first Princess ships to debut under the new Carnival Corp ownership.[6]The ship made her maiden voyage on January 17, 2003 christened by Mireya Moscoso, the President of Panama.[5]

 
Stern view of Coral Princess in Grand Caymen

On 2 May 2013, Coral Princess suffered a fire when some flammable material in the engineering spaces accidentally ignited in the middle of the night. It was quickly extinguished without anyone onboard being injured; however, minor amounts of smoke were detected by passengers as far up as Deck 8.

Coral Princess experienced an engine fire at approximately 2130 local time on 15 January 2020 while in the Drake Passage en route to Stanley, Falkland Islands. At the time of the fire, Coral Princess was 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) north of Elephant Island in Antarctica. The ship had just completed a two-day transit of the Antarctic Peninsula when the fire occurred and was contained by the ship's on-board fire detection system; no passengers or crew were injured.

In 2022, the ship was diverted from New Zealand to have the hull cleaned of snails to prevent introducing any foreign species to the New Zealand environment.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b BAUL, PATRICK J (1 January 2000). HALF A CENTURY OF CRUISE CHIPS IN SAINT-NAZAIRE. COOP BREIZH. ISBN 2843461677.
  2. ^ "CODAG propulsion system of CORAL PRINCESS". Wartsila.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Coral Princess Debuts With Unique Propulsion System". magazines.marinelink.com. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Debut of First Large Passenger Cruise Ship Built in Japan for Princess Cruises" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b "Coral Princess Fact Sheet".
  6. ^ "The History of Princess Cruises: A Timeline of Key Events".
  7. ^ "Snails Force Coral Princess to Skip Ports in New Zealand to Clean Hull". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
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