Possible Lightning Strike Caused Fire On Carnival Cruise Ship

A fire broke out on the Carnival Freedom over the weekend as the ship was sailing through bad weather in the Bahamas. Witnesses said that the fire on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel was caused by a lightning strike around 3:15 p.m. on Saturday (March 23).

It took onboard firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames. Carnival said that while no guests were injured, two members of the firefighting crew were treated for smoke inhalation.

"The ship's fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship's captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames," Carnival said in a statement. "Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, and that is being investigated but cannot yet be confirmed."

Carnival initially said the fire would not impact future voyages, but after inspecting the damage, it canceled the next two cruises.

"The funnel has been stabilized for the ship's return to Port Canaveral overnight to disembark guests, and then it will go to the Freeport shipyard on Monday afternoon to begin the required repairs," the cruise line said following the inspection.

Carnival said that impacted travelers will receive a refund for the canceled cruise and 100% credit for the next cruise they book.