NORFOLK, Va. -- Crews are hopeful they have extinguished a fire that broke out on the Spirit of Norfolk and are working to stabilize the vessel Thursday.
The cruise ship, which is docked at Naval Station Norfolk, had stopped smoking as of Thursday morning and crews were working to make sure nothing on the ship reignites.
Crews were pumping water off of the ship so it does not sink. Officials said during a Thursday press conference that once the ship is dewatered, the contaminated water will be properly discharged at a recycling facility.
Those crews will also work to access to vessel to make sure the fire is completely out.
Additionally, officials are working to determine how to tow the vessel from the Navy pier to the recycling facility for a final decision of what will happen to the vessel.
According to Scott Smith with the Hornblower Group, it's "more than likely" that the Spirit of Norfolk will be a total loss.
Officials with the company previously said they were working to resume "operations as quickly as possible."
"We are actively exploring moving another of our boats to Norfolk to accommodate our summer bookings," officials with the Hornblower Group wrote. "We will finalize this within the coming days and share more info as it becomes available."
A fire was reported around 12:15 p.m. Tuesday on the ship outside of the port security barrier. Passengers that were on the ship were offloaded.
Two elementary school classes were on the ship when the fire started.
“I noticed that there was a weird distinct smell - like an electrical fire-type smell," said Jason Sleeth, who was on the ship with his fifth-grade class from Newport News. "[I] thought it was a little odd but didn’t think much of it... we’re out on the water; there’s Navy ships around, and then [we] started seeing a little bit of smoke. [It] got thicker and thicker, and then it was dark black smoke billowing out, then I look over the same of the deck and there’s just flames pouring out of the side of the boat."
The Victory Rover rescued approximately 110 personnel/passengers and headed to Town Point Park.
Two crew members remained on the vessel while it was towed to the pier, where they were then evacuated.
No injuries were reported.
Video courtesy of U.S. Navy Public Affairs
A Unified Command was established on Tuesday evening in response to the fire.
"As we head into the evening hours, crews remain on scene NOB Pier 4 with the fire aboard the Spirit of Norfolk. Accessing the location of the fire continues to challenge all the agencies working together to battle this ship fire," Norfolk Fire-Rescue said around 8 p.m. Tuesday.
As we head into the evening hours, crews remain on scene NOB Pier 4 with the fire aboard the Spirit of Norfolk. Accessing the location of the fire continues to challenge all the agencies working together to battle this ship fire. pic.twitter.com/uUPDcPlRis
— Norfolk Fire-Rescue (@norfolkfireresc) June 8, 2022
