Victory Casino Cruises works to fix fire protection and safety deficiencies

The Coast Guard is giving new insight in to the deficiencies which led them to temporarily remove a Victory Casino Cruise ship from service.

Commander Alisa Praskovich says an inspection they conducted on the vessel on May 21^st discovered several problems that led them to question whether the vessel could safely operate. Those issues were not remedied by a follow-up inspection on the 23^rd, to the company now has until Thursday to fix it.

The first problem was with the fire protection equipment- several dampeners, which are used to cut off oxygen to an area experiencing fire, were either inoperable or experiencing problems. They also noted that the rescue boat on board could not be released in a timely fashion.

Praskovich says they’re still working to get to the root of what contributed to these issues.

“It’s not fair to say that the company was negligent in their oversight of the vessels,” she says.

Part of this portion of the investigation is speaking with the crew.

“Talk about their operations, whether or not they were receiving information regarding maintenance or the operational testing of lifesaving and firefighting equipment,” says Lieutenant Commander Marc Montemerlo.

They’re also looking at whether the crew was given enough rest time over the course of the shift, or if fatigue could have played a factor.

Victory Casino Cruise has told us they intend to be sailing again for the weekend. Praskovich says that can happen if they pass the inspection on Thursday.