10 Feb 2017

Cruise ship heading for NZ adrift off Melbourne coast

8:23 pm on 10 February 2017

A cruise ship that was on its way to New Zealand is adrift 30 kilometres off the coast of Melbourne.

The Norwegian Star cruise ship

The Norwegian Star cruise ship Photo: 123rf.com

The Norwegian Star suffered an engine fault in the early hours of this morning and is currently without propulsion.

The Norwegian Cruise Line says the ship has full power and all onboard services are fully operational.

The company said the ship and its passengers were in no danger.

Tug boats will tow the ship back to Melbourne for repairs, before it departs for Auckland.

It was expected the ship would arrive in Auckland on 18 February.

Passengers were being offered full refunds.

The vessel, which often plies the New Zealand Australian cruise circuit, can carry up to 2348 passengers.

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