Fire ignites on former cruise ship in Tianjin, China

Authorities in China report that a former cruise ship now operating as a permanently moored floating attraction suffered an onboard fire in the northern city of Tianjin on Monday, November 18.

The 1967-built Orient Princess, which previously sailed as a cruise and gambling ship until its seizure in 2003, was in the process of being overhauled for continued future operation when a blaze ignited on board at around 14:00 local time on Monday.

Responding firefighting teams were able to extinguish the blaze by 15:00. No casualties have been reported.

According to the company that manages the vessel, the fire was ignited by sparks caused by the ongoing renovation worka. These sparks had come into direct contact with and ignited some insulation material in an undisclosed area on the ship.

At the time of the incident, Orient Princess had been operating as a permanent floating tourist attraction in Tianjin for over 20 years. The vessel boasts a number of onboard facilities including two restaurants.