Freak wave batters cruise liner off Florida

A freak wave some 21 metres high smashed into a cruise liner as the vessel returned to New York from the Bahamas, slightly injuring four passengers and flooding 62 cabins, the ship's owners said yesterday. Norwegian Cruise Line, part of the Malaysian...

A freak wave some 21 metres high smashed into a cruise liner as the vessel returned to New York from the Bahamas, slightly injuring four passengers and flooding 62 cabins, the ship's owners said yesterday.

Norwegian Cruise Line, part of the Malaysian Genting Group's Star Cruises Ltd, said the wave shattered two windows on the Norwegian Dawn at daybreak on Saturday off the Florida coast. "The safety and integrity of the ship was in no way compromised by this incident," the world's third-largest cruise company said in a statement.

The boat, which carried more than 2,200 passengers, was diverted to Charleston, South Carolina, for repairs and left early yesterday for New York, the company said.

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