Diamond Princess (ship)
{{Short description|Cruise ship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:Diamond Princess (ship, 2004) and Port of Toba.jpg | Ship caption = Diamond Princess anchored in Toba, Kansai, Japan on December 8, 2019 }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship country = United Kingdom | Ship flag = {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}} | Ship name = Diamond Princess | Ship owner = File:Carnival Corporation house flag.svg Carnival Corporation & plc | Ship operator = Princess Cruises | Ship registry = *2004–2014: Hamilton, Bermuda
| Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Ship original cost = US$500 million | Ship yard number = 2181 | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 2 March 2002 | Ship launched = 12 April 2003 | Ship completed = 26 February 2004 | Ship christened = 26 February 2004 | Ship acquired = | Ship maiden voyage = 2004 | Ship in service = March 2004 | Ship out of service = | Ship identification = *callsign: 2HFZ7
| Ship fate = | Ship status = In service }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Ship class = Gem-class cruise ship | Ship tonnage = {{GT|115,875}} | Ship length = {{convert|290.2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|37.49|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship height = {{convert|62.48|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship draught = {{convert|8.53|m|ftin|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship decks = 13 | Ship power = Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines | Ship propulsion = Twin propellers | Ship speed = {{convert|22|kn|lk=in}} | Ship capacity = 2,670 passengers | Ship crew = 1,100 crew }} |
Diamond Princess is a British-registered cruise ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. She began operation in March 2004 and primarily cruises in Asia during the northern hemisphere summer and Australia during the southern hemisphere summer. She is a subclassed {{sclass|Grand|cruise ship|0}} ship, which is also known as a Gem-class ship. Diamond Princess and her sister ship, {{ship||Sapphire Princess}}, are the widest subclass of Grand-class ships, as they have a {{convert|37.5|m|ftin|adj=on}} beam, while all other Grand-class ships have a beam of {{convert|36|m|ftin}}. Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess were both built in Nagasaki, Japan, by Mitsubishi Industries.
There have been two notable outbreaks of infectious disease on the ship – an outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by norovirus in 2016 and an outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2020. In the latter incident, the ship was quarantined for nearly a month with her passengers on board, and her passengers and crew were subject to further quarantine after disembarking. At least 712 out of the 3,711 passengers and crew were infected,{{cite news |last1=Feuer |first1=William |title=CDC says coronavirus RNA found in Princess Cruise ship cabins up to 17 days after passengers left |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/cdc-coronavirus-survived-in-princess-cruise-cabins-up-to-17-days-after-passengers-left.html |access-date=19 April 2020 |work=CNBC |date=28 March 2020}} and by mid-April 2020 nine had died.{{cite web |last1=Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare |title=横浜港で検疫を行ったクルーズ船に関連した患者の死亡について (About death of patient associated with cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama Port) |url=https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_10870.html |language=ja |date=14 April 2020}}{{cite web|title=How Dangerous is Covid-19?|date=25 August 2020|url=https://www.hdruk.org/news/131952/}}
Design and description
File:Diamond Princess 20140620 134607.jpg in June 2014.]]
The diesel-electric plant of Diamond Princess has four diesel generators and a gas turbine generator. The diesel generators are Wärtsilä 46 series common rail engines, two straight 9-cylinder configuration (9L46), and two straight 8-cylinder configuration (8L46). The 8- and 9-cylinder engines can produce approximately {{convert|8500|kW|hp|lk=on|abbr=on}} and {{convert|9500|kW|hp|abbr=on}}, respectively. These engines are fueled with heavy fuel oil (HFO or bunker c) and marine gas oil (MGO) depending on the local regulations regarding emissions, as MGO produces much lower emissions, but is much more expensive.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
The gas turbine generator is a General Electric LM2500, producing a peak of {{convert|25000|kW|hp|abbr=on}} fueled by MGO. This generator is much more expensive to run than the diesel generators, and is used mostly in areas, such as Alaska, where the emissions regulations are strict. It is also used when high speed is required to make it to a port in a shorter time period.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
There are two propulsion electric motors, driving fixed-pitch propellers and six thrusters used during maneuvering – three at the bow and three at the stern. The propulsion electric motors (PEMs), are conventional synchronous motors made by Alstom Motors. The two motors are each rated to 20 MW and have a maximum speed of 154 rpm. (Rated speed of 0-145 rpm.){{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
In June 2017 Diamond Princess was retrofitted with a hull air lubrication system to reduce fuel consumption and related CO2 emissions.{{cite web |title=Air lubrication system |url=http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/diamond-princess-retrofitted-with-silverstream-air-lubrication-system.html |website=Seatrade-cruise |access-date=17 December 2018|date=14 August 2018 }}
Construction and career
Diamond Princess was built in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard. Her only sister ship is {{ship||Sapphire Princess|ship|2}}, with whom she swapped names during construction. She and her sister ship were the largest cruise ships to be built by Mitsubishi since the Crystal Harmony in 1991.
The ship was originally intended to be christened Sapphire Princess. However, construction of another ship – the one intended to be Diamond Princess (currently sailing as {{ship||Sapphire Princess}}) – was delayed when fire swept through her decks during construction. Because completion of the damaged ship would be delayed for some time, her sister ship, which was also under construction, was renamed Diamond Princess. The name swap helped keep the delivery of Diamond Princess on time.{{cite press release |title=Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Cruise Ship Sapphire Princess To Be Delivered to Princess Cruises |url=http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=7393 | publisher=Hideo Ikuno, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. |date=26 May 2004 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318104519/http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=7393 |archive-date=18 March 2014 }} Due to the fire and name swap, both vessels would be the last Carnival Corporation & plc vessels built by Mitsubishi until the completion of AIDAprima in 2016.{{cite news|title=AIDAprima headed for Europe after Mitsubishi HI delivery|url=http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/aidaprima-sails-for-europe-after-mitsubishi-hi-delivery.html|accessdate=16 March 2016|work=Seatrade Cruise News|publisher=Seatrade|date=14 March 2016}}
She was the first Princess Cruises ship to be built in a Japanese shipyard, and the first to forego the controversial "wing" or "shopping cart handle" structure overhanging the stern, which houses the Skywalkers Nightclub on {{ship||Caribbean Princess}}, {{ship||Golden Princess|2000|2}} and {{ship||Star Princess|2001|2}}, and which was originally also a feature of {{ship||Grand Princess}} prior to her 2011 refit.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}
Prior to 2014, Diamond Princess alternated sailing north and southbound voyages of the glacier cruises during the northern summer months and in the southern summer, she sailed from Australia and New Zealand. Starting in 2014, she undertook cruises from Yokohama for Tokyo or Kobe in the northern summer season.{{cite web|title=Princess Cruises Unveils 2015 Japan Cruise Program|url=http://www.princess.com/news/press_releases/2014/04/Princess-Cruises-Unveils-2015-Japan-Cruise-Program.html#.VaWlm_lViko|website=Princess Cruises|access-date=15 July 2015}}
For the 2016–17 season, she sailed round-trip cruises in the northern winter months from Singapore.{{cite web|title=Princess Cruises Debuts 2016–2017 Exotics Sailings|url=http://www.princess.com/news/press_releases/2015/05/Princess-Cruises-Debuts-2016-2017-Exotics-Sailings.html#.VaWnyPlViko|website=Princess Cruises|access-date=15 July 2015}} Kota Kinabalu was added as part of her destination along with Vietnamese port of Nha Trang in December 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.traveldailymedia.com/244491/princess-cruises-adds-kota-kinabalu-to-asian-season/|title=Princess Cruises adds Kota Kinabalu to Asian season|first=Mark |last=Elliott|publisher=Travel Asia Daily|date=2 December 2016|access-date=3 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226032441/http://www.traveldailymedia.com/244491/princess-cruises-adds-kota-kinabalu-to-asian-season/|archive-date=26 February 2018|url-status=dead}} She resumed voyaging from Sydney for the 2017–18 season.{{cite web|title=Emerald Princess cruise ship to debut in Sydney: Another cruise giant to call Australia home|url=http://www.traveller.com.au/emerald-princess-cruise-ship-to-debut-in-sydney-another-cruise-giant-to-call-australia-home-12jj1i|website=Traveller|access-date=15 July 2015|date=7 January 2015}}
After the 2018 Australia and New Zealand cruises, Diamond Princess was re-positioned into South-East Asia for most of 2018, varying between Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.princess.com/find/searchResults.do?ship=DI|title=Cruise Search Results:Princess Cruises|website=www.princess.com|language=en|access-date=15 September 2018}}
=2016 gastroenteritis cases=
In February 2016, Diamond Princess experienced a gastroenteritis outbreak, caused by norovirus sickening 158 passengers and crew on board, as confirmed after arrival in Sydney by NSW Health.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/gastro-outbreak-hits-158-aboard-luxury-cruise-liner-in-sydney/7138950 |title=Cruise ship hit by norovirus gastroenteritis docks in Sydney |work=ABC News |first=Michelle |last=Brown |date=4 February 2016 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) |access-date=7 February 2016}}
=Post-pandemic return to service=
After the lay-up induced by the COVID-19, Diamond Princess was announced as returning to service in August 2022. However, the first three months of scheduled cruises had to be cancelled due to staffing issues.{{cite news|url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2022/11/22/diamond-princess-ship-returns-service/10755362002/|title=Diamond Princess, known for its COVID outbreak, returns to service for first time since 2020}}
Diamond Princess officially returned to service in November 2022.
References
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External links
{{Commons category|IMO 9228198}}
- [http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/di/index.html Diamond Princess – Princess Cruises]
{{Grand class}}
{{Princess Cruises ships}}
Category:Ships of Princess Cruises
Category:Ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries