P&O Cruises' Pacific Sky Replaced

According to reports, P&O Cruises' new liner Pacific Star embarked on its maiden voyage from Brisbane, replacing thePacific Sky. The 46,000 tonne, 1400 passenger Pacific Sky has been plagued with problems including a delay to a scheduled cruise off the Queensland coast last year when a swarm of jellyfish blocked a cooling water intake, shutting down the ship's engines. In 2003, the ship was struck by a highly contagious stomach virus and had to be disinfected. The same year, the vessel was forced to return to Auckland 30 hours after leaving New Zealand when it began taking water. Late last year, Pacific Sky had to cut short a Pacific islands cruise and return to Brisbane when engine trouble developed on the first night of a 12 night voyage. The cruise had already got off to a bad start, with the ship's 1485 passengers stranded in Brisbane for more than a day because of a faulty boiler valve and a damaged gearbox in the starboard engine. Pacific Star's first cruise from its home port of Brisbane was one of 35 set to pour up to $35 million into the local economy over the next year. The Pacific Star will carry 1100 passengers and almost 600 crew on its first trip, a 12 day voyage to Noumea, Fiji and Vanuatu.