Victory Casino Cruises in Jacksonville, Florida recently suspended trips after U.S. Coast Guard inspectors, following an anonymous tip, boarded the boat at sea and found several mechanical problems that put passenger safety at risk, including the ship’s fire protection systems and passenger evacuation boat. “We found that there were several inoperable fire dampeners, which are basically a way of cutting off oxygen to an area. Regarding the life saving equipment, the vessel has a rescue boat on board and the rescue boat was not able to be released in a timely fashion,” said Lieutenant Commander Marc Montemerlo of the Coast Guard. Trips resumed May 29 following a successful inspection.
Captain Timothy Levensaler, marine superintendent for Victory Cruises, said if his crew had been informed about the problem it would have been fixed immediately. “We have a crew of at least three on the ship every night for maintenance, and we have a warehouse of parts. We want customers to know we have a program in place to take care of this. This is not an ongoing issue.”
Director of Operations Ray Silva said, “We didn’t predict this happening but we are handling it. We are here to stay in Mayport.” He said all pre-paid reservations for the time the boat was not operational have been refunded. Those passengers will receive a free trip with $10 gaming and $15 food vouchers. Victory Casino Cruises offer gambling, entertainment, food and drink, sailing twice a day, seven days a week. Gambling begins when the boat is three miles off the coast.
