Cruise ship engines failed off Norwegian coast due to lack of lubricating oil – officials

Engines of a luxury cruise ship that narrowly escaped disaster during a storm off the coast of Norway on Saturday failed because of low levels of lubricating oil in the engines, the Norwegian Maritime Authority said on Wednesday. The Viking Sky, with almost 1,400 passengers and crew aboard, sent out a mayday signal as it drifted in rough waters in the Norwegian Sea to within 100 meters of land. All four engines had failed, but the crew managed to restart one of them just in time, Reuters reported. “Our conclusion is that the engine failure was directly caused by low oil pressure,” the Norwegian Maritime Authority said. “The level of lubricating oil in the tanks was within set limits, however relatively low,” it added. The heavy seas probably caused movements in the tanks so large that the supply to the lubricating oil pumps stopped, the regulator said.