Carnival Ships Not Affected by Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

Carnival Cruise Lines said yesterday its ships sailing in the vicinity of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are operating normally and with no interruption to their cruise itineraries.

Carnival said that the 2,758-passenger Carnival Triumph arrived in New Orleans Saturday morning and departed again that afternoon, and that the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy arrived this morning as scheduled in Mobile, Ala.

So far, Carnival said its ships have been able to maneuver around the spill.

Last week, the Port of New Orleans advised all ships to reroute their approaches to New Orleans as the oil spill began spreading closer to the Louisiana coastline.

Port spokesman Chris Bonura said that currently there is no presence of oil in the routes leading up to Southwest Pass, the channel that all cruise and cargo ships take to enter the Mississippi River from the Gulf, and into New Orleans.