Cruise ship battered by winds and seas
Passengers on P&O's PACIFIC STAR stranded as cruise cancelled

P&O Cruises Australia had to cancel the rest of a scheduled cruise after the ship was battered and damaged by a storm with 10 metre swells,  50 knot winds and gusts up to 70 knots.

Windows were smashed and there was damage to the ships satellite systems and bow.

The storm beset the PACIFIC STAR after she had left Auckland on Tuesday. She was due back in New Zealand on Wednesday of this week but P&O decided to cancel the cruise after she left

The ship proceeded to Vila, Vanuatu where her passengers were disembarked and repairs undertaken. P&O  chartered a number of flights to get passengers home.

A P&O spokesperson said that although the ship could sail, it would be returning to Brisbane without passengers and would go into drydock for a thorough inspection

The PACIFIC STAR was built as the CARNIVAL TROPICALE for Carnival by Aalborg Vaerft, Denmark in 1982 and was their first newbuild. She went to Costa in 2001, becoming the COSTA TROPICALE. She joined P&O Australia at the end of 2005 becoming PACIFIC STAR, based in Brisbane.