Disabled cruise ship set to leave Alabama port

MOBILE, Ala. - The troubled cruise ship Carnival Triumph is set to leave Alabama bound for additional repairs in the Bahamas.

The manager of the cruise ship terminal in Mobile, Sheila Gurganus, says Triumph will be under its own power when it departs for Freeport.

Carnival says the ship will pull out this afternoon, but it didn't immediately provide details.

The nearly 900-foot-long ship has undergone extensive repairs since arriving in Mobile on Valentine's Day. A Gulf cruise turned into a nightmare for passengers following an engine room fire.

Passengers spent five days aboard the disabled ship amid what were squalid conditions at times.

Triumph broke loose from its mooring at a repair yard during a storm in April, and a dock worker died after being swept into the water.

Carnival Corp. is seeking the dismissal of lawsuits filed by passengers who endured days of difficult conditions.

The biggest is a potential class action seeking to represent about 3,000 passengers of Carnival's Triumph. Carnival said in a motion filed last month in Miami federal court that its cruise tickets clearly state passengers cannot file class actions.

Lawyers for the passengers maintain that Carnival was negligent in letting the Triumph sail with its history of past mechanical problems and so the lawsuits should be allowed.

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