NORFOLK, Va. — The scene of the Spirit of Norfolk slowly sinking in the water at Naval Station Norfolk is a scenario crew members say could have gone much worse.
In addition to the 60 Kindergarten students from Sunnybrook Day School on board, a spokesperson for Newport News Public Schools said a number of students from that school division were also on board. They weren't there for any event related to Newport News Public Schools, though.
Corey Roy and Brandon Peter are Captains with Rover Cruises. The two were on the Victory Rover Naval Base Cruise when they got the call about a fire on the Spirit of Norfolk.
"The heights of the boat matched up very well, and all the guys there had the passengers in life jackets," Peter said. "We were not the only boat involved, and there was a lot of help from the Spirit crew themselves and the tugboat crews."
Roy and Peter said their crews and others quickly surrounded the Spirit of Norfolk to help the children, teachers, and families on board. The crew mates helped the students safely over the railing onto the Victory Rover.
"At first, there was a gap opening and closing between the boats, maybe three feet, so I kept holding the people back and then getting them on the boat and then it stopped," Roy said, describing the effort to get passengers over to the other cruise ship.
Spirit of Norfolk fire, June 7, 2022
More than 24 hours after the fire, smoke still billowed from the iconic cruise ship into late Wednesday evening.
Roy and Peter said it's terrible to lose such a well-known staple, but they were happy no one got hurt.
"To get that many people off that quickly, and to have no injuries of any kind... it's really amazing," said Peter. "All the parents were calm, and the kids for the most part were fine. Really, everything went as well as you possibly could do a situation like that."
A spokesperson with Naval Station Norfolk said crews were working to pump the water out of the cruise ship Wednesday, so investigators can assess the damage.
The spokesperson said they have the fire mostly under control, but crews are keeping an eye out for any embers, which could spark back up.
The Spirit of Norfolk is known for hosting events throughout the summer season. Leaders with City Experiences, which manages the Spirit of Norfolk, said they are looking at getting back to operations as soon as possible.
They said they're actively seeing if they can move another boat to Norfolk to accommodate the summer bookings.
According to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard Wednesday night, crews put a dewatering pump aboard the ship to begin removing water from the inside. Firefighters are still continuing their efforts to extinguish the fire. As of now, there is no pollution.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.