FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2013 file photo the cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed into Mobile Bay near Dauphin Island, Ala. The Triumph, which has been docked in Alabama since an engine room fire left it disabled for days in the Gulf of Mexico, broke away from its mooring in a Mobile, Ala. shipyard on Wednesday, April 3, 2013. The U.S. Coast Guard tweeted Wednesday afternoon that high winds were likely to blame. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
April 03, 2013 - 2:27 PM
MOBILE, Ala. - High winds dislodged a disabled cruise ship from its mooring in Mobile, Ala., Wednesday, and crews were searching for a missing shipyard worker whose guard shack was blown into the water by the same strong winds, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Authorities said the Triumph becoming dislodged and the shack blowing into the water were not directly related.
The Carnival Cruise Lines ship Triumph was disabled Feb. 10, by an engine fire that stranded thousands of passengers onboard for days in the Gulf. It was slowly towed into port in Mobile, Ala., and miserable passengers were able to get off.
The National Weather Service reported winds between 35 and 65 mph blowing through the area on Wednesday afternoon.
Two shipyard workers fell into the water when the winds hit their guard shack, said Steve Huffman, spokesman for the Mobile Fire-Rescue Department.
"We recovered one person. He was taken to the hospital. He will be fine, the only thing he's suffering from is mild hypothermia," Huffman said.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Bill Colclough said the missing man worked for BAE Systems that runs a ship-repair operation on the Mobile River.
Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen said the ship drifted and is resting against a cargo vessel.
"There are tug vessels that are in the process of stabilizing the triumph," Colclough said, adding it was unclear how far the ship drifted before coming to a rest.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013