Ventura 'cracks under pressure'

P&O Ventura will have repairs made to a crack in an aluminium deck while it is in port in Southampton today (Oct. 19) ahead of a two-day mini-cruise.




One of the welds directly below the Laguna Pool deck cracked open during a rough crossing across the Bay of Biscay, leaving a two-inch gap width-ways across the deck, according to passengers posting onboard. The area was immediately taped off and, according to posts from passengers onboard, people on Deck 14 were told not to use their balconies.
A spokesperson for P&O said the crack had no “structural…or safety issues,” and that the mini-cruise would set sail as planned tonight.

The 116,000-ton, 3,080-passenger Ventura, which was launched in 2008, will go into dry dock on March 22 next year, for scheduled repairs for 15 days.

P&O made the following statement: “Repairs will be made to an aluminium deck on Ventura upon arrival in Southampton today. This has no structural strength or safety implications. Ventura will leave Southampton later today as planned for a two night cruise.”