Ed-

Good question but I suppose it's still too soon to get a definitive answer.

The power certainly went out almost immediately after the initial collision. One engine room was reported flooded by the gash but there's supposed to be a second engine room on this type of boat. They did manage to power the bow thrusters, after the ship had glided to almost a complete stop, to enable the ship to turn around 180 degrees and then drift into shore for grounding. And there certainly was lighting visible along the side of the listing ship when she ultimately ground.

I'm thinking that I recall several major cruise liners which suffered total engine loss after relatively small fires. Whatever happened to back-up systems on these boats?

Charley Noble