On March 22, 2006, the 109,000-ton cruise liner Star Princess was sailing from Grand Cayman to Jamaica carrying over 3,800 passengers and crew at 17.7 knots. At 2:50 AM, security detected a burning smell, which was later traced to a discarded cigarette smoldering on an open balcony before bursting into open flames.
By 3:09 AM, manual alarms and bridge lookouts confirmed the active blaze on the ship's port side, prompting watch officers to initiate emergency protocols. Passengers and crew were alerted as the fire rapidly began expanding across the exterior superstructure, putting the ship's segmented fire zone boundaries to the ultimate test.
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