McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Carnival Cruise Lines knew aboutthe risk of leaks from engine fuel hoses
and recommended takingprecautions on the ill-fated Carnival Triumph, which caught on fire atsea,
according to documents filed in recent days.A "compliancenotice report" sent to the Triumph
one month before it departedGalveston on Feb. 7 for what was planned as a four-day cruiserecommended
spray shields be installed on engines’ flexible fuel hoses,according to documents filed Tuesday by
Carnival Cruise Lines in federalcourt in Miami.A leak from a hose on engine No. 6 led to a fireearly on
Feb. 10 as the ship returned from a stop in Cozumel, Mexico. Noone was injured, but the fire disabled
the ship. More than 4,000 peopleaboard endured a nightmarish tow to Mobile, Ala., that the
plaintiffs’attorney called a "floating hell."CNN first reported on the newlyfiled documents
Tuesday. They are part of a lawsuit that was filed inFebruary against Carnival Cruise Lines and its
parent CarnivalCorporation on behalf of dozens of the Triumph’s passengers.FrankSpagnoletti, a Houston
attorney who represents some of the passengers,said Tuesday Carnival was negligent in maintaining the
ship and allowedit to sail knowing there was a risk of fire.Neither Carnival norits legal team
immediately returned calls after business hours Tuesday.But in a response filed Tuesday in Miami,
Carnival said the ship’sengines passed inspection before departing and its own recommendation toinstall
spray shields on flexible fuel lines was beyond any requiredsafety measures.It was that recognition of
the problem, which thecompany gave two months to fix, and decision to let the Triumph sailbefore it was
corrected that galled Spagnoletti."You’ve got 4,000souls on that ship. You know that there’s a
propensity for fire ifthese fuel hoses break and yet you give them two months to fix it?" hesaid.In
a Nov. 22 deposition, ship captain Angelo Los said he wasfirst notified by Carnival about problems with
fuel leaks from flexiblehoses in January. During the deposition, Spagnoletti showed Los thecompliance
notice report dated Jan. 2, which cited nine fuel leaks onCarnival Corporation’s ships during a two-year
period.Thecompliance notice report said Carnival together with the enginemanufacturer was investigating
the problem and that installing sprayshields would be an effective safety barrier. It described an
incidenton another ship outfitted with the spray shields that avoided a similarfire.The company gave the
ship until Feb. 28 to come into compliance.Lossaid in November that he believed Carnival had known about
the problemsince March 2012. The spray guards were partially installed on Triumph,but not on engine No.
6, Los said. The hose that leaked was less thansix months old."The spray shields for the flexible
fuel hoseswere an additional Carnival Corporation recommended best practice toavoid fuel fires,"
the company said in its response Tuesday, and nototherwise required by any regulation or
statute.Carnival CruiseLines also argued the notice sent to the Triumph was only for fuel linesabove the
engine room floor plates. The leak occurred on a fuel hosebeneath the engine room floor. However, the
January notice to Triumphdoes not specify that or differentiate between hoses above or below
thefloor."The leak in the flexible fuel hose was a completelyunexpected accident that took
place," the company said. What ignited thefuel is unknown, it said.Passengers described
unsanitaryconditions after the fire, as toilets stopped functioning and anunbearable stench drove many
to camp out on the decks. The wearytravelers finally disembarked in Alabama on Feb. 15.Spagnolettiechoed
many of the passengers in crediting the crew with putting out thefire and then making the best of a
horrible situation."It wasunbelievable to me that you would take 4,000 people and put them in
asituation of basically Russian roulette," Spagnoletti said. "Basicallyevery time that vessel
went out they never knew whether they were goingto have a fire or not."Copyright 2013 The
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