By Cruise Critic, NBC News and msnbc.com staff
Updated at 10:39 a.m. ET:
A cruise ship with 1,000 people on board that was disabled by a fire and was drifting in southern Philippine waters has been repaired and is headed toward Malaysia, the Philippine coast guard said Saturday.
The Azamara Quest informed the coast guard late Saturday that its power and propulsion had been restored and it was moving slowly toward Sandakan, its next destination after it left Manila Thursday, spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Algier Ricafrente said.
A coast guard vessel sent to assist the cruise liner reported that it had sighted the ship from about 9 kilometers (5 nautical miles) away and was approaching it.
The ship's captain earlier said by email to the coast guard that it needed no assistance and that everything was "under control."
Ricafrente said that the coast guard will provide assistance to the vessel "while it is inside our area of responsibility."
This ship is expected to reach Sandakan within 24 to 48 hours, according to a statement from Azamara Club Cruises. The fire damage has caused the company to cancel the remainder of the cruise once the ship arrives in Sandakan. The company's president and CEO Larry Pimentel was planning to fly to Sandakan to meet passengers personally.
A fire broke out in the engine room of luxury cruise liner Azamara Quest as the ship was steaming for Malaysia Friday, disabling its engines and leaving it drifting off the coast of Borneo in Indonesia. Five crew members were injured.
According to a statement from?Azamara Club Cruises?posted on its Facebook page, the blaze started at approximately 8:19 p.m. ship's time (8:19 a.m. EDT) while Quest was en route from Manila, Philippines, to Sandakan, Malaysia.
Crew members suffered smoke inhalation and were being treated in the ship's medical facility, a statement late Friday said. One crew member remains in serious condition.
Azamara Club Cruises said the fire was contained to the engine room and was quickly extinguished.
Royal Caribbean International said there were approximately 300 Americans on board out of a total of 617 guests, NBC reported. Azamara Club Cruises is a member of the Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
Late Friday, the cruise line said engineers aboard the ship had?restored power to one of the ship's engines. "This additional power has permitted the ship to re-establish air conditioning, running water, plumbing, refrigeration and food preparation onboard for the comfort of our guests and crew," a statement said.
There are no reported passenger injuries, and Azamara has described the mood onboard as "calm."
Quest was on a 17-night sailing that departed Hong Kong, China, on Monday, March 26, and included port calls to Manila, Philippines; Sandakan (Sabah), Malaysia; Palapo (Sulawesi), Benoa (Bali), Semarang and Komodo, Indonesia and was meant to conclude in Singapore?on Thursday, April 12.
Azamara is offering guests on the stricken ship a full refund for the cruise and a certificate for a future cruise worth 100 percent of the cruise fare paid for their Azamara Quest sailing.
The Associated Press and Dan Askin of Cruise Critic contributed to this report.
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