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Cruise ship cancels visit after steering problems

The cruise ship Crown Princess docked in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, a day after the vessel rolled abruptly at sea injuring dozens of people. A steering problem caused the new cruise ship to roll abruptly throwing passengers and crew to the deck and injuring dozens, including 20 seriously. In an instant, passengers aboard The Crown Princess cruise ship went from sunbathing to clutching whatever they could as the massive ship rolled heavily to its side, throwing everything not nailed down against the deck and walls. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

A cruise ship scheduled to come to Bermuda on Saturday has cancelled the trip after it tilted and injured about 20 people.

ABC News reported that two people were critically injured when the ship encountered steering problems and tilted 30 degrees. Passengers and chairs went tumbling down the deck and resulted in more than 70 people being injured, 12 of whom were described as ?seriously injured? last night.

Federal investigators examined the new cruise ship yesterday to try to determine why the 951-foot vessel suddenly rolled to one side in a scene that looked like something out of the movie on that night?s bill, ?Titanic.?

The Coast Guard also questioned why authorities first learned of the trouble not from the captain, but from the mother of a passenger who had called her from the ship.

?We'll look at weather, we'll look at stability issues and we'll look at mechanical issues,? Coast Guard Commander James McLaughlin said.

The International Council of Cruise Lines called the ship's listing an ?uncommon occurrence.?

A Meyer Group representative said the ship, which has only been in the water for a month, is scheduled to make ten stops to Bermuda during the summer season. This Saturday was to be its third. Seatrade Inside News estimated that the ship is worth $500 million and can hold up to 3,000 people.

The ship which was on its way to Brooklyn and encountered the difficulty off Port Canaveral, Florida.