A fire on Monday in the electric generator room on the 820-passenger Costa Allegra has left the ship adrift without propulsion power.
The ship is about 200 miles southwest of the Seychelles and some 20 miles from the nearest land — Alphonse Island. Published reports attributed to the Italian Coast Guard say the ship is without any electrical power, although its communication system is operating. Costa will not confirm the ship has no power.
The fire was extinguished and no injuries have been reported.
Tugboats and naval and aerial units have been dispatched to the Costa Allegra, said Costa Cruises.
Inspections of the engine room are ongoing to determine when the equipment can be restarted.
According to a statement from Costa, the Allegra transmitted a distress signal and the relevant authorities were alerted, including the Maritime Rescue Control Center in Rome.
Costa said that 636 passengers of various nationalities and 413 crew members are onboard. There are eight Americans listed on the ship’s manifest.
The ship departed Saturday from Diego Suarez, Madagascar, and was cruising toward Victoria, Seychelles, where it was scheduled to arrive this Tuesday.
The Costa Allegra was built in 1992.
The Allegra incident occurs less than two months after the Costa Concordia on Jan. 13 struck rocks off the western coast of Italy and remains there, half-submerged.
Follow Donna Tunney on Twitter @dttravelweekly.