Freak wave batters liner

The Oriana pictured in operation in May

The cruise ship Oriana is being repaired in the Atlantic after a freak wave shattered windows and flooded cabins.

Three of the passengers were cut by glass and four had to be treated for shock after the P&O liner was caught in a storm force 10 gale.

At no time was the ship or its passengers in danger

P&O spokesman

The ship, on its way back to Southampton from New York, is thought to have been hit by a 40 foot wave which smashed through six cabins.

The latest mishap is one in a long list of troubles to have plagued the Oriana, which had been the country's first new cruise ship for 25 years.

Running repairs

The 10-deck luxury vessel, carrying 1,525 passengers and 800 crew, is currently being held steady at sea while running repairs are carried out.

It is expected to return to Southampton later than planned, on Saturday night, and its next sailing will be delayed by 24 hours.

A P&O spokesman said the Oriana was 600 miles west of Cork when the wave struck.

He said: "At no time was the ship or its passengers in danger."

The ship was due to sail on Saturday for a 12-night cruise to Madeira, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Lisbon and Vigo.

The spokesman said passengers were being told that the cruise would now leave on Sunday, and would not be stopping at Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands.

"Appropriate compensation will be offered to all passengers before they depart," he said.

Complete breakdown

It has been far from plain sailing for the Oriana, since its maiden voyage in 1995.

Leaving the German yard where it was built, P&O's £200m flagship liner limped back to Britain after damaging its propellers just minutes after setting sail.

But repairs to correct the propeller problem resulted in the Oriana vibrating excessively at high speeds.

Within less than a month of hitting the oceans, it twice broke down completely.

On the second occasion, as it headed from Ibiza to the Israeli port of Haifa, it drifted from almost half an hour with its engines stopped.

Passengers, who had paid up to £6,000 for their cruise, later told how they were trapped in lifts and left in blacked-out cabins as power failed.

Earlier this year, in May, sister ship Aurora had to be returned to Southampton just two days into its maiden voyage.

Again, it was a propeller at fault as a shaft bearing failed, severely reducing the vessel's power.