Crippled ship pulls into US port after harrowing voyage

MOBILE, Alabama (AFP) - The stricken Carnival cruise ship Triumph arrived back in port late on Thursday, ending a nightmarish ocean voyage for some 4,000 desperate passengers and crew after it lost power over the weekend.

At a little after 0300 GMT (11am Singapore time) Friday, the crippled ship inched into the port in Mobile, Alabama, after being towed here by a flotilla of tugboats.

Families cheered from dockside and waved to relatives who stood on the deck of the darkened ocean liner, which has been likened to a massive hulking skyscraper on the open water.

Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill told reporters shortly after Triumph's arrival here that the first order of business would be to apologise to the passengers for their ordeal.