<p align="center"><font size="2"></font></p><div><font size="2"><strong>The cruise ship Queen Victoria, on its maiden call in Malta, was&nbsp;in the&nbsp;centre of&nbsp;attraction for all the&nbsp;wrong reasons&nbsp;when it entered the Grand Harbour&nbsp;on Wednesday morning. The luxury cruise ship in fact&nbsp;hit the quay of the Valletta Waterfront, denting the stern of the ship in one of the most bizarre incidents&nbsp;in the&nbsp;Grand Harbour.</strong></font></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><strong><font size="2"></font></strong></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2">The unofficial reason for the incident is that the throttles of the 90,000 tonnes luxury liner got stuck. In a statement later in the evening the Malta Maritime Authority officially attributed the incident to a mechanical failure in the ship.&nbsp; </font><font size="2">Although the captain of the Queen Victoria is Paul Wright, <strong>maltastar.com</strong> is informed that the vessel was then being piloted by a Maltese captain since port regulations stipulate that&nbsp;ships&nbsp;exceeding&nbsp;500 gross tonnage are to be piloted&nbsp;by a Maltese pilot&nbsp;provided by local Port Authorities. </font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2">Full investigations into the incident were launched immediately by the Malta Maritime Authority and a magisterial inquiry is also underway. </font></div><p align="center"><img src="http://www.maltastar.com/UserFiles/20080514QV3.jpg" border="2" width="420" height="265" /></p><div><font size="2"><strong>Chairman of Carnival Corporation on board<br /></strong><br /></font><font size="2">Meanwhile, <strong>maltastar.com</strong> is exclusively informed that the whole incident happened in the presence of the chairman and chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation, the parent company of Cunard cruise lines, which company owns the ship. </font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2">The chairman, Mickey Arison, was on board the Queen Victoria for the maiden call&nbsp;to Malta on Wednesday morning.</font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2">The accident can be a cause for embarrassment to the Maltese authorities. Yet, if the throttles got stuck, as is being stated unofficially, the blame could lay solely on the owners of the ship. </font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2"></font></div><div><font size="2">In reply to questions by <strong>maltastar.com</strong>, a spokesperson for Cunard said: &ldquo;The ship will leave Malta tomorrow (Thursday) after repairs have been carried out &ndash; these are currently taking place and will continue overnight. As for the reason/cause &ndash; it is too early to answer the question while our investigation is taking place.&rdquo;<br /><br /></font><font size="2"></font></div><p align="center"><img src="http://www.maltastar.com/UserFiles/20080514QV1.jpg" border="2" width="420" height="265" /></p><div><font size="2">Eye-witnesses told <strong>maltastar.com</strong> that as the Queen Victoria was being steered along the Waterfront quay, they heard a loud noise and panic ensued for a few moments. </font></div><div><br /><font size="2">In a statement later on Wednesday evening the Maritime Authority said that on &ldquo;approaching the berth, the ship developed mechanical failure and made contact with the quay resulting in limited damage to the fender system and the quay coping. The vessel suffered damage to the stern which damage is being assessed. No injuries to passengers or crew were reported.&rdquo;</font></div><div><br /></div><p align="center"><img src="http://www.maltastar.com/UserFiles/20080514QV7_Use.jpg" border="2" /></p><div><font size="2"><strong>Bad luck?</strong><br /></font><div><font size="2"><br />Interestingly, Queen Victoria was launched six months ago &ndash; December 2007 &ndash; by Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles. But the Champagne bottle used in the naming ceremony failed to break against the &pound;300 million luxury liner &ndash; a sign which is regarded as bad luck in maritime circles. </font></div></div>