MS Monarch

After evacuating a sick passenger at Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Netherlands Antilles on December 15, 1998, Monarch of the Seas grazed a reef while departing, opening a gash along the starboard hull 40 by 2 metres (131 ft 3 in by 6 ft 7 in) in size.[16] The ship started taking on water and began to sink by the head. Three of its watertight compartments were completely flooded and several others partially flooded.

The ship was intentionally grounded on a sandbar to prevent further sinking. All passengers were evacuated by crew members and local tender operators. No lives were lost. The grounding breached two of the ships diesel fuel tanks and an overflow tank causing a small fuel spill of approximately 100 US gallons (380 l; 83 imp gal). There was also severe damage to the ship.[16][17] A joint investigation by the Norwegian Maritime Investigator and the United States Coast Guard found that the accident was due to "…a myriad of human performance deficiencies." Reports also indicate that navigation out of the port was done visually rather than using of electronic navigation and that the relocation of a vital buoy was not reflected on charts.[18][19]

The ship was drydocked for repairs for three months at Atlantic Marine's Mobile, Alabama facilities. One hundred fourteen of the ship's compartments had to be cleaned. The work also included replacement of machinery, 460 tons of shell plating, and 18 miles (29 km) of electrical wiring.

American comedian John Pinette was aboard the ship at the time of the incident, referencing it in his 2005 DVD 'I Say Nay Nay'.

While docked at the port of Los Angeles in August 2005, maintenance on a sewage pipe caused a small amount of raw sewage and an unknown amount of hydrogen sulfide gas to escape. Three crew members were killed and 19 others were injured. Reports said that the deaths were almost instantaneous as the crew members were not wearing breathing apparatus at the time.[20][21]

Thirty-eight-year-old Captain Joern Rene Klausen was found dead in his stateroom aboard Monarch early the morning of January 30, 2006. The ship was returning to Los Angeles from a three-night cruise to Ensenada, Mexico.[22] According to reports, the death appeared to be of natural causes.[23]

On 14 March 2020, Panama repatriated 1,504 Colombian tourists from the cruise ship Monarch due to coronavirus fears. Since the port of Cartagena, Colombia was closed, the people had to fly from Colón, Panama. As of 14 March, about 300 people were still waiting to buy tickets.[24]

On 17 April 2020, a Honduran crew member died of the virus in a hospital in Panama City.[25] He had been medically evacuated after having trouble breathing, and tested positive at the hospital.[25]