Frantic scene in Mobile as families impatiently await late arrival of 4,200 passengers of crippled Carnival cruise ship

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 13:21 EST, 14 February 2013 | UPDATED: 14:15 EST, 14 February 2013

A frantic scene is playing out in the small port city of Mobile, Alabama, as security officials, Caival Cruise executives and hundreds of impatient family members await the arrival of 4,200 passengers tonight from the crippled ocean liner Caival Triumph.

Port security officers and Mobile police are flooding the port to prepare for the massive  offload of dirty, weary and frustrated passengers after the ship arrives sometime between 8 and 11pm local time.

Meanwhile, hundreds of fathers, husbands and parents are preparing to greet their stranded loved ones and whisk them away back home.

Anxious: Rusty and Beth Adkins traveled to Mobile from Indianapolis, Indiana, to greet their 18-year-old daughter Brianna

Damage control: Terry Thoton, senior Vice President of Caival Cruise Lines, announced company officials would do everything they could to quickly get passengers back home

However, the waiting families have been frustrated by the snail's pace of the ship, which is being towed to shore by four tugs at speeds no faster than a lawn mower.

The Triumph was first expected to be in Mobile by 5pm today. 

'I just want to get her out of there,' Matt Minyard, of Fate, Texas, told WALA-TV.

Mr Minyard rushed 580 miles from his hometown to Mobile to greet his wife Bethany.

Mr Minyard voiced sentiments shared by hundreds of family members, who said they didn't trust the cruise company to quickly and efficiently transport their loved ones back home after the debacle on the Gulf of Mexico.

'Caival’s logistical specialty is on the water, and we see how that worked out for them,' he said. 'I'm not letting Caival do any more planning.'

Re-supply: Helicopters airlifted food and other provisions to the crippled the Caival Triumph cruise ship

Detour: The ship was due back in Galveston, Texas, on Monday. It is expected to arrive at the port in Mobile, Alabama, on Thursday night

Rusty and Beth Adkins traveled more than 11 hours from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Alabama to greet their 18-year-old daughter  Briana, who was on the cruise with several of her girlfriends.

Caival operated a terminal at the Port of Mobile for several years, until the company shut down its Mobile service a little over a year ago. That terminal is still in operation. 

'We have the largest available commercial dry dock along the U.S. Gulf, we have the shipyard capability, a terminal to accommodate the passengers and crew and a maritime community ready to help wherever it’s needed,' Alabama State Port Authority Director Jimmy Lyons told the Mobile Press-Register.

Custom and borders patrol agents are currently sailing out to meet the ship to speed up the process when the boat finally docks.

Caival said that 200 staff members, including a 'care team', will be highly visible at the port to help their exhausted and grubby passengers.

Medical teams will also be on hand for anyone who needs health care.

They will first set foot in a terminal which has been disused for more than a year.

Despite landing in Mobile, a city which has hundreds of hotel rooms and two airports, passengers will then either board buses directly to Galveston or Houston in Texas.

The other option is to spend the night in a New Orleans hotel room. Those who opt to stay in New Orleans will catch flights to Houston on Friday.

Guests have already indicated which option they prefer to Caival.

Caival VP Terry Thoton said today that it as not 'logistically feasible' for passengers to remain in Mobile because of the volume of flights required.

Caival said it will cover all transportation costs.