Less than two weeks after its maiden voyage, the Blue Horizon Casino Cruise ship will be going into dry dock until at least Labor Day. The 600 passenger Port of Palm Beach (Riviera Beach) Florida boat will be fitted with new engines and have other maintenance problems corrected. Communication gear will also be replaced after being destroyed by a lightning strike.

The ship’s schedule was halted immediately for the safety and security of customers and staff.

Local reports indicate that the company had planned to replace the engines as soon as next year, but decided to invest $1 million to replace them now rather than face ongoing repairs and inconvenience to customers.

Blue Horizon began operations on July 17. It is the third attempt in recent years for an operator to offer casino cruises from the Port of Palm Beach. None of the previous operators lasted a full year. Blue Horizon expects operations to resume by Labor Day. Blue Horizon’s parent company, PB Gaming Inc., has a 63 month agreement with the Port to operate casino cruises.