Coast Guard: Cruise Ship Stopped; Towline Broken [VIDEO]

A Coast Guard official says a disabled cruise ship is stopped off the coast of Alabama because of a broken towline attached to one of the boats towing the vessel.

Petty Officer William Colclough says the ship will be "dead in the water" as the tugboat with the broken line is replaced with a useable vessel. He says the Carnival Triumph will be on its way once it is safely reconnected, but he did not given an estimate of how long the process would take.

The Triumph was being pulled by four tugs Thursday, and the Coast Guard said it had been moving about 5 mph. Before the towline broke, the ship and the 4,000-plus passengers were expected to arrive at the Mobile cruise terminal late Thursday night.

Passenger: Feces, urine on floor of disabled ship

A passenger on the disabled cruise ship slowly headed to shore says conditions on board are terrible, with feces and urine on the floor and cases of food poisoning.

Renee Shanar, of Houston, is on board the Carnival Triumph with her husband. As the ship came into sight of shore Thursday afternoon, she said Carnival told passengers they're delayed again because of winds and won't pull in until midnight.

Shanar said passengers have food, but toilets aren't flushing. She said some people have food poisoning, and older people have fallen and injured themselves.

She said her husband is a heart patient and that they've been told they will be among the first to disembark, but she doesn't believe the officials, saying, "They've been lying to us from the beginning."

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved)