Two Holland America Line crew members die in onboard 'steam release' in Bahamas

Two Holland America Line crew members died on the line’s Nieuw Amsterdam ship on Friday.

The deaths occurred following "an accidental steam release in an engineering space" around 9:20 a.m. while the ship was calling at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, according to a spokesperson for the line.

The crew members were third engineer Joseph Terrado and wiper Wawan Gusnawan. Terrado was from the Philippines and Gusnawan was from Indonesia.

"All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this event," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We’ve been in contact with the families of both team members and are offering our support to them and to all of our crew at this difficult time."

Nieuw Amsterdam was sailing a week-long Eastern Caribbean cruise that departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 16, according to CruiseMapper. The ship returned to Fort Lauderdale around two hours late on Saturday, and left for its next cruise about three hours late.

The vessel will visit Ocho Rios in Jamaica on Tuesday.

"The Bahamas Maritime Authority and the Dutch Safety Board are currently investigating. Safety is always our top priority, and we are working to understand what, if anything, can be learned from this tragic accident," the spokesperson said, noting that earlier reports that the crew members died in a fire on board were incorrect.

Two investigators from the Dutch Safety Board traveled to the Caribbean as part of the inquiry, the independent administrative body said in an emailed statement. The BMA did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.