Re: Are you saying...
The cruise ship had a fire that blew out their electrical system. Nothing else electronic was affected, like cell phones.
An EMP pulse is generated by a nuclear weapon going off, and if this is done at very high altitudes - basically almost in space - the pulse can affect a wide area. It's a complicated technical issue but it boils down to a lot of potential damage to electronics and electrical infrastructure. Especially if the bomb is tuned for maximum EMP.
One concern over the possibility of an enemy submarine missile launch off our coast is that this is a standard EMP attack scenario.