What must have been a festive Christmas cruise has changed into tragedy for visitors aboard Royal Caribbean Worldwide’s Imaginative and prescient of the Seas, as a person went overboard the ship on Saturday, December 23. Regardless of intensive efforts, the search was known as off on Sunday, December 24.
Man Overboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
A 41-year-old male passenger was reported overboard from Imaginative and prescient of the Seas at roughly 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, December 23, 2023. Friends onboard the ship heard the “Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!” emergency name which signifies an overboard scenario.
The ship’s crew instantly initiated emergency procedures, together with scanning the water for indicators of the person. America Coast Guard (USCG) obtained the alert at 7:17 p.m., when the ship was positioned roughly 127 miles (205 kilometers) east of Charleston, South Carolina.
Imaginative and prescient of the Seas has departed Baltimore, Maryland on Friday, December 22 for an 8-night vacation crusing to the Bahamas, with port visits to Port Canaveral, Bimini, Excellent Day at CocoCay, and Freeport deliberate on the itinerary. The overboard incident occurred earlier than any port go to.
The circumstances of the incident, together with additional particulars of the visitor’s identification and his touring social gathering, haven’t been revealed as a way to safeguard the privateness of everybody impacted.
“The ship and crew instantly reported the incident to native authorities and launched a search and rescue mission,” a spokesperson for Royal Caribbean Worldwide mentioned. “Out of privateness for the visitor and their household, we have now no extra particulars to share.”
Two USCG C-130 Hercules planes and their rescue crews have been a part of the search efforts, which lasted greater than eight hours and lined greater than 1,625 sq. miles (2,615 sq. kilometers).
Whereas particulars of the overboard will not be recognized presently, the vacation season is a difficult time for a lot of people who could also be affected by despair or different difficulties. In 2022, a feminine visitor went overboard from MSC Cruises’ MSC Meraviglia in mid-December and was sadly discovered deceased.
Cruise Hive’s ideas are with the person’s members of the family, mates, and touring social gathering, in addition to with the crew members impacted by this troublesome scenario.
Search Ended
Finally, the search was suspended with out success. Precisely how lengthy search efforts final is dependent upon many components, together with climate situations, water temperature, the placement of the search, and the person circumstances of every incident.
Whereas Imaginative and prescient of the Seas was concerned within the search efforts for roughly six hours, the ship was launched to maneuver alongside on her itinerary.
It’s not uncommon for cruise ships to be launched from search operations after rescue boats arrive, as USCG and different help craft are higher geared up to totally search a area and administer instant help if an overboard particular person is situated. This additionally helps the cruise ships proceed with minimal disruption for the hundreds of different passengers aboard.
The 78,717-gross-ton Imaginative and prescient of the Seas is among the older ships in Royal Caribbean’s fleet, having first set sail in 1998. The ship is well-equipped with acceptable security gear, nonetheless, and all crew members are expertly skilled in emergency operations.
Imaginative and prescient of the Seas can welcome 2,050 visitors at double occupancy, or as many as 2,514 passengers when totally booked with all berths stuffed. Through the vacation season, cruise ships are extra usually crusing nearer to their full capability.
The ship is at present homeported from Baltimore, Maryland, providing a wide range of Southern Caribbean, Southeast Coast, Bahamas, and Bermuda itineraries, relying on departure date and cruise size. Imaginative and prescient of the Seas is scheduled to stay homeported from Baltimore at the least by April 2025.
