At Least 9 People Went Overboard Off Cruise Ships in 2023

Table Of Content

• Sigmund Ropich was vacationing with pals before the teenager went overboard from a Royal Caribbean ship
• COVID-19 outbreaks hit 3 cruise ships as Florida breaks record for new cases
• Ronnie Lee Peale Jr. was in his 'happy place' before he fell off a Carnival ship and was never seen again
• At least 5 cruise ships stuck at sea as Hurricane Ian closes Florida ports
• tested positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean cruise ship docking in Miami

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats. MIAMI — Two crew members died on board a Holland America cruise ship, and a fire broke out on a Carnival ship while both of the ships were in the Bahamas this weekend, officials said. Carnival Magic was involved in an incident while in Ocho Rios, Jamaica on Tuesday morning, Feb. 6 when strong winds and swells caused the pier fender to collapse under pressure, and the ship made contact with the pier. The sibling didn’t report her brother gone until noon the next day,  prompting the Cozumel, Mexico-bound ship to retrace its sailing path toward New Orleans Thursday, Carnival spokesperson Matt Lupoli told the outlet. Littlejohn said the ship called the Coast Guard to report the incident and told officials there were no injuries, according to Juneau Empire.

Sigmund Ropich was vacationing with pals before the teenager went overboard from a Royal Caribbean ship

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland. The Viking Polaris’ next departure, the Antarctic Explorer cruise scheduled for Dec. 5-17, was canceled due to the incident. Suzie Gooding, who was on the ship when the incident happened, recalled feeling like they'd hit an iceberg, according to NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh, North Carolina. Passengers scheduled for those late-March cruises are being offered full refunds and credit that can be used for a future cruise, it said.

COVID-19 outbreaks hit 3 cruise ships as Florida breaks record for new cases

One passenger was with six of her relatives for a family vacation that was postponed three years due to the COVID pandemic. A Norwegian Cruise Line ship on the way to an Alaskan glacier hit an iceberg over the weekend and is being turned around due to damage. Ross Klein, a cruise industry expert and a professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, said that this kind of incident is uncommon. "It's not unheard of, but it certainly isn't something that happens with any frequency at all," he said. From 2009 to 2019, the number of "operational incidents" declined by 41% and the rate of "man overboard incidents" declined by nearly 35%, while the industry's total capacity grew by 68%, CLIA said.

Ronnie Lee Peale Jr. was in his 'happy place' before he fell off a Carnival ship and was never seen again

2 Holland America crew members die during "incident" on cruise ship - CBS News

2 Holland America crew members die during "incident" on cruise ship.

Posted: Sat, 23 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Ashley Peterson, a passenger on the ship, tweeted a photo of a Dec. 22 letter from the ship's captain apologizing for being unable to make stops in Aruba and Bonaire. The letter said passengers would get $100 per room in onboard credit, as well refunds for planned excursions. Two civilian support vessels are aiding the ship in its journey to port, Danish rescue authorities said. The ship was in the North Sea at the time, in an area hit by a storm late Thursday with hurricane-force gusts forecast to continue Friday, the Danish Meteorological Institute said according to Reuters.

At least 5 cruise ships stuck at sea as Hurricane Ian closes Florida ports

The extended sailings are just the latest in a string of disruptions to cruises this week caused by Hurricane Ian. More than a dozen cruise ships operating in the Caribbean and the Bahamas have had to switch course in recent days to steer clear of the storm as it barreled toward Florida. In many cases, the ships dropped or switched ports as they moved to calmer waters. Researchers at Bowling Green State University found between 2000 and 2019, there were 623 reported deaths on cruise ships, and 89% of those deaths were passengers while 11% of those were crew members. The 981-foot cruise ship, which has 20 passenger decks above the waterline and a large sail area, arrived in the Belgian port as its last port call on a 10-day cruise from Iceland through Scandinavia and ending in England. When she docked Saturday morning, wind speeds were being reported at between 6 and 18 knots.

tested positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean cruise ship docking in Miami

Employees of Nomi Health check in a long line of people for COVID-19 tests on Tuesday in North Miami, Fla. Because of a lack of navigational abilities, the ship had to be steered manually from the engine room, per the news agency. “It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

More common, Klein said, is for passengers to fall over the side of the gangway, though he noted that does not happen often, either. "From a passenger perspective, one should always be using caution no matter where they are on a cruise ship or off," Klein said. A passenger on an MSC Cruises ship was rescued in 2009 after falling into the water following a gangway collapse, and more than a dozen people were killed in a similar incident on a gangway leading to Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2 in 2003. According to a report from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), there were 212 overboard incidents from 2009 to 2019, and only 48 — or 28.2% — of those who fell overboard were successfully rescued. College student Sigmund Ropich of Texas was vacationing with his friends on Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world in August, his sister Savannah Ropich told Business Insider. One witness told Business Insider that passengers lined up on their balconies and quickly banded together to try and guide the rescue boat as it scanned the water for signs of the woman.

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory. GIGLIO, Italy — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds. Cunard Line took delivery today, April 19, from Fincantieri on its first new cruise ship built for the storied brand in 14 years. She told the newspaper that Norwegian told her Monday the rest of the trip was canceled and the ship would arrive in Seattle on Thursday.

1 killed, several injured in shuttle bus accident at Honolulu cruise terminal - CNN

1 killed, several injured in shuttle bus accident at Honolulu cruise terminal.

Posted: Sun, 14 Apr 2024 03:36:00 GMT [source]

The companies have scheduled the completion of the vessel for January 2027.Imoto, which is a leading operator of coastal feeder ships,... India’s navy is continuing to demonstrate its prowess joining the world stage among the most elite strike teams. The Combined Maritime Force (CMF) CTF 150 which is currently being led by the Canadians reports India recently undertook its first interdiction of illicit narcotics as a member of CMF. The Indian frigate Talwar contributed to Focused Operation Crimson Barracuda which CTF was undertaking to interrupt the smuggling of illicit narcotics in the Arabian Sea. An investigation was planned for the port to determine why the cruise ship broke loose.

Norwegian Encore is currently on a 21-day Panama Canal cruise from Seattle to Miami. According to CLIA, cruise lines have maintained an exceptional safety record and cruising is one of the safest forms of travel. "Even one incident is one too many," CLIA told Business Insider, explaining, "The vast majority of cases are either reckless behavior or some form of intentional act. People don't just inadvertently fall over the side of a ship." California resident Kenneth Schwalbe, 59, was traveling on the Emerald Princess ship when he went overboard on August 11 about eight miles off the coast of Hilo, Hawaii. The Coast Guard called off its search for Hill when he wasn't found after covering more than 1,347 square miles.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection. Fire on the port-side exhaust funnel of another Florida-based cruise ship in the Bahamas, the Carnival Freedom, rocked some passengers Saturday and took the ship out of commission for repairs, the cruise line said. The passenger — who was showing signs of hypothermia, shock and dehydration — told rescuers he wasn’t sure how he’d fallen overboard but confirmed he’d been on the cruise ship.

The Coast Guard searched over 5,171 square miles and more than 60 hours, but crews could not find Peale Jr. The family of 35-year-old Australian cruise passenger Warwick Tollemache told Nine News he was a "kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him." But at least 10 people fell off major cruise line ships so far this year, turning fun-in-the-sun vacations into disaster situations — and only two survived the fall into the ocean.

By midday port officials were raising a yellow caution flag reporting gusts over 40 knots. The cruise line said a technical team determined the ship sustained enough damage that it will need repairs before it can be returned to scheduled cruises. The funnel was stabilized, passengers were expected to be returned to Port Canaveral, and the ship will set off to Freeport for repairs, it said. One person died and four others were injured after a "rogue wave" hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday night, officials said. "The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and began searching for the guest. Thankfully, the guest was successfully recovered and was brought on board," the cruise line told Business Insider.

The Carnival Magic, which departed from Florida on Sunday, was docked in Ocho Rios in Jamaica when high winds caused the pier fender to collapse, hitting the ship’s side. A Japanese consortium made up of coastal shipping company Imoto Lines and marine software company Marindows is launching a government-backed effort to develop a next-generation containership. Plans call not only for the vessel to address decarbonization with the ability to operate emissions-free, but also to address the emerging challenges due to the lack of seafarers in Japan.