Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) halted a search and rescue operation hours after a male passenger reportedly went overboard.
The cruise line obtained information of a 51-year-old passenger who had gone into the water at round 3 pm on December 26. On the time, Norwegian Epic was touring from Ocho Rios, Jamaica to Nassau, Bahamas.
An NCL spokesperson reported that overboard protocols have been immediately launched. “The authorities have been instantly notified, and a search and rescue operation underneath the steering and oversight of the Bahamas Rescue Coordination Middle went underway,” shared the consultant.
The ship marked its place with a flare whereas a number of passengers saved watch over the water hoping to identify the lacking visitor. One other cruise ship within the space, Holland America Line’s Zuiderdam, additionally lent help.
“We’re formally on a rescue mission. Man overboard from the Norwegian Epic,” wrote one passenger on Fb. “The Zuiderdam was requested to assist in the search. Each ships are working grid patterns and loads of passengers are on the rails maintaining their eyes out.”
Each vessels have been in the course of Western Caribbean sailings when the incident occurred. For the reason that man went overboard in the course of the afternoon, search events solely had a couple of hours of daylight left.
Norwegian Epic was finally permitted to renew its journey minus one visitor. “After an intensive search that was sadly unsuccessful, the ship was launched by the authorities to proceed its voyage,” NCL revealed.
The cruise line added that the lacking passenger was touring with a big group that included his household and they’re now receiving help.
Norwegian Epic left Port Canaveral on December 21 and can return on December 28. Its weeklong itinerary contains visits to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Nice Stirrup Cay, the cruise operator’s 268-acre non-public resort within the Bahamas.
As of December 12, 18 overboard incidents have been reported in 2024. Since a crew member went overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Imaginative and prescient of the Seas on December 21 and a lady deliberately jumped from Princess Cruises’ Sky Princess on December 23, the 12 months’s tally is now as much as 19 man overboard incidents.
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