Cruise and Ferry Passengers and Crew Overboard
1995 - 2007
| Summary (# of persons) -- 2000 - 2011 | |||||||||||||
| 2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 | 2011 | Total |
|
| Carnival Corp |
|||||||||||||
| Carnival |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
7 |
2 |
8 |
3 | 2 | 43 |
|
| Costa |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 | 2 | 9 | ||||||
| Cunard |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
||||||||
| Holland America |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 | 2 | 8 |
||||||
| Ocean Village |
5 |
1 |
1 |
||||||||||
| P&O |
1 |
1 |
|||||||||||
| P&O Australia |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|||||||||
| Princess |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 | 1 | 9 |
|||||
| Seabourn |
1 |
1 |
|||||||||||
| Crystal |
1 |
2 |
3 |
||||||||||
| RCCL |
|||||||||||||
| Celebrity |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 | 3 | 8 | ||||||
| RCI |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 | 2 | 24 |
||
| NCL (Star) |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 | 2 | 15 |
|||
| Silversea |
1 |
1 |
2 |
||||||||||
| Other |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
6 | 5 | 39 |
||
| Total |
9 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
12 |
16 |
22 |
20 |
10 |
25 |
19 | 20 | 171 |
| Source:
Cruise Junkie dot Com |
|||||||||||||
| 2007 (19 incidents; 20 persons) | |||
| December 1 |
Fantasy Carnival Cruise Lines |
A 77 year old man from Hattiesburg, MS was discovered missing shortly after the ship docked at New Orleans at 4AM at the end of a 5 day cruise to Cozumel and Progresso.The man's room, which included a private balcony, was reported by the cruise line to have been locked from the inside and all of his belongings were left in his cabin. He had last been seen the previous evening at around 7PM when the ship was 28 miles from shore. The Coast Guard was notified at 10AM and a search undertaken of coastal waters. UPDATE: The Hattiesburg American reports the search was called off after a suicide note indicating the man was in poor health was found in his room. | Person missing |
| November 18 |
Discovery Sun Discovery Cruise Line |
A 49-year-old woman who was reported missing had been last seen at about 9:30 PM. She was in the lounge with her husband when she left to go smoke and never returned.The Broward Sheriff's Office and Coast Guard began its search at about 10:30 PM. The casino ship returned to Fort Lauderdale at the end of its cruise later in the night. The woman's body subsequently washed ashore in Florida the following morning around 7:30AM. | Person missing |
| November 17 |
Carnival Victory Carnival Cruise Lines |
A passenger has written to say that a crew member (a member of the entertainment staff) fell overboard this morning around 2:45AM. The ship reversed direction and he was rescued alive. He was taken to hospital when the ship returned to Miami, but he is not seriously injured (dehydration and hypothermia). The ship was on its way back to Miami from a seven day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean. This incident has also been picked up on Cruise Critic. | Fall overboard -- Rescued |
| November 13 |
Island Adventure SeaEscape |
The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a search for a crew member missing from the cruise ship. That missing crewman, identified as 44-year old Oliveiro Fernandez, is believed to have fallen overboard. He was reported missing after a crew check this morning, a search of the ship was fruitless. The crewman was last seen at 9:30 p.m.last night; the ship returned to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale around 12:15 a.m. this morning. | Person missing |
| November 8 |
Red Funnel Ferries |
A 42 year old man went missing from the Isle of Wight
passenger ferry. He was the only on-foot passenger aboard the 11:30PM
ferry between East Cowes and Southampton (a one hour trip). The man's
disappearance became known after the ferry docked at Southhampton. His
body was subsequently found in a search. It is unclear whether he fell
overboard or intentionally jumped. |
Person missing -- Body recovered |
| October 31 |
Costa Atlantica Costa Crociere |
A man reported his 40-year-old wife missing
overnight.
An onboard search, and of surrounding waters, was unsuccessful.
The Eastern Mediterranean cruise was between Santorini and Katakolon
(Olympia), Greece. More details as they become available. |
Person missing |
| September 30 |
Oceana P&O Cruises |
A 67 year old woman died after going missing overboard
on a
2 night cruise from Southampton to Zeebrugge return. Her husband
reports that she was last seen at 5:45 AM; police were notified at
7AM. The ship was approaching Southampton when she went missing
-- her body was recovered at Thyrne Channel in the Solent near Cowes
(Isle of Wight). A subsequent coroner's inquest was unable to conclude
a cause of the death -- it is left with an open verdict. |
Person overboard -- Body recovered |
| July 5 |
Carnival Pride Carnival Cruise Lines |
A
56-year-old man
went missing from the Mexican Riviera cruise, July 1-8 (port calls at
Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas). He was apparently
last seen by his cabin mate at 1AM on July 4. His body was
found
off Puerto Vallarta on July 10. The FBI was notified and is
investigating. The incident was made public July 16 after family
members contacted Cruise
Bruise. Carnival Cruise Lines says it is not normal practice
for it to disclose such events to media unless specifically asked by a
media source. |
Missing |
| July 1 |
Carnival Liberty Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Coast Guard was alerted around 11:45 p.m. that a 29 year old man, appearing intoxicated, had fallen overboard. The ship was 50 miles off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida. A helicopter and rescue boats were sent out and a Coast Guard boat pulled the man from the water alive around 12:30 a.m. Subsequent reports say the man had been drinking with his three buddies since the ship had left Fort Lauderdale at about 4 PM. The group left the casino area after 11 PM. to go outside, where the man climbed into a lifeboat -- "He took the ax and started to chop at the ropes." The ship's assistant chief of security came out to get him to stop. He started climbing toward the man and told him to get down. "Then he jumped into the water." He was rescued within an hour. | Jump overboard -- Rescued alive |
| July 1 |
Ecstasy Carnival Cruise Lines |
An 18-year-old man died early Sunday after he jumped into the Gulf of Mexico. The had sailed out of Galveston for a five-day round-trip cruise to Cozumel, Mexico amd om day 2 "an 18-year-old male passenger was seen jumping overboard from one of the ships upper decks" about 7:35 a.m. Officials initiated a search and notified the U.S. Coast Guard. The passenger was recovered by the crew about a half-hour later and brought on board, where he was pronounced dead. He has not been identified. The ship is en route to Cozumel and is expected to arrive Monday morning. It is scheduled to return to Galveston on Thursday. | Jump overboard |
| June 23 |
Carnival Valor Carnival Cruise Lines |
A passenger
apparently fell overboard and was rescued alive. According to
passenger accounts, sometime around 19:30 ET there were a couple of
blasts from the ships horn. "Around
19:50 I noticed the ship leaning to one side and people were asking
why. I walked up to the 10th deck and was asked by a crew member to go
to the other side of the ship. People were gathering on that deck and
there were at least 20 crew members with radios. I asked what was going
on and someone said they thought it was a man overboard. I went and got
my husband and we went to the 11th deck just as the cruise director
announced there was a passenger overboard and we were in search and
rescue mode. She also said the coast guard was en route. We also saw a
freight liner in the distance with a search light. The ship had
turned around and was almost stopped. From what we observed, around
9:00 pm, the Valor spotted the passenger and sent a life boat from the
ship to retrieve him/her. We saw the person swim toward the boat,
a preserver being thrown to him/her and then the person was pulled on
board the lifeboat. About 5 minutes later the announcement was made
that the passenger was rescued by the Valor staff." Some
observed the man to have been intoxicated. |
Fall overboard -- Rescued |
| June 18 |
Freedom of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean Internationa |
The U.S. Coast Guard is
searching for a 24 year old man who apparently fell overboard somewhere
between Exuma, Bahamas and San Salvador. The ship had left Miami
Sunday en route to Puerto Rico
when his family reported him missing at approximately 8:30 a.m. Monday.
He had last been seen at approximately 1:45 a.m. Monday while he was
resting in his stateroom
balcony. The ship reversed its course in order to conduct a search
along the track it sailed. and the Coast Guard is conducting an air
search. A variety of onboard announcements and searches have been
conducted; however, the young man has not been found. The ship
returned to a revised itinerary on Tuesday. |
Missing |
| June 16 |
Isle of Inishmore Irish Ferries |
A man in his mid 30s was reported missing while the ship was travelling from Rosslare to Fishguard, at around 21:30 BST on Saturday. The incident is said to have happened 18.5 nautical miles west-north-west of St David's Head. A French warship and its helicopter, as well as other vessels in the area, took part in a search which was called off at around midnight. | Missing |
| June 7 |
Birka Paradise Birka Cruises |
A Swedish
newspaper reports a 20 year old Swedish man, sitting on a railing
smoking a
cigarette, lost his balance and fell overboard while the ship was
docked at the port of Mariehamn on the Baltic island of
Åland. Staff on the ship threw out a life ring but the
rescue effort
was hampered by the simultaneous departure of the Tallink Romantica.
The
current generated by the ship's propellers pushed the young man
northwards.
A diver who witnessed the events jumped in to the water and swam out to
the man. The two men who suffered minor injuries were later picked up
in a small boat. |
Fall overboard -- Rescued |
| May 2 |
Star Flyte Australian Ferry |
A 39 year old man fell from this high speed ferry into
the
Indian Ocean while returning from Rottnest Island to Perth (Western
Australia) via Freemantle.. He fell overboard at approximately
4:20 PM, about 3.6 kilometers west of North Mole on the northern side
of the mouth of the Swan River, police believe. Helicopters were
unsuccessful in locating the man, but they did recover some clothing
from the water. |
Person Overboard |
| April 22 |
Le Bretagne Brittany Ferries |
An air and sea search has been called off for a man
missing
from a ferry en route from Portsmouth (UK) to St Malo (France).
The 22-year-old passenger from Erdington, Birmingham, is thought to
have fallen overboard on Saturday. The man was last seen just
after midnight on Saturday (April 21). |
Missing |
| March 25 |
Grand Princess Princess Cruises |
A 22-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were rescued after "accidentally" going overboard from their cabin balcony. The two were reported to have gone overboard at 1:30 a.m. when Grand Princess was approximately 150 miles off the coast of Galveston. They were recovered after a four-hour search, one found at 5:30 a.m. and the other at 6 a.m.. The female returned to the US for medical attention; the male continued on the cruise. UPDATE MARCH 30: The Colorado Springs Gazette reports that the jumpers were both trained for water survival. The 22 year-old-male is an Air Force Academy cadet with extensive training in water survival, which includes how to leap into the water from a high dive platform and how to stay afloat by inflating clothing with air. The 20-year-old woman is a trained lifeguard. This has led some to speculate that their going overboard was a stunt designed to demonstrate (two days before Congressional hearings) that the cruise industry could effectively and competently save passengers who go overboard. Watch here for further updates. UPDATE APRIL 4: The Detroit News reports that a passenger snapped a picture of the couple right before they went overboard. The passenger said the couple, both of whom were on spring break, had been engaging in hanky-panky moments before their tumble. To make them aware that they were making out in full view of other people, [she]... tried to use her camera flash, but it failed to go off. Moments after stepping back inside her cabin to check the camera, she heard a crash, followed by someone shouting a woman's name ... she immediately notified ship officials of the accident and called back to tell them she could pinpoint the time when the couple fell. | People Overboard -- Rescued Alive |
| March 16 |
Carnival Glory Carnival Cruise Lines |
A 35 year old man was rescued approximately eight hours
after jumping or falling overboard from the ship when it was 30 miles
east of Fort Lauderdale. A witness said that the man, who was
intoxicated, ran through a window and then fell 60 feet into the ocean
-- it is not clear whether the window was open at the time. The
ship was en route to Nassau and will arrive slightly behind schedule. |
Person Overboard -- Rescued Alive |
| January 12 |
Harshavardhana Shipping Corp of India |
According to Free Press Releases, a 30 year old man jumped overboard into the Bay of Bengal from a cruise-ferry between the Andaman Islands and Chennai (India). The man reportedly went alone to the upper deck and in frontof his co-passengers jumped off the ship into the sea. | Person overboard |
| 2006 (22 incidents) |
|||
| December 31 |
QE II Cunard Line |
A 62-year-old female passenger from Germany, travelling
with
her husband on a 16 day
Christmas / New Year's cruise from Southampton (London), was reported
missing this morning while the vessel was traveling between Madeira and
Southampton. A search of the ship and surrounding waters
proved unsuccessful. The ship is due back to Southampton January
2. |
Missing |
| December 17 |
Enchantment of
the
Seas Royal Caribbean Internationa |
A
half dozen passengers have independently reported that an older male
passenger was pulled out of the water after going overboard while the
ship sailed from Cozumel toward its return to Fort Lauderdale.
Reports
indicate the man did not survive. There are no news reports or
press
releases regarding this indicent. |
Person overboard |
| November 19 |
Seabourn Legend Seabourn Cruises |
A male crew member (reportedly a worker in the galley)
went
missing and is presumed overboard. Search of the ship and
surrounding waters proved unsuccessful and were called off after more
than a full day. Readers
at Cruise Critic report the following cruise will be delayed one
day because the ship will now arrive in Fort Lauderdale 22
November. The ship's last port was Tenerife on 11 November. |
Missing |
| November 18 |
Melody MSC Cruises |
A
24 year old Samoan crew member who wasjilted by his girlfriend and a
fellow crew member threw himself overboard while the ship was cruising
off the Mozambique coast at about 2 AM. The girlfriend reported
the
"man overboard" and a recovery operation was undertaken. The
bridge
officers calculated where the man overoard would likely be based on
currents, winds, and sea conditions -- at sunrise they found the man,
alive, 500m from the anticipated recovery position (17 km from where
the many had gone overboard). The rescue will delay the ships
arrival
in Durban by about 5 hours. |
Person Overboard -- Rescued Alive |
| November 18 |
Isle of Inishmore Irish Ferries |
A 57 year old man went overboard from the ferry near
the end
of its journey from Rossiare to Pembroke Dock. His body was found
ina search, but he was pronounced dead on arrival to hospital.
Police say there does not appear to be any suspicious circumstances
surrounding the death bu ttheir inquiries continue. |
Person overboard |
| November 4 |
Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Lines |
A 42 year old man fell/jumped from his balcony at approximately 11:00 PM. The ship did search and rescue and then search and recovery for 4 hours and then halted operations at 3:30 AM. Coast Guard helicoptors and several vessels (including oil rig barges) aided in the search and were later joined by a Coast Guard cutter -- they continued the search witout success. The ship resumed its course to Galveston, likely to arrive 3 or 4 hours late. | Person overboard |
| November 2 |
Century Celebrity Cruises |
A 73 old British man travelling alone has gone missing
from
this 14 night transAtlantic cruise. The cruise began in Barcelona
30 October and ends 13 November in Miami. The passenger was reported
missing 1 November after it appeared his room hadn't been used. |
Missing |
| October 11 |
Norwegian Star Norwegian Cruise Line |
A 35 year old women went overboard shortly after the
ship
left Cabo San Lucas. According to passengers, the ship turned around at
about 7 30pm (after leaving Cabo at about 5.30) and conducted a search
for about 2 hours but to no avail. There are reports that her
body washed up onshore the following day, and some passengers report
that she and her partner had an argument in public before she went
missing. The ship was late in its arrival to Los Angeles, where
the FBI boarded for an investigation. |
Person overboard |
| September 28 |
Joseph and Clara Smallwood Marine Atlantic |
A
search has been undertaken for a man believed to have gone overboard
from a ferry running a 160-kilometre route from Port aux Basque
(Newfoundland) and North Sydney (Nova Scotia). A 54 year old man
was
determined missing after his car was unclaimed. A jacket
containing
car keys and a bag with personal belongings were found near the railing
on the stern of the ship. |
Missing |
| September 11 |
Imagination Carnival Cruise Line |
A 35 year old woman was reported missing when the ship
docked in Miami after a four-day cruise to Key West and Mexico.
The woman was reportedly least seen by relatives in the early morning
hours of Saturday (10 Sept), several hours after leaving Calica. |
Missing |
| August 7 |
According to Greek News media, Coast guard officers rescued a 19-year-old man near the Ionian island of Corfu on Saturday morning after he fell overboard from an Italian cruise ship. A search-and-rescue mission was launched after Italian authorities informed the Greek coast guard that the man fell from the ship while it was sailing in international waters west of Corfu. He was taken to a hospital in Igoumenitsa, northwestern Greece. | Rescued |
|
| July 26 |
Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
RCI issued a statement that a 22 year old woman was
missing
from the Voyager of the Seas, sailing in the Mediterranean. The
woman was last seen at approximately 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, when she
joined her parents to sleep in their stateroom. At that time, the ship
was sailing from Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy, to Naples, Italy.
She was reported missing by her sister at approximately 7:30 a.m.
Tuesday. A variety of onboard announcements and searches were
immediately carried out, without success. |
Suicide |
| July 15 |
Enchantment of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From a passenger: On Saturday 7/15 there was a midnight
buffet on the pool deck ... somewhere between 1 am and 4 am, my son
heard that someone had fallen overboard or committed suicide. He said
the ship stopped for approx. 1 half hour, and a lifeboat was put into
the water. He asked several of the deck crew about it, and got the same
response every time, "we aren't allowed to talk about it." |
??Person overboard?? |
| June 21 |
Imagination Carnival Cruise Line |
CBS4 in Miami reports that a crew member was reported
missing after not reporting for duty Tuesday afternoon. The ship
was enroute from Miami to Grand Cayman on a five-day cruise. A
search was conducted but without results. The 57 year old crerw
member is from Italy. |
Missing |
| May 26 |
Island Escape Island Cruises |
A 52-year old woman traveling with her former husband
went
missing while the ship was between Sicily and Naples. She went to
get a cup of tea at about 1AM and never returned to the cabin -- a
search proved unsuccessful, however her body washed ashore in
Calabia in southwest Italy on May 27. More
info here and here |
Overboard |
| May 27 |
Carnival Legend Carnival Cruise Line |
A 35 year old male passenger jumped overboard in front of his wife and two young sons (5 and 3), apparently during an argument over onboard spending (gambling and alcohol). The ship was 650 miles offshore after leaving Tortola on its return to New York. A 12 hour search was undertaken without results. The May 28 cruise departed late because of the ship's late arrival. | Overboard |
| May 20 |
Inspiration Carnival Cruise Line |
An 82-year old man who was traveling by himself went
missing
and, based on a note found, is presumed to have committed suicide. |
Suicide |
| May 16 |
Mariner of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 21 year old man went overboard in an area between Cape Canaveral and the Bahamas. He was was reported missing by friends at 11AM when they found he hadn't slept in his bed. The US Coast Guard received the "man overboard" report around 7 PM and launched an aerial search along the liner's 120 mile long track. The man had reportedly been drinking heavily and video equipment shows him going over the railing at 2:16 AM. | Fall Overboard |
| February 19 |
Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a crew member: One of the female crew jumped overboard and committed suicide ... she was 24 years old and pregnant, had found out her boyfriend who also worked on the ship had cheated on her. The whole thing is a huge "hush hush" thing on the ship, what crew were told, etc. and passengers have no clue" The crew member was upset by how NCL was covering the story up and felt it should be "exposed" to further educate passengers ... S/he says what's more troubling is that this is the second staff suicide on the Jewel within 6 months; the other crew person hung himself in the closet. | Crew member suicide |
| February 19 |
Amsterdam Holland America Line |
A 30 year old crew member (galley worker) apparently fell overboard early Friday about 1100 miles northeast of Hilo. The ship was assisted by the Coast Guard in a search, which was called off mid-day on Saturday. The ship is now en route to San Diego and will arrive one day later than scheduled. | Crew member missing |
| February 8 |
Pride of Rotterdam P&O Ferries |
A 21-year-old Polish man went missing while in the North Sea ferry. He was reported missing by friends when he failed to meet them. The man and his two friends had boarded the P&O superferry Pride of Rotterdam at Rotterdam about 9pm on Tuesday; he was last seen in the bar on board at about 1AM Wednesday. | Missing |
| January 5 | Costa Magica Costa Crociere |
A 15 year old female passenger from Ireland was
reported
to have jumped overboard at 2:10AM as the ship was making its way
toward Cozumel. Reports from those onboard suggest the girl had been
served many drinks at an onboard bar and was intoxicated. Shortly
after she jumped, passengers threw lighted life vests into the water,
the ship reversed direction, and a search was undertaken. The
Mexican Coast Guard assisted in the search but the young woman wasn't
found. From a passenger: The young girl was extremely drunk. We (and others around us) called security many times because of the noise…they even came up at least 3 times to her room. She was partying with other kids in her family in that room. She jumped overboard (or fell when she bent over the rail to vomit). We know this because ser sister came screaming down the hall: “My sister jumped overboard! Help!” I thought it was more drunken antics until security got there and she started talking with them. My two-door-down neighbor heard her tell security that she got in a fight with her boyfriend earlier and also that the bar cut her off. A passenger sent several photos of the search -- there's not much to see, but for those interested they can be viewed by clicking here. Another passenger sent a first hand account that paints a good picture -- it is here |
Suicide or Accidental Fall |
| 2005 (14
incidents;
15 persons) |
|||
| December 10 |
Jewel of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 59-year old woman's husband reported her missing as
the
ship pulled into Nassau at 1PM. She had last been seen at
9AM. A search of the ship and ocean was done, but she was not
found. It is presumed she either jumped or fell overboard. |
Unknown |
| August 7 |
Imagination Carnival Cruise Line |
A 20-year old
woman jumped overboard at 5AM -- she was subsequently found by another
ship around noon and flown (alive) to Miami. |
Rescued alive |
| July 5 |
Brilliance of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A passenger onboard the ship for his honeymoon was
presumed
to have gone overboard in the Mediterranean. Cruise officials
learned the man in his 20s was missing when the ship docked at Kusadasi
on July 5. Investigations and media reports suggested foul
play. For more information see here and here |
?Foul play? |
| June 24 |
Elation Carnival Cruise Line |
A 40-year old woman traveling with her
husband and three teenaged children went missing off the Caribbean
coast
of Mexico at 11 AM. The ship
conducted a full search where she was presumed to have gone overboard
but was not successful in finding her. Though not
explicitly stated, news
reports imply she committed suicide. The FBI in time
ruled there had not been foul play. |
?Suicide? |
| May 28 |
Norwegian Star Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a passenger: Security rushed by us while we were walking the deck. An obviously intoxicated man was straddling the railing and threatening to "end it all." Security latched on and removed him. Apparently, he had been drinking and losing in the casino for some time that night. | Attempted suicide |
| May 12 |
Carnival Destiny Carnival Cruise Line |
Two elderly passengers (aged 67 and 71) disappeared Thursday May 12th between 8:30 PM and 4 AM while the ship was going from Barbados to Aruba. Their couple's belongings were found in a pile on one of the decks, but this was consistent with what they did every night. The FBI investigated but the case was closed. The couple is presumed to have died at sea, but of unknown cause. It remains a mystery for the couple's family. See here for more info. | Missing |
| April 19 |
Queen Mary 2 Cunard Line |
An 82 year old German passenger jumped overboard into
the
icy waters of the North Atlantic off Newfoundland's Grand Bank sometime
in the evening. This is the second suicide this year on the Queen
Mary -- the first was in January when a US passenger killed himself
while on a Caribbean cruise (further details on the latter case are not
available). |
Suicide |
| April 14 |
Carnival Valor Carnival Cruise Line |
There were multiple reports that a passenger jumped from the bow of the ship at about 3AM, reportedly after losing $10,000 at the casino. Crew observed the man going overboard and he was rescued about 45 minutes after the initial "man overboard" alert. There was an ambulance on the pier when the ship arrived at St. Maarten; his party was apparently not allowed to remain on the ship. | Rescued alive |
| April ?? | Crystal Serenity Crystal Cruises |
From a passenger: I was on the world cruise from Cape Town to Barbados. When I came aboard I was told by other passengers (and maybe crew, I don't remember) that earlier in the voyage as the ship was crossing the Pacific a male passenger jumped overboard from his balcony. Passengers were complaining because they had to cancel a port call because of attempted rescue operations (the body was not recovered). The man's female companion stayed aboard and completed the world cruise. | Passenger overboard |
| March 29 |
Sapphire Princess Princess Cruises |
A crew member is reported to have gone overboard while
the
ship headed to Singapore. A lengthy search proved unsuccessful. |
?Suicide? |
| March 17 |
Majesty of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 29 year old cabin steward disappeared somewhere
between
Bahamas and Key West and is presumed dead. The case was brought
to light when his family, on December 14, 2005, filed suit against RCI
for $10 million accusing the company of not doing enough to find their
son. |
Missing |
| February 23 |
Crystal Harmony Crystal Cruises |
A 49 year old man apparently fell overboard
accidentally
when the ship was 100 miles south of Ensenada (Mexico). About 6
AM kitchen crew saw the man fall from an upper deck and a life ring was
thrown to him. He was pulled from the water 30 minutes later. |
Rescued alive |
| January 8 | Pacific Sky P&O Australia |
A 24 year old man is jumped overboard while returning from a 10-day cruise to the South Pacific Islands. The ship was bound for Brisbane. The man "had been drinking all night and he ran outside and then jumped off the side of the boat." | Suicide |
| January 5 |
Statendam Holland America Line |
A 73 year old man reportedly went overboard when the
ship
was near the Coronado Islands. (Source: cruiseserver.net) |
Unknown |
| 2004 (12
incidents) |
|||
| December 9 |
Silver Wind Silversea Cruises |
A crew member was lost at sea between Montevideo,
Uruguay
and Punta Arenas, Chile. The exact date was either December 9 or 10,
2004. Suicide note indicated marital complications. The event occurred
at approximately 4AM and according to the captain, the ship was turned
around and a two hour search was conducted to no avail. |
Suicide |
| December 5 |
Carnival Pride Carnival Cruise Line | A 37-year old woman disappeared from the ship late Saturday evening while 30 miles off the Mexican coast. A search proved unsuccessful. There is question regarding whether foul play was involved. See here for more info. | Unknown |
| November 25 |
Celebration Carnival Cruise Line | A 54-year-old man was reported missing, possibly at
sea,
after the ship arrived home from a five day cruise to the Bahamas. |
Unknown |
| November18 |
Carnival Conquest Carnival Cruise Line | Posters at Cruise Critic have reported a 60-year-old
German
man committed suicide by throwing himself overboard and into the water
when the ship was in port at Georgetown, Cayman Islands. |
Suicide |
| October 17 |
Brilliance of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
As related by a passenger at Cruise Critic: We had left Livorno, (our third day on a cruise out of Bacelona) Italy and at about 11:30 PM the captain asked all passengers to gather at their assigned muster stations without lifejackets. A passenger had reported a large splash in the water and they weren't sure whether it was a person or an object -- they needed to account for all crew and passengers via a roll call. In the meantime, the ship was turned around and returned to the area where it happened. It took 2 hours at our muster stations before all passengers were accounted for. One employee was missing. Passengers were allowed back to their business, but the ship continued its search and was joined by other ships in the area, without success. We skipped Mykonos and proceeded to Santorini with an extra sea day since we lost too much time on the search. Later in the cruise, the captain told us that they had found a note indicating the crewmembers intent to kill himself. Thru crewmembers, the story was that he had just joined the crew (his first cruise) and was working with his wife on board. It appears that there was a love triangle situation of some sort (stories varied depending on who you talked to). It was sad and provided a little weirdness to the otherwise great trip. | Suicide |
| September 4 |
Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
The Jersey Journal reports that a 67 year old woman
committed suicide by jumping overboard after losing money in the
casino. See the article by clicking here.
On September 16, the paper reported: There
were indications she'd lost money in the casino on board and she
came back to her cabin, went onto the balcony of the cabin, where she
appeared to have put a chair against the railing, removed her clothing
and went off into the sea below. |
Suicide |
| Aug 27 - Sept 3 |
Mercury Celebrity Cruises |
A 40 year old passenger went
missing the second day of the cruise. The cruise line calls the
disappearance a suicide but the family thinks otherwise, especially
given that the cruise line had withheld information from them.
(See Arizona Republic, November 10, 2005, "Daughter vanishes while on
Alaskan cruise: The strange disappearance of Miriam Carver) For
more information see
here. |
Unknown |
| July 23 |
Fascination Carnival Cruise Line |
A 37 year old passenger is suspected to have fallen
overboard -- he was
last seen at 3:30 AM, was reported missing at 7:00 AM, and did not
disembark at the end of the cruise in Miami. The story is on-line
at: NBC
6 - Miami and at the Sun
Sentinel |
Unknown |
| June 18 |
Queen Mary Cunard Line |
A passenger disappeared during a Caribbean voyage from New York. According to Cunard, an investigation resulted in a determination of apparent suicide. | Suicide |
| March 22 |
Casino Cruise Ship |
A 39 year old man boarded the Casino cruise ship at
Palm
Beach, Florida but didn't disembark. He is presumed to have been
lost overboard. See Cruise Bruise. |
Missing |
| February 9 |
Crystal Harmony Crystal Cruises |
A crew member disappeared while
the ship was en route to Fanning Island from Kailua-Kona.
Security cameras show him leaving his hatch at 12:45 AM and he wasn't
seen afterwards. |
?Suicide? |
| January 16 (approx) |
Serenade of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
From a
passenger: We were
wakened sometime after midnight by searchlights outside our stateroom
and then the Captain’s voice asking people to stop throwing life rings
overboard. We assumed some boisterous partygoers had got carried away,
but as we were listening we realized there was a lot more to this than
that. Someone had gone overboard and we could hear him from our balcony
yelling, "help me, help me" -- that's a voice I will never
forget. They were able to fish him out on a skiff and he walked
from the skiff onto the ship under his own steam.The next morning, we
saw him loaded into an ambulance at the dock in St. Thomas. |
Rescued alive |
| 2003 (9 incidents) |
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| Late November |
Coral Princess Princess Cruises |
A kitchen assistant (new employee) jumped overboard and committed suicide shortly after the ship left Cozumel. According to an officer onboard: he was a new guy, had only been on the ship a short time and he said he missed home a lot. People remembered him being very miserable and lonely. Our Captain was very sympathetic and held two memorial services for him so that many of the crew could attend. | Suicide |
| August 20 |
Pacific Sky P&O Australia |
A man jumped overboard after a
drunken argument with his wife. The 52 year old man was rescued
in a three hour effort in treacherous seas west of Noumea. |
Rescued alive |
| May 18 |
Veendam Holland America Line |
A
51-year old man was missing from the ship when it
disembarked passengers in Vancouver. Given that he could not be
found onboard, and the computer system indicates that he didn't leave
the ship, the assumption is that the man fell overboard. |
Unknown |
| May 11 |
Conquest Carnival Cruise Line |
A 35
year old man fell from a 10th floor balcony between
midnight and 1 AM. Initial searches for
him were unsuccessful, but the body was found the morning of May 14th. |
Accidental
death |
| April
12/13 |
Celebration Carnival Cruise Line |
A 31
year old man accidentally fell overboard in the Gulf of
Mexico (8 hours after leaving Galveston) and was resuced 17 hours later
by a passing cargo vessel. |
Rescued
alive |
| March 13 |
Norwegian Star Norwegian Cruise Line |
A 24-year-old Filipino
crewman fell overboard when the ship was 1000 miles south of
Honolulu. His legs were
cut by a cruise ship's propellers and he was listed in critical
condition after transport to Honolulu by a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules
airplane. |
Rescued - seriously injured |
| March 11 |
Grigory Mikheev Oceanwide Expeditions |
A male passenger disappeared from the tour ship near
Cape
Horn. Details are given at Cruise
Bruise. |
Missing |
| January 26 |
Elation Carnival Cruise Line |
A
35 year old woman went missing following a fight with her
husband. She
was noticed missing the next morning by her husband when he woke in the
morning. |
?Suicide? |
| January
5 |
Statendam Holland America Line |
An
elderly man was suspected to have jumped overboard the
night before disembarkation at San Diego following a roundtrip cruise
from
San Diego to Hawaii. According to a spokeswoman for Holland
America Line, "'We're a 130 year old company and it happens very
rarely, but it is not unheard of on a cruise ship' to lose a passenger." |
Unknown |
| 2002 (4
incidents) |
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| December 9 |
Norwegian Wind Norwegian Cruise Line |
A woman was reported missing
from a cruise ship that had spent the day in Hilo. Ship records
indicate the passenger left the ship but hadn't returned. A
search was underway. |
Unknown |
| December 7 or 8 |
Brilliance of the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
Passengers were awoken in the middle of the night by
the Captain who made an announcement a man had fallen
over board. The ship turned around and started a search pattern. Mid
morning he announced that Coast Guard Helicopters from Puerto Rico were
joining the search. The ship and the helicopters continued their search
until the night time. The Captain then made an announcement that they
did everything they could and were now proceeding on to Miami. |
Unknown |
| August 29 |
Expolorer of the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A man jumped from the balcony on
deck 8 into the sea after having an argument with his wife.
The ship was about 1.5 miles from St. Thomas. The Coast Guard
responded to a call at 9PM and the man was rescued alive. |
Rescued alive |
| March 5 | Norway Norwegian Cruise Line |
Stewardess accidentally fell overboard and rescued after ten hours in the water. Port call at St. Maarten canceled. | Rescued
alive |
| 2001 (5
incidents) |
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| September 2 |
MS Harald Jarl |
A 69 year old woman from New Mexico was thrown
overboard by
a former mental patient . The woman and her husband were on the
third day of an 11 day cruise of Norway's fjords. |
Murder |
| July 22 |
QE II Cunard Line |
A 28 year old crew member (reportedly a chef) went
overboard
while the ship was 95 miles off the south west coast of Ireland |
Unknown |
| March 4 - 11 |
Sovereign of the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
After losing $9K in the casino as 23 year old man
jumped
overboard. The ship's Captain reported to passengers that the man
had been picked up by a small gambling ship off Nassau, but this was
never reported in the media. |
Unknown |
| February 10 | MS Patriot United States Lines |
A 57 year old female passenger went missing between Kona and Honolulu (February 9/10). When the ship arrived in Honolulu her bed was made and her luggage, purse, and identification was in her cabin. See Cruise Bruise for more details | Missing |
| January 14 |
Sensation Carnival Cruise Line |
A 19 year old man climbed over a railing and threatened
to
kill himself after an argument with his girlfriend. After his
girlfriend pleaded with him to climb to safety, he complied, but
slipped and fell into Hillsborough Bay (Tampa). He did not
survive. |
Accidental death |
| 2000 (9 incidents) |
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| October 29 |
Enchantment of the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 40 year old woman from Fort Lauderdale vanished while
the
ship cruised 140 miles off Fort Lauderdale. She was last seen in
a ship hallway. |
Unknown |
| August 18 |
Holiday Carnival Cruise Line |
A 33 year old female passenger
went overboard and missing when ship was near Los Angeles. .A staff member reports the woman had a fight with her partner and jumped overboard afterwards. The partner completed the cruise and stayed on the cruise for the next cruise. The LA Times says the death was ruled to be by suicide. |
Overboard - suicide |
| July 31 |
Elation Carnival Cruise Line |
A 42 year old male passenger
went overboard and missing when the ship was off the coast of Mexico. |
Unknown |
| April 28 |
Sovereign of the
Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 43 year old man jumped or fell
from the ship when it was about 10 miles east of Miami shortly after
daybreak. His body was found in a search of the seas.
According to an officer onboard: The
man in question had a heated argument with his wife in the cabin that
night, he was, at the time, alleged to be heavily intoxicated and had
urinated on the carpet in the cabin. During the early hours of the
morning he was seen drinking Vodka directly from the bottle whilst
sitting with some mid 20 year old cruisers, after he had consumed
vurtually all of a second bottle of Vodka he had gone to the railings
on deck 12 and climbed over telling the young people he would "See them on the other side". One of the young passengers had attempted to pull him back over the railings but he had fought him off and turned and dived off. Security camera footage showed he dived into the water as digitally enhancing and zooming on the single frame of the incident showed him to be diving into the water in a head down attitude with his arms in front in a classic divers pose. He went overboard at 05:10 am and was recovered, dead, at 06:30. |
Unknown |
| April 11 |
Paul Gauguin Radisson Seven Seas |
A 39 year old American tourist
disappeared while the ship was between Tahiti and Raiatea. |
Unknown |
| April | Norwegian Cruise Line | I was a passenger on a Norweigan cruise (do not recall name of ship) in April, 2000 in the Caribbean when a male passenger fell overboard off his balcony (which on this ship, meant he was quite high up) the first night of the cruise. We heard that a bar tender on the back of the ship saw him and threw a ring to him. The ship turned around and he was rescued some 45 minutes later, alive, but with a broken ankle. | Rescued alive |
| February 15 |
Sun Cruz II |
A highly intoxicated man jumped
overboard when the ship was approximately 14 miles west of
Clearwater. His body was recovered by the Coast Guard 90 minutes
after his disappearance was reported. |
Unknown |
| February 5 |
Nordic Empress Royal Caribbean International |
A 20 year old male passenger was
rescued after spending 2 hours in the water. He was found about
12 miles northwest of St. Thomas where he fell from the ship. |
Rescued alive |
| January |
Crown Princess Princess Cruises |
A passenger recounts that a crew member jumped overboard one morning about 9:15 AM from an upper deck & was witnessed by passengers -- the ship almost immediately turned around & returned to area and searched the area all day (we were south of Grand Cayman heading to Costa Rica) but by dusk the ship's captain reported that the search was ended and ship would continue on it's way. | Overboard |
| 1999 (3
incidents) |
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| December 27/28 | Mercury Celebrity Cruises |
A passenger reports the ship had left Key West on the way to Mexico. During the night a despondent crew member from the UK jumped off the ship into the Gulf of Mexico. We heard later that the ship had video of the crew member jumping. The ship turned around the next morning and they asked the passengers to come on deck and help them look for the crew member. He was never found. | Crew overboard |
| July 12 |
Grand Princess Princess Cruises |
Princess reported a passenger missing in the
Mediterranean. He apparently fell overboard from the private
balcony in his cabin. |
Unknown |
| July 5 |
Carnival Destiny Carnival Cruise Line |
The cruise ship and Coast Guard ended its search for a 22 year old man who disappeared at sea after leaving the ship's nightclub. The ship was between San Juan and Miami. For more information see here. | Unknown |
| 1998 (4
incidents) |
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| August 17 |
Westerdam Holland America Line |
A 28 year old woman believed to be from Turkey jumped
overboard after learning she was about to be fired. The ship was
in Howe Sound en route to Vancouver when she leapt from the ship at
4:30 AM. |
Suicide |
| April 24 |
Victoria P&O Cruises |
A 77 year old British man was reported missing by his
wife. The man has been seen at 11 PM when the couple went to bed
byrt was not there when she awoke at 6AM. |
Unknown |
| March 26 |
Rhapsody of the Seas Royal Caribbean International |
A 23 year old woman was reported missing as the ship
arrived
at Curacao. She had last been seen at 4:30 AM sleeping in a chair
on the balcony of the cabin she was sharing with her family. The
family rejects the theory that she may have fallen or jumped overboard. |
Unknown |
| January 9 |
Fantasy Carnival Cruise Line |
A 35 year old man fell over the aft railing from the
outdoor restaurant and lost at sea. Witness accounts conflict
as to whether he was standing or sitting on a table when he lost his
balance and fell over the railing. |
Unknown |
| 1997 (1 incident) |
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| June 15 |
Meridien Celebrity Cruises |
A casino employee jumped overboard after a fight with his lover. The attempted rescue by the ship’s personnel was delayed when the lifeboat got stuck and couldn’t be lowered. A young passenger jumped into the water and held the man above water until the lifeboat arrived. Passengers on the ship were upset by the incident because the well-meaning passenger was reprimanded by the ship’s Captain for interfering in the rescue attempt. | Rescued alive |
| 1996 (1 incident) | |||
| March |
Celebration Carnival Cruise Line |
A 23 year old male fell overboard, as the ship was steaming away from San Juan, as he was urinating over the side of the ship. He survived by swimming to shore. | Accidental fall |
| 1995 (1 incident) | |||
| February 19 |
Regal Princess Princess Cruises |
A 14 year old Canadian boy jumped overboard after an
argument with his parents. He left a suicide note before
disappearing while the ship was off the Florida coast. |
Suicide |