Cruise Ship Crew Member Missing After Overboard in...

Key Facets:

• A crew member went overboard from Viking Star within the Aegean Sea within the late morning of Monday, October 27.
• The cruise ship assisted search efforts however has been launched by the Italian Coast Guard to renew her crusing.
• The crew member’s id has not been launched right now, however the cruise line is providing help.

Simply days after an overboard incident from Norwegian Jewel close to the Azores, one other overboard incident has occurred, this time from Viking Star.

At 11:31 a.m. native time on Monday, October 27, a crew member was seen going overboard the 47,800-gross-ton ship within the Mediterranean Sea. On the time, Viking Star was within the southern Aegean Sea on a day at sea between visits to Crete and Sicily on a 7-night cruise.

“The ship’s emergency response was instantly activated, and an in depth search operation was launched, in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard,” a press release from the cruise line stated.

Images from the world present a smoke flare was dropped into the water to mark the place of the overboard, which may also help a ship return to the exact location and may also help information different authorities in reaching the location. A number of orange life rings had been additionally tossed into the water.

Satellite tracking data exhibits that the ship circled the search space a number of instances earlier than resuming its voyage.

“The Italian Coast Guard has jurisdiction over the operation and is constant the search. At 6:00 p.m. native time, the Italian Coast Guard launched the ship from the search efforts; it’s going to now proceed on its journey,” Viking defined.

It’s common for native authorities and specially-equipped search-and-rescue vessels to take over search operations in these kinds of incidents.

Whereas a cruise ship will stay within the space of an overboard to help in search efforts so long as crucial, each ship additionally has a schedule that have to be thought-about.

The security of human life is clearly an important consideration, however rescue craft are higher suited to ongoing search efforts.

Viking Star‘s subsequent port of name is Messina, Sicily, with an anticipated arrival of seven a.m. on Tuesday, October 28. There is no such thing as a additional disruption to the ship’s itinerary. She is going to proceed on to Naples for a go to on Wednesday, October 29, and can attain Civitavecchia for debarkation on Thursday, October 30.

Onboard Viking Star are 925 company and 471 crew members, in response to the ship’s manifest. Viking Star can welcome as many as 930 company, relying on the general occupancy on any specific crusing.

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“We’re deeply saddened by what has occurred. Our ideas are with the household of our crew member, and we are going to proceed to help them throughout this troublesome time,” the cruise line stated.

Viking Star operates within the Mediterranean year-round, providing itineraries that embody Greece, Italy, and Spain as homeports and visiting iconic locations reminiscent of Kusadasi, Santorini, Florence, Marseille, Dubrovnik, and extra.

Unhappy Week for Cruise Ships

The previous few days have been solemn for various cruise traces. Along with this overboard incident from Viking Star, a crew member passed away on P&O Cruises’ Arvia simply the day earlier than on Sunday, October 26.

That demise is attributed to an accident onboard the ship, however no additional particulars have been launched. Arvia is crusing her transatlantic crossing forward of her winter Caribbean season, and the incident occurred after the ship left Southampton on Friday, October 24 and was en path to Tenerife within the Canary Islands.

Within the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 21, an overboard alert was heard aboard Norwegian Jewel whereas the ship was crusing off Ponta Delgada within the Azores. The ship searched unsuccessfully for 10 hours earlier than resuming course to Miami.

Norwegian Jewel had departed Barcelona on October 15 on a 12-night repositioning cruise to Florida. The ship will supply Caribbean, Bahamas, and Panama sailings from Miami via January, then will transfer to Tampa for a collection of themed sailings in February earlier than returning to Miami for an additional few cruises.