A cruise ship passenger may have gone overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the U.S. Coast Guard says.
The U.S. Coast Guard said a search is underway for a a 66-year-old woman that somehow went into the ocean while sailing on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas.
The report of the passenger overboard occurred at 9:40pm on Tuesday evening, roughly 17 miles north of Nassau, Bahamas.
Allure of the Seas is sailing a 4-night Bahamas cruise that departed Miami.
Search efforts by the Coast Guard include a plane and a helicopter dispatched from Miami.
Royal Caribbean also brought Icon of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas to assist in the search.
Photo by X user @Navaleye1
Royal Caribbean confirmed the incident in a statement, "Our crew immediately launched a search and rescue effort and is working with local authorities. We are also providing support and assistance to the guest’s family during this difficult time.
"To respect the privacy of our guest’s family, we have no additional details to share."
"Hoping for a miracle"
Passengers sailing on Allure of the Seas posted on social media their account of what happened last night.
"Allure of the seas. Code Oscar," wrote Reddit user Kaylaaa002. Oscar is a maritime code for someone that has gone overboard.
"Heart goes out to the family."
Suspicious-Visit8634 added, "That is terrible, hoping for a miracle".
One user tracked the search efforts of the Coast Guard airplane, noting the pattern the plane took to try to locate the woman.
Onboard safety precautions
The chances of falling overboard on a cruise ship are extremely low.
Deck railings on Royal Caribbean cruise ships are at least 42-inches high, which comply Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010.
In addition, there are thick metal or Plexiglas panels or metal bars are positioned under the railings to prevent people from slipping through.
When a man overboard situation occurs, the media usually reports on it and it leads some to wonder how it could happen in the first place.
An article from The Points Guy points out cruise ships have railings that are around chest height to ensure passenger safety and to prevent someone from slipping and falling overboard.
"The only way you risk a fall is if you're standing on furniture to peer over the side or climbing somewhere you're not supposed to. It's not possible for you to trip over a door frame or slip on a wet deck and fall off of a vessel."
Passengers going overboard are rare
The chances of a cruise ship passenger going overboard are quite low, but it does occasionally happen.
In a report from Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), there were 212 identified overboard incidents from cruise ships for either crew members or passengers between 2009 to 2019.
Of these overboard incidents, only 48 (or 28.2%) individuals were successfully rescued. Around 71.8% of people who go overboard from cruise ships are sadly never recovered or located.
The CLIA report also shows an overall decline in overboard incidents throughout the 10-year period. The overboard incident rate decreased 64% from 2009 to 2019, with an incidence rate of 0.00004 overboard reports per active lower berth in 2019.
The report states, “When compared with the growth in capacity in the industry over the study years, man overboard incidents continue on a downward trend.”
