Passengers Do Jump Off The Ship Sometimes!

A story appeared in the cruise news this week about a young man that had decided to throw himself off a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, to protect the person I will not go in to too much detail but I can tell you he was actually rescued, so it got me thinking – how on earth do they do that!? So being the detective that I am I decided to do some reasearch. Let me tell you, it happens a lot! In this weeks blog I will go through some scenarios that have occurred from a man overboard!

Needless to say it is generally the intoxicated passengers that are most likely to go overboard, accident or no accident.

In this day and age many cruise ships are fitted with floods of security cameras which are monitored around the clock by a security team, although on a ship of big size can they get there before its too late? Doubtful. Back in the day whenever a passenger or crew members went over board the ship would turn (if the person was spotted) and follow the ‘garbage trail’ a long trail of rubbish dumped by the ship in order to locate the passenger.

Most ships now hold a rescue boat, a speed boat which is mobilised quickly in to the water in case of emergencies. Gone are the days of the life ring, all though they are there should a passenger wish to throw it over board.

Another feature that ships have of this day is ‘man over board sensors’. These detect when something large enough to be a human goes over board and will alert the bridge immediately. The correct Maritime procedures can then be carried out.

It is very often crew members that go over board, long hours, isolation, low pay, and poor conditions can all take their toll. Rarely does a crew member go over board by accident.

Of course it is sometimes the passengers, suicide, alcohol, carelessness, and selflessness are all causes of a man over board, there have even been reports of couples jumping off which really is an awful thing, what a way to go.

On a final note, here are some interesting facts that will reassure you about man overs, except if you’re from Florida or only cruise with Carnival Cruise line, I probably wouldn’t read any further.

• Males are much more likely to go overboard than females
• Carnival passengers (33 incidents) are more likely to go overboard than passengers from other cruise lines…especially passengers on the Carnival Conquest
• The average age of a passenger who goes overboard is 41 years
• You are most likely to fall overboard on the last night of your cruise
• For some reason, people from California and Florida go overboard more than others
• Falling overboard does not necessarily mean you will die (16 people have been rescued, one after 18 hours in the water)
• Most people who fall overboard are either drunk or doing silly things (climbing on the railing or between cabin balconies)

Happy cruising

Ed x