Harmony of the seas accident

It has been reported today that in the port of Marseille a life boat has detached its self from Royal Carribean’s Harmony of the Seas and injured 4 people and killed another.

According to French authorities the injured persons are  part of the crew on board. In my time as a crew member we regularly undertook life boat drills, or any emergency drills which the Captain asked us to do.  Now for this to happen in port I think it must have been a rehearsed drill which has gone wrong. At the start of every cruise a life boat drill is mandatory.  This is to show everyone where to muster in case of an emergency, even if you have sailed twenty times you still have to attend the drill.  The crew are tested and if any aspect looks wrong then the higher ranks on board will ask for the drill to be done again until correct.

The report says that the injured people were in the life boat which can really only mean that it was a drill which unfortunately went wrong.  The crew take high risks to make sure these ships run without ant incidents and if there are any incidents then they are dealt with in a professional manner.

Accidents happen all over the world, car crashes, people getting trapped somewhere but as Royal Caribbean is a world wide brand anything that goes wrong is heavily in the press.  My deepest sympathy goes out to the deceased crew member.