Friday, April 19, 2024

Why Most Cruise Ships Don't Have Tech to Automatically Detect People Falling Overboard

man overboard cruise

The Mardi Gras and the cruise ship Elation also participated in the search, said Coast Guard spokesman David Micallef. In cases where there are witnesses and/or video evidence that don't suggest obvious foul play, the FBI may only choose to investigate if there are reported suspicious circumstances leading up to the man overboard incident or if a family member insists. Family members or travel companions onboard generally disembark at the next available port, where the cruise line may assist with arrangements to return home.

But can CCTV footage be used in court?

Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger missing after going overboard on trip to the Bahamas - New York Post

Royal Caribbean cruise ship passenger missing after going overboard on trip to the Bahamas.

Posted: Mon, 25 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Stay out of the way of any emergency personnel who are trying to do their jobs as well. Grimes said he treaded water for nearly 20 hours after falling overboard on Thanksgiving Eve -- battling jelly fish, rip currents and shark-infested waters before being airlifted by the U.S. LA FAYETTE, ALABAMA -- James Michael Grimes is speaking out for the first time in an exclusive interview with ABC News after going overboard on a Carnival cruise ship after being missing for almost 20 hours. "There's no financial consequence when someone goes overboard to the cruise line," Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer who specializes in the cruise industry, told Insider. "So there's not really an incentive that forces them to install the system." Finding answers didn't get any easier after the Coast Guard suspended its search for Peale, his mother said, adding that the cruise line agreed to show her and her husband the ship's security footage of their son after she hired a lawyer.

Crew response

Witnesses and family members onboard will likely be questioned regarding the activities and whereabouts of the victim leading up to the incident or to provide any information relevant to the investigation. "I wanted to see my family and I was dead set on making it out of there. I was never accepting that this is it, this is going to be the end of my life. I'm 28 years old. I'm too young. This is not going to be it," Grimes said. The ship was on its way to Cozumel, a Mexican island in the Caribbean, and was released by the Coast Guard to continue to its destination after the rescue was made. "The next thing I know... I regained consciousness. I was in the water with no boat in sight," he said.

What Does the Ship Do to Try to Rescue the Passenger?

Because a man overboard situation can happen on any vessel in any part of the world, there are no specific statistics compiled by the U.S. government. You may have seen a headline like "Carnival cruise woman falls overboard" many times over, but it's usually the same online story circulating in a sensational manner. The condition of a person in the early stages of hypothermia can be made considerably worse by hoisting them vertically so that what circulation they have drains from their head into their feet. It is much better to recover the casualty as horizontally as possible.

kayakers rescued near Skyway Bridge after boat …

Man overboard rescues can happen on any cruise ship on any cruise line anywhere in the world. As noted above, going overboard is often the result of guest behavior while onboard. Guests who follow general safety procedures needn't worry so much about accidentally falling overboard. But the Coast Guard, the agency tasked with ensuring cruise ships comply with the law, does not enforce either requirement because the rulemaking process it first began eight years ago is not yet finished, a Coast Guard spokesperson told Insider. That means for the 10-plus years the CVSSA has been law, the Coast Guard hasn't inspected cruise ships for any MOB technology, cameras or otherwise, the spokesperson confirmed. Most hulls have the lowest and clearest side decks mid-ships and this is where the casualty should be brought back aboard.

MORE: CDC ends COVID-19 program for cruise ships

The Coast Guard confirmed to The Post it is still conducting a search and rescue operation in the waters off Cuba. In the past few years, most cruise lines have enacted onboard safety measures and surveillance systems to help reduce the risk of overboard deaths. Another passenger on the Liberty of the Seas cruise told the New York Post that Parker's dad confronted the 20-year-old and his 18-year-old brother, Seth, after they'd gotten out of the ship's hot tub. The bridge officer must then note the ship's position while the security officer takes steps to locate the missing guest or crew member.

The system completed 120 tests with a 100% success rate, the company said, and would cost about $500,000 per ship to install. In a statement shared with Insider, CLIA emphasized that safety and security are a top priority for the industry. Often, litigation involves the family of the person who went overboard. A lot of the cases filed are where the guest was overserved alcohol.

After eight years of regulatory limbo, Congress wants answers from the Coast Guard

A 19-year-old Texas man went overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. An ongoing search has yet to find him - CNN

A 19-year-old Texas man went overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. An ongoing search has yet to find him.

Posted: Sat, 02 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

But if there are no witnesses, it could take hours for the passenger's family or friends to realize they are missing and report the situation to cruise staff. Based on recent man-overboard incidents, here's what passengers can expect if someone goes overboard during their cruise. Individual incidents and exact procedures followed by cruise lines may vary.

man overboard cruise

"Congress intended the Coast Guard to have — and use — the power to safeguard passengers more effectively by requiring technology that detects people going overboard in real time," he said in a statement shared with Insider. "Legislation would make this authority absolutely clear — and make Coast Guard regulations immune from any future attempts to weaken them." Immediately after the accident, the boat is put onto a beam reach away from the casualty, with a crewmember maintaining constant visual contact. Once there is room to maneuver, the boat is either tacked or jibed back towards the casualty. It is important that the casualty is approached on a close reach, so that wind can be spilled from the sails in order to slow down and stop on station. Helmsmen are advised to test this during the approach by spilling wind on the way, and losing ground to leeward to correct the course if necessary, to ensure that this is possible.

The 28-year-old man said he was determined to make it out of the Gulf of Mexico alive, calling it the experience of a lifetime. "The Coast Guard is considering the best approach to address this issue as quickly as practicable," a spokesperson said. In 2017, the Coast Guard said three providers had demonstrated "initial feasibility," but it recommended waiting to pass further regulations until an international standard was developed so as to not "add burden to industry and business processes." "By one o'clock I had that gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach," his mother, Linda Peale, told Insider.

man overboard cruise

On average, 19 people go overboard on cruise ships every year — of those, about four people are successfully rescued, a 2020 study commissioned by the industry trade group Cruise Lines International Association found. "The ship and crew immediately reported the incident to local authorities and began searching for the guest," the spokesperson said. "Thankfully, the guest was successfully recovered and was brought on board." "On the early morning of Friday, Nov. 3, 2023, Norwegian Pearl was notified that a 41-year-old male guest went overboard while the ship was sailing near the Bahamas on its way to Miami," the spokesperson said. In January 2020, a passenger on Oasis of the Seas went overboard while it was docked in San Juan. Local authorities and the Coast Guard created a 300-yard safety zone around the area while a search and rescue operation took place.

It still isn’t clear how Grimes ended up overboard, but the US Coast Guard appeared to suggest he may have breached the cruise ship’s safety barriers. CBS Miami reported the Mardi Gras is the largest ship ever built for the cruise line. The first cruise ship with an onboard roller coaster, the Mardi Gras is 1,130 feet long, has 21 decks, 2,641 staterooms, and features six themed zones and restaurants from Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse, Rudi Sodamin and Shaquille O'Neal.

The two were last seen together at a restaurant where Grimes had won an air guitar contest before going to the bathroom. Collier, who was Carnival Corporation's man-overboard-detection expert prior to his role at MOBtronic, said the lack of concrete regulation from the Coast Guard is the reason cruise lines haven't fully committed to installing the technology. After eight years of regulatory limbo, lawmakers want to know when the Coast Guard will enforce the man overboard technology requirements of the CVSSA and if it will require detection systems on every ship. Even if someone survives the steep fall and avoids the ship's massive propeller or swirling wake, hypothermia can set in within minutes. Unmonitored security footage and inconsistent safety protocols make the chances of survival even more slim. Several factors can lead someone to consider it, such as alcohol, mental health problems, chronic pain, feelings of hopelessness or erratic or reckless behavior.

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