A 39-year-old man was reported going overboard from Norwegian Sky at approximately 3am Saturday morning. The ship was approximately 60 miles north of Nassau at the time.
The US Coast Guard was searching the area, having received a call at 4am. They dispatched a HU-25 Falcon jet crew and an HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, as well as an HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island, Bahamas.
The USCG was assisted by Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Pearl, Royal Caribbean's Monarch of the Seas, and crews from Disney Cruise Line in small boats. The Royal Bahamas Defense Force also assisted the USCG.
The USCG now reports they suspended their search at 8pm Saturday night after having searched an area of nearly 590 square miles,
Norwegian Sky departed Miami Friday (April 17, 2009) on a 3-night cruise to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. It will return to Miami on Monday.
Bahamian authorities determined there was no foul play involved, and the FBI reports they are not investigating.
Details will appear in Monday's edition (April 20) of Cruise News Daily.
Last updated Apr 21, 10:48am
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Taking Extra Precautions
It seems whenever an item runs about piracy on a website, you always see comments below it from readers who wonder why ship owners (and cruise lines) even send their ships near Somalia. The answer is easy. It's the only reasonable way to get the ships between the Mediterranean and the east coast of Africa, the Persian Gulf or Asia - all places where ships have to reposition seasonally.
The dangerous zone has expanded as the Somali pirates have increased the scope of the operation beyond the Gulf of Aden now to the south and west. As we reported earlier, in the case of cruise ships, the pirates basically aren't interested. (There is a link on the front page of the CND website to that article.) They present too many problems, so it of course makes sense that they'd rather concentrate their efforts on the low-hanging fruit of cargo vessels.
Even though there's less risk to cruise ships, they still take extra precautions, just like you would if you have to drive through "the bad part of town." You choose a route that can take you around the edge as much as possible, stay on better lit streets, lock your doors and get through as fast as you can. This is the case we saw today with MSC Melody which is currently repositioning from Durban, South Africa to Genoa.
The line said they are making some changes to the ship's northbound journey at the suggestion of the International Maritime Organization and the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa, a coordination center run by the EU Naval Force to safeguard shipping in the region. Basically, they are sailing farther east, and thus farther away from the coast.
The new route is about 400 miles longer than the original, so naturally, there needs to be some changes to the port calls to keep the cruise at its 21-night length. MSC Melody will drop its call at the Egyptian port of Safaga, but it will still be able to maintain its calls at Aqaba, Jordan (for excursions to Petra) and Sokhnan, Eqypt (for excursions to the Pyramids at Giza). The other bright spot is that it will allow for more time for an extended overnight call at Port Victoria in the Seychelles.
MSC said they are also taking other unspecified (naturally) precautions as they sail through the region. MSC Melody is scheduled to reach Genoa on May 8 to begin its Mediterranean season.
Update - April 26:
Despite the precautions, pirates did attack the ship on the evening of April 25 after it left Port Victoria, more than 500 miles from the Somali coast. Cruiseblogger is covering the attack in a separate posting.
The dangerous zone has expanded as the Somali pirates have increased the scope of the operation beyond the Gulf of Aden now to the south and west. As we reported earlier, in the case of cruise ships, the pirates basically aren't interested. (There is a link on the front page of the CND website to that article.) They present too many problems, so it of course makes sense that they'd rather concentrate their efforts on the low-hanging fruit of cargo vessels.
Even though there's less risk to cruise ships, they still take extra precautions, just like you would if you have to drive through "the bad part of town." You choose a route that can take you around the edge as much as possible, stay on better lit streets, lock your doors and get through as fast as you can. This is the case we saw today with MSC Melody which is currently repositioning from Durban, South Africa to Genoa.
The line said they are making some changes to the ship's northbound journey at the suggestion of the International Maritime Organization and the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa, a coordination center run by the EU Naval Force to safeguard shipping in the region. Basically, they are sailing farther east, and thus farther away from the coast.
The new route is about 400 miles longer than the original, so naturally, there needs to be some changes to the port calls to keep the cruise at its 21-night length. MSC Melody will drop its call at the Egyptian port of Safaga, but it will still be able to maintain its calls at Aqaba, Jordan (for excursions to Petra) and Sokhnan, Eqypt (for excursions to the Pyramids at Giza). The other bright spot is that it will allow for more time for an extended overnight call at Port Victoria in the Seychelles.
MSC said they are also taking other unspecified (naturally) precautions as they sail through the region. MSC Melody is scheduled to reach Genoa on May 8 to begin its Mediterranean season.
Update - April 26:
Despite the precautions, pirates did attack the ship on the evening of April 25 after it left Port Victoria, more than 500 miles from the Somali coast. Cruiseblogger is covering the attack in a separate posting.
Cunard Schedules Cruises from California
Cunard ships usually make only rare appearances sailing from ports on the west coast of the US, but the line has scheduled Queen Victoria to make a two-month long series of sailings to and from Los Angeles in early 2011.
Queen Victoria's cruises will include two 15-day Panama Canal cruises, two round trips to Hawaii and a 4-night round trip cruise to Ensenada (Mexico).
Details were in the April 17 (2009) article in Cruise News Daily.
Queen Victoria's cruises will include two 15-day Panama Canal cruises, two round trips to Hawaii and a 4-night round trip cruise to Ensenada (Mexico).
Details were in the April 17 (2009) article in Cruise News Daily.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Royal Caribbean Sets Year Round Caribbean Programs for 2010-2011
Royal Caribbean International is distinguishing itself from the rest of the Caribbean market by utilizing its four largest ships on its year round itineraries from its Florida ports of embarkation during the 2010-2011 season. These include Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas (220,000 tons) from Ft. Lauderdale, and Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas (158,000 tons) from Miami and Port Canveral, respectively.
The fifth ship in the year round program will be the smaller (90,000 tons) from San Juan.
The itineraries will also be tweaked. Details were in the Cruise News Daily article which appeared in the April 16, 2009 edition.
The fifth ship in the year round program will be the smaller (90,000 tons) from San Juan.
The itineraries will also be tweaked. Details were in the Cruise News Daily article which appeared in the April 16, 2009 edition.
Hell's Kitchen Goes to Sea
Hell's Kitchen celebrity chef Marco Pierre White will be offering personal cooking lessons aboard three P&O's Ventura sailings. The interactive sessions, in one of the ship's galleys, will include no more than eight people and create a three-course meal.
Details were in the April 16 (2009) edition of Cruise News Daily.
Details were in the April 16 (2009) edition of Cruise News Daily.
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