The world’s largest cruise ship on Sunday rescued 14 people who had been stranded on a small boat for eight days.
Alessandra Amodio was on board Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas with her family when the rescue occurred.
“We were really surprised and honestly a little surprised,” Amodio said. “We’ve been on several cruises and have never seen something like this happen. It’s incredible to think that these people are stranded at sea for so long. But all of us on board were excited and relieved that the ship was able to get them out.”
She looked out the window at the lunch buffet at the small ship. The people on the small boat were waving big white flags.
“The boat turned and we stopped as close to them as possible,” Amodio said. “RCC (Royal Caribbean) has dispatched a small Zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate.”
As you can imagine, turning around the world’s largest cruise ship takes quite a while.
Careful technique is required to approach small boats without being thrown into the wake.
Amodio said the detour and rescue took about two hours.
“Everyone around us was watching from the window with us, knowing this was something we never thought we would go through and hoping everyone on board is safe. ” she said. “But we were never afraid of ourselves.”
She described the boat as a small dot in a vast ocean.
Royal Caribbean hasn’t provided much information about the rescue.
“March 3, 2024, sea icon “We have encountered a small vessel adrift and require assistance,” the company said in a statement. “The ship’s crew immediately began rescue operations and safely brought 14 people aboard. The crew is providing medical treatment to them and working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
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Amodio said the crew had to make several trips back and forth to the small boat to rescue everyone.
This was the ship’s first full day sailing.
The eight-day vacation began in Miami and the ship headed to Honduras.
From the map, Amodio estimated that the sea icon was located between Cozumel, Mexico, and western Cuba.
Captain’s legal responsibility to help boaters in distress
Amodio said the crew broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar” over a loudspeaker around 3 p.m.
“Shortly thereafter, the captain again announced over the loudspeaker that he had found a ship in distress and was going to turn around and investigate,” she said.
After the rescue, the ship’s captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days, Amodio said. The captain said he didn’t know what country they were from.
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All those rescued left the ship the next day while anchored in Roatan, Honduras, she said.
According to maritime law, ships and their crews have a legal and moral obligation to save lives.
“Captains of ships who are in a position to provide assistance if they receive signals from any source that persons are in distress at sea must proceed to assist at full speed,” the international organization said. Maritime organization.
According to Marine Insight, Code Oscar is exclusive to Royal Caribbean.
Emergency codes are typically used when a person falls overboard. Captains use signals instead of shouting orders to “prevent the possibility of confusion.”
This is the first season of Icon of the Seas. The first voyage with passengers took place earlier this year, with FOX Weather joining the tour.
