Video Highlight: World’s Largest Cruise Ship Rescues 14 People Stranded in the Sea for Over a Week
The largest cruise ship in the world rescued 14 people Sunday who had been stranded on a small boat for eight days.
Alessandra Amodio was traveling on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas with her family when the rescue happened.
“We were really surprised and honestly a little freaked out,” Amodio said. “We’ve been on a handful of cruises and never seen something like this happen. It was crazy to think that these people were stuck at sea for so long, and we were all on board excited and relieved that the ship was able to rescue them.”
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From the vantage point of the luncheon buffet, she observed a small vessel. The individuals onboard the petite craft were brandishing an oversized white flag.
“The boat made a U-turn, and we moored as near as feasible, pausing,” explained Amodio. “The RCC (Royal Caribbean) launched a little zodiac-like rescue craft to explore.”
One can conceive that revolving the world’s largest cruise liner takes a considerable amount of time. Nearing a mini boat without drowning it in the ship’s surf needs meticulous expertise. The diversion and salvage mission consumed around two hours, indicated by Amodio.
“Everyone in our vicinity was observing from the windows alongside us, discussing how this was an unexpected event we hadn’t considered and everyone was hoping the crew onboard were safe,” she stated. “Yet, we did not feel fear for our safety.”
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She described the boat as a small dot in the vastness of the sea.
Royal Caribbean didn’t provide much information about the rescue.
“On March 3, 2024, Icon of the Seas encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance,” the company said in a statement. “The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard. The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Amodio mentioned that the crew needed to make various trips to the little boat for rescuing everyone.
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The ship was in its first full day of cruising. The holiday of eight days had its beginning in Miami and the ship was setting course for Honduras. Amodio calculated from a map that the Icon of the Seas was situated between Cozumel, Mexico, and the west of Cuba.
Amodio reported that the crew relayed “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar,” on the loudspeakers, around 3 p.m.
“Then shortly after, the captain came back on the speaker and announced they spotted a distressed vessel, and they were going to turn us around and investigate,” she said.
Amodio said that after the rescue, the captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days. The captain said he didn’t know what country they came from.
All the rescued people left the ship the next day while docked in Roatan, Honduras, she said.
According to maritime law, a ship and crew have a legal and moral obligation to help save human life.
“A master of a ship at sea, which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance,” stated the International Maritime Organization.
Code Oscar is unique to Royal Caribbean, according to Marine Insight. The emergency code is usually used when a person falls overboard. Captains use the signal instead of shouting orders to “prevent the potentiality of chaos.”
This is the Icon of the Seas’ inaugural season. Its very first voyage with passengers was early this year, and FOX Weather got a tour.
Original article source: Watch: World’s largest cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea for over a week
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