There was commotion in Souda-Chania, Crete (Greece), as a crew member discovered herself in a doubtlessly life or dying state of affairs.
On the afternoon of June 3, 2025, whereas passengers have been busy exploring the Mediterranean cruise port, a crew member went overboard within the Port of Souda below mysterious circumstances. However fortunately, she was shortly saved and is predicted to be okay.
She has her fellow crew members to thank, as her colleagues acted shortly to comply with the acceptable emergency protocols – together with protecting the 30-year-old lady in sight, throwing her a life jacket, and contacting the native Coast Guard.
In the meantime, the Hellenic Coast Guard urgently responded with a number of patrol models and a rescue boat – the place they have been in a position to find the crew member and guarantee she obtained a medical analysis.
“The Chania Port Authority was knowledgeable of the autumn of a girl into the ocean, within the port of Souda. Instantly, LS-EL.AKT patrol autos went to the scene, whereas with the help of a launch and a cruise ship (C/Z), flagged within the Bahamas, from which a life jacket was thrown, the girl was retrieved acutely aware,” the Chania Port Authority mentioned in a translated assertion.
“She is a 30-year-old foreigner (Tunisian citizen) sailor (specialty of assistant), a crew member of the above C/Z. The 30-year-old, after examination by the C/Z’s physician, was identified as being in good well being,” the assertion continued.
In actual fact, it possible improved her odds that the autumn occurred within the cruise port – because it’s tougher to rescue folks whereas at sea as a result of it takes time for the cruise ship to show round and cease, by which level the currents may have carried the particular person to a brand new location.
The precise vessel the crew member fell from has not been confirmed, however in keeping with cruise monitoring knowledge, the one cruise ship in port in the course of the incident was Costa Cruises’ Costa Deliziosa.
The cruise ship is a extra medium-sized vessel with a capability for 934 crew members and a pair of,826 passengers.
She is at the moment working 7 and 14-night sailings concurrently to cruise ports all through Greece, Italy, and Croatia.
How Widespread is Falling Overboard?
Fortunately, man-overboard conditions should not widespread – so the everyday worker or cruise company possible has nothing to fret about on this regard.
Cruise ships are designed with security options in place – akin to excessive railings – to make it tough to go overboard except somebody was behaving recklessly or sadly trying to leap.
Presently, it’s not clear why the unidentified crew member went overboard in Crete, however an investigation is already underway to find out what might have led to the autumn.
In keeping with knowledge from Cruise Strains Worldwide Affiliation (CLIA), solely 212 folks went overboard between 2009 to 2019 – which is a small quantity contemplating hundreds of thousands of crew members and company take to the excessive seas every year.
However sadly, solely 48 of these folks, which interprets to only over 28%, have been rescued efficiently.
Between robust currents, the time it takes for a cruise ship to show round and return to the placement of the splash, climate circumstances, and accidents from the autumn, these occasions are sadly usually deadly.
Learn Additionally: What Occurs If You Soar Off a Cruise Ship?
And opposite to 1 incorrect fable, spending extra time on a cruise ship – as crew members do – doesn’t considerably improve their chance of discovering themselves within the sea.
The latest man-overboard incident involving a crew member was slightly below a 12 months in the past in August of 2024, by which a Carnival Dream worker fell overboard about 82 nautical miles northeast of Rio Lagartos, Mexico, and was sadly by no means discovered.
Earlier than that, a crew member went overboard from AIDA Cruises’ AIDAperla on October 22, 2023, whereas crusing within the unforgiving English Channel.
Given the frigid water temperatures, they have been additionally presumed misplaced at sea after a number of search and rescue groups weren’t in a position to find the employee.
