'It was panic stations': Cruise ship rescues Australians from liferaft off New Caledonia

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• Cruise News Recap: Carnival Tampering, Dining Changes, Evacuation
• Skillful Rescue and Safe Return
• DAILY NEWSLETTER
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MIAMI (AP) — The crew of what is considered the world’s largest cruise ship rescued 14 people clinging to a small boat adrift on the ocean, authorities said. The rescue operation began when an emergency alert was received by the Carnival Vista, a massive cruise liner with a gross tonnage of 133,500 and a capacity to host around 4,000 passengers. The ship was en route to Amber Cove on the Dominican Republic’s north coast, having departed from Port Canaveral, Florida, on December 10 for a six-day cruise. Responding to the alert, Captain Paolo Severini immediately redirected the cruise ship, in coordination with Carnival’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami and the local Coast Guard.

Cruise News Recap: Carnival Tampering, Dining Changes, Evacuation

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground. "We'd abandoned ship by then because we were listing. She [the yacht] was in very bad shape." "I just quickly got on the phone and contacted everybody I could get hold of at that time in the morning," he said. Realizing the seriousness of their predicament, Johnson made several calls to alert people of the situation.

Skillful Rescue and Safe Return

They arranged a transfer and a Navy boat came to pick up the two kayakers soon after the initial rescue, Carnival said. There’s still no official word on what exactly caused the men’s boat to sink in the first place. The coast guard says the weather was less than ideal for a rescue like this and credits training and hard work to the successful mission. The men were taken to the hospital, and the coast guard says, all 12 survivors are doing okay after a terrifying ordeal in the ocean. In a Facebook post, P&O Cruises said the three men "couldn't be happier" to be spending the night safe aboard the Pacific Dawn. "It was just panic stations," Ben Johnson, one of the three seafarers, told the newspaper.

DAILY NEWSLETTER

They were holding onto debris of the vessel, named Two Brothers, which sank approximately 30 miles north of Puerto Plata. “The ship’s officers then spotted six men on a life raft and stopped to rescue them and bring them on board,” the cruise line said. The men’s small cargo vessel had capsized overnight and another six who were on the boat were on another life raft — which was later located and rescued by the Coast Guard. Once safely aboard the cruise ship, the pair were evaluated by Carnival’s medical staff and given first aid as well as food and water.

Watch: Carnival Vista Saves 12 in Dramatic Sea Rescue Off Dominican Republic

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The search for the remaining crewmembers escalated with the involvement of the U.S. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Operation Turks and Caicos was dispatched to the reported location of the sunken vessel, identified as the Two Brothers. Despite challenging weather conditions, the Coast Guard aircrew conducted extensive search patterns and located the six missing crewmembers clinging to debris. The cruise ship also learned that six additional crew members were still missing, and alerted Coast Guard officials in the Dominican Republic for assistance.

"It is wonderful to know that the three seafarers are safe and well. The captain gave guests regular updates on the sea rescue mission. Chances are, you do if you’re planning to do coastal or blue water passage making. It’s an insurance item that you hope you don’t need and don’t want to spend much money on but don’t get tempted to go cheap, or worse, without. Eventually, the Pacific Dawn—which was carrying around 2,000 people—reached the three men floating in their life raft, and a rescue vessel was dispatched to retrieve them.

The problems started after a thick rope which had been floating in the ocean became caught in the engine, tearing a hole in the hull, The Australian reported. “On the way to Amber Cove the Carnival Vista rescued this life raft,” a woman posted along with the rescue video on TikTok. Workers aboard the Carnival Jubilee spotted the pair paddling in a small yellow and orange kayak off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. The Coast Guard stepped in and was able to find and save the other stranded men using a helicopter and lift them to safety.

Sometimes, small boats are not in significant distress and can refuse aid if preferred. For example, in March, Carnival Celebration offered rescue to an overcrowded refugee boat near Cozumel, but those aboard refused the aid and were able to continue on their way. In these instances, cruise ship may still offer emergency supplies, and they will report the encounters to the appropriate authorities. In May, Carnival Breeze rescued 17 people from a capsized craft near Belize, while in March, Carnival Valor had a similar rescue of three stranded boaters nearly 400 miles offshore of Alabama. Carnival Sunrise and Carnival Spirit have likewise made rescues in 2023, as have other cruise ships. The USCG launched a search, and released Carnival Vista to continue on its itinerary.

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In a swift response, the cruise ship halted and successfully recovered the raft, rescuing six crewmembers of the small cargo ship. After learning of six more missing crewmembers, the Dominican Republic Navy was alerted. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Vista rescued six men near the Dominican Republic in the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 13, 2023, after a small cargo vessel capsized overnight. Six additional crew members are still missing and search and rescue operations are underway by United States Coast Guard authorities. After the rescue, Amodio said the cruise ship’s captain announced that the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days.

It is not known whether the rescued crew members have remained aboard the cruise ship or if they were transferred to Coast Guard authorities. It is also possible they will be turned over to the appropriate authorities at the ship’s next port of call, Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. Passengers aboard the Icon of the Seas captured video of the crew using a small vessel to ferry the group to the safety of the cruise ship on Sunday. The cruise had begun in Miami, and the ship was headed for Honduras when the rescue happened, passengers said. Transoceanic life rafts are designed for more serious conditions and are more ruggedly built with additional and larger ballast bags and self-righting inflating canopies. They have an extensive equipment list including a drogue (sea anchor) to help with stability and to minimize drift away from your originally reported position.

The ship has already visited Nassau, and is visiting Amber Cove on Wednesday, just hours after the rescue. Carnival Vista brought six men on board early Wednesday morning near the Dominican Republic after they got stranded overnight. Carnival said the Coast Guard successfully rescued the six additional people. The cruise ship then continued with its voyage — heading to Mahogany Bay, Roatan which it visited on Tuesday. Crew members let Carnival’s fleet operation center staff in Miami know of their rescue and both contacted Mexican Navy officials.

These rafts usually come with insulated inflatable floors for thermal protection and more comprehensive inspection ports so you can spot a rescue vessel on the horizon. "Marine rescue authorities in Noumea asked Pacific Dawn to divert to assist the three seafarers after receiving their distress call," the statement read. The cruise ship rescued six people from the flimsy orange raft, but six others were still out there. A life raft serves as a floating platform to keep you out of the water in case your primary vessel sinks or catches fire. Some people choose to forgo a life raft and opt instead to use their dinghy or inflatable as a secondary source of buoyancy in case of disaster. These may work on lakes, rivers and in near-coastal areas where rescue may be imminent.

The incident, which unfolded on December 13, also saw the involvement of the US Coast Guard, which later rescued an additional six crewmembers. He immediately altered the ship’s course, in coordination with Carnival’s Fleet Operations Center in Miami, when the onboard monitoring system received an emergency alert. Crew members of a Carnival cruise ship rescued two men stranded in the Gulf of Mexico Monday. They are now travelling onboard the ship which will arrive in Brisbane on the eastern coast of Australia on Saturday as scheduled, 7NEWS reported. #BREAKING A @USCG OPBAT MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued six people, Wed., after their vessel sank about 30 miles north of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.