Key Aspects:
- A crew member went overboard from Viking Star in the Aegean Sea in the late morning of Monday, October 27.
- The cruise ship assisted search efforts but has been released by the Italian Coast Guard to resume her sailing.
- The crew member’s identity has not been released at this time, but the cruise line is offering support.
Just days after an overboard incident from Norwegian Jewel near the Azores, another overboard incident has occurred, this time from Viking Star.
At 11:31 a.m. local time on Monday, October 27, a crew member was seen going overboard the 47,800-gross-ton ship in the Mediterranean Sea. At the time, Viking Star was in the southern Aegean Sea on a day at sea between visits to Crete and Sicily on a 7-night cruise.
“The ship’s emergency response was immediately activated, and an extensive search operation was launched, in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard,” a statement from the cruise line said.
Photos from the area show a smoke flare was dropped into the water to mark the position of the overboard, which can help a ship return to the precise location and can help guide other authorities in reaching the site. Several orange life rings were also tossed into the water.
Satellite tracking data shows that the ship circled the search area several times before resuming its voyage.
“The Italian Coast Guard has jurisdiction over the operation and is continuing the search. At 6:00 p.m. local time, the Italian Coast Guard released the ship from the search efforts; it will now proceed on its journey,” Viking explained.
It is common for local authorities and specially-equipped search-and-rescue vessels to take over search operations in these types of incidents.
While a cruise ship will remain in the area of an overboard to assist in search efforts as long as necessary, every ship also has a schedule that must be considered.
The safety of human life is obviously the most important consideration, but rescue craft are better suited to ongoing search efforts.
Viking Star‘s next port of call is Messina, Sicily, with an expected arrival of 7 a.m. on Tuesday, October 28. There is no further disruption to the ship’s itinerary. She will continue on to Naples for a visit on Wednesday, October 29, and will reach Civitavecchia for debarkation on Thursday, October 30.
Onboard Viking Star are 925 guests and 471 crew members, according to the ship’s manifest. Viking Star can welcome as many as 930 guests, depending on the overall occupancy on any particular sailing.
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“We are deeply saddened by what has occurred. Our thoughts are with the family of our crew member, and we will continue to support them during this difficult time,” the cruise line said.
Viking Star operates in the Mediterranean year-round, offering itineraries that include Greece, Italy, and Spain as homeports and visiting iconic destinations such as Kusadasi, Santorini, Florence, Marseille, Dubrovnik, and more.
Sad Week for Cruise Ships
The past few days have been solemn for different cruise lines. In addition to this overboard incident from Viking Star, a crew member passed away on P&O Cruises’ Arvia just the day before on Sunday, October 26.
That death is attributed to an accident onboard the ship, but no further details have been released. Arvia is sailing her transatlantic crossing ahead of her winter Caribbean season, and the incident happened after the ship left Southampton on Friday, October 24 and was en route to Tenerife in the Canary Islands.
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In the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 21, an overboard alert was heard aboard Norwegian Jewel while the ship was sailing off Ponta Delgada in the Azores. The ship searched unsuccessfully for 10 hours before resuming course to Miami.
Norwegian Jewel had departed Barcelona on October 15 on a 12-night repositioning cruise to Florida. The ship will offer Caribbean, Bahamas, and Panama sailings from Miami through January, then will move to Tampa for a series of themed sailings in February before returning to Miami for another few cruises.
