Key Aspects:
- A pontoon boat in Tampa Bay narrowly avoided Margaritaville Islander but was towed to safety by the sheriff’s office.
- The boat became temporarily disabled when a line wrapped around its propeller as the cruise ship was approaching.
- Fast action and a quick tow meant no injuries or lasting damage in what could have been a much more tragic incident.
It was a tense situation in Tampa Bay on Sunday, August 17, when Margaritaville Islander had a close encounter with a disabled pontoon boat.
Fortunately, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Marine Enforcement Section was on hand for assistance, rescuing six adults stranded in the channel as the cruise ship approached.
The incident happened just after 4 p.m. as Margaritaville Islander was setting sail on a 7-night Western Caribbean sailing.
The 85,600-gross-ton cruise ship had just departed the cruise terminal and was heading south into Tampa Bay when a pontoon boat with six adults aboard became temporarily disabled.
“[Our] Marine Enforcement Section jumped into action when a pontoon boat with six adults on board was stranded in the channel in the path of an outbound cruise ship,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The pontoon had a line wrapped around the propeller, keeping it from moving. Our deputies conducted an emergency tow and stayed until their boat was operable. We’re always ready to assist when trouble arises!”
Video of the incident shows the tow being undertaken while the cruise ship draws closer and closer.
No one was injured and there was no damage to the cruise ship.
It would be very challenging for the ship to have steered clear of the pontoon boat, which wouldn’t have been immediately visible to the moving ship. Furthermore, the cruise ship has to keep a precise path down the channel to stay in a safe navigation lane for its size.
Worth Reading: Small Boat Scrapes Docked Carnival Cruise Ship
There have been no delays for the Margaritaville at Sea ship. The vessel spent Monday at sea and is visiting Cozumel, Ratan, Belize, and Costa Maya over the next four days before returning to Tampa on Sunday, August 24 as planned.
No other cruise ships were in Port Tampa Bay on Sunday. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Paradise along with Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas all homeport from Tampa.
Stay Out of the Way of Cruise Ships!
While no one is at fault in this accidental situation, other than perhaps whomever may have improperly discarded the line that disabled the pontoon boat, this isn’t the first time a smaller boat has encountered a cruise ship in Tampa Bay.
In January 2025, two people and their dog found themselves too close to a passing ship and their smaller boat was swamped by the wake and ultimately sank.
In that incident, the cruise ship in question was either Radiance of the Seas or Enchantment of the Seas, as both were departing Port Tampa Bay at the time.
While the smaller boat was destroyed, luckily there were only minor injuries reported.
Tampa Bay is often impacted by poor visibility and heavy fog. To prevent these types of incidents from happening more frequently, the bay will be closed until conditions improve.
At times, this means cruise ships may be delayed for hours until it is considered safe to navigate the bay.
Visibility was not a factor in this weekend’s encounter with Margaritaville Islander; in fact, the ship could be seen from quite a distance.
Hopefully, this close encounter of the cruise kind will remind other boaters to stay alert to debris and hazards in the water that might cause even bigger problems than anticipated.
