US Coast Guard Struggles to Complete Cruise Airlift in High Winds

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Itโ€™s been an eventful evening for the US Coast Guard and the passengers onboard Royal Caribbeanโ€™s Independence of the Seas. 

As of the time of publication on the evening of October 25, 2024, first responders have been attempting to medically evacuate a guest from the Freedom-class vessel – but have been struggling due to heavy winds. 

According to guests onboard, the rescue helicopter has been circling the 154,407-gross ton ship for at least an hour and has made several attempts to complete the airlift, but has not been able to get close enough or stay steady enough just yet. 

โ€œI’m currently on Independence of the Seasโ€ฆthe coast guard is attempting to currently do a medical emergency evac off the ship currently. They have been circling for 59 minutes with 9 attempts so far, no successful attempts,โ€ one passenger shared on Reddit. 

โ€œHelicopter medical evacuation from Independence of the Seas tonight. Very windy and they are having a hard time landing,โ€ another current guest posted on X. 

The most updated cruise tracking data shows that the 4,375-guest ton vessel is currently stalled in the North West Atlantic Ocean between the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos. 

Per the tracking data, the wind at the shipโ€™s current coordinates is around 20 km/h – and seems to be dying down from earlier in the night. 

For context, around 55 km/h is considered too strong for a helicopter to fly – or at least fly easily.ย 

That said, the first responders certainly will not rest until the ailing guest has been successfully rescued and taken to a hospital that can provide the care they need.

Then, the ship will resume its 4-night voyage to Labadee, Haiti, which embarked from Miami, Florida, on October 24, 2024. 

This is a developing story, and weโ€™ll update the article as more information becomes available. Royal Caribbean and the US Coast Guard have not yet released any official statements about the airlift. 

Past Complicated Airlifts From the US Coast Guard 

First responders within the US Armed Forces are no stranger to cruise ship evacuations – and complicated rescues at that!

In May of 2024, the US Air Force, which is another section of the military, conducted a long-range airlift from Carnival Venezia after a passenger became ill during a 10-day cruise to the Bahamas and the Caribbean.ย 

The ship was en route to its homeport in New York at the end of the sailing, in the middle of the open ocean over 350 nautical miles off the US East Coast, when the passenger went into distress.

US Coast Guard Plane
US Coast Guard Plane (Photo Credit: CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock)

But thankfully, the call for help was answered in an impressive airlift from the Air Force 920th Rescue Wing. 

This particular wing is specially trained to locate and recover US Armed Forces personnel during both peacetime and wartime and is actually the Air Force Reserve Commandโ€™s only combat search and rescue wing. 

Read Also: How to Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Cruise Vacation

Another complicated airlift took place even more recently – unfolding earlier this month onboard Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess on October 5, 2024. 

In this heroic rescue, first responses from the US Coast Guard went above and beyond to rescue not one, but two guests suffering from different medical emergencies simultaneously in back-to-back airlifts

One of the guests was a 70-year-old man showing signs of a heart-attack, while the other was an 86-year-old man suffering from internal bleeding. 

The heroic double rescue took place about 50 miles off Cape Kumukahi on Hawaiiโ€™s Big Island, with both passengers successfully delivered to Hilo Medical Center in Hilo, Hawaii, to receive proper treatment.

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Catie Kovelman
Catie Kovelman
Catie is an award-winning journalist and researcher. By day, she helps market new movies and TV shows as a senior research manager. But by night, she loves writing cruise news. In addition to Cruise Hive, Catie has contributed to a variety of newspapers, magazines, and other online publications, such as The Plaid Horse, Unwritten, YourTango, Fangirl Nation Magazine, Chapman Magazine, the Orange County Register, and Voice of OC.

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