Cargo ship spots cruise passenger alive off Zakynthos

A 44-year-old cruise passenger who went overboard in the Ionian Sea was found alive and conscious by a passing cargo ship early on Saturday, roughly 70 nautical miles southwest of the Greek island of Zakynthos.

The woman, a citizen of El Salvador, was reported overboard at about 6 a.m. local time on Friday, 9 October, as Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas sailed from Mykonos towards Naples. She was brought ashore at the port of Katakolo, Cruise Hive reported, citing the Greek outlet Ellada24 and the Hellenic Coast Guard. Passengers said the captain told the ship she was in hospital being treated for hypothermia.

Odyssey of the Seas reversed course and took part in the search for about 14 hours, long enough to cost the ship its last scheduled stop. The 4,198-guest vessel skipped Naples and sailed directly for Civitavecchia, the port serving Rome, where its seven-night Greek Isles cruise was due to end on Sunday.

What happened on Friday

The captain declared an Oscar emergency, the maritime designation for a person overboard, and the ship turned back into the waters between Greece and Italy, TheTravel reported. One passenger wrote that the vessel had been circling for hours while conducting search and rescue operations with the help of the Greek coast guard. The ship had left Mykonos the previous evening.

Coordination of the operation fell to the Hellenic Coast Guard's Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center, known as EKSED, which committed a patrol boat and a helicopter, Cruise Fever reported. Nearby commercial vessels joined the search.

After more than 12 hours the ship left the search box and headed west at approximately 21 knots to resume its course towards Italy, according to tracking data reported by Cruise Fever. A passenger writing on Reddit said that as of 11 p.m. on Friday the vessel had been conducting search and rescue for about 14 hours before it started moving towards Civitavecchia, Cruise Mummy reported.

How she was found

A Madeira-flagged cargo ship spotted the woman floating in open water at around 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, roughly 70 nautical miles southwest of Zakynthos, Cruise Fever reported. The cargo ship alerted the coast guard, and a Hellenic Coast Guard lifeboat recovered her, conscious, and carried her to Katakolo port.

Accounts of the timing differ. Passengers on Reddit said Greek reports put the sighting shortly before 1 a.m., while others said the captain gave the time of the rescue as about 2 a.m. to 2.30 a.m., and Cruise Mummy reported that the differing times have not been reconciled.

How long she was in the water has not been established by any authority, though Cruise Hive reported that the captain put the rescue at roughly 20 hours after she went in.

What remains unclear

The circumstances in which the woman entered the water have not been explained. An earlier unverified passenger account said she had taken an inflatable life ring before going overboard, but that has not been confirmed by Royal Caribbean or the Greek authorities, and it remains unknown whether the incident was accidental or deliberate, Cruise Mummy reported.

Initial announcements on board said search teams had pulled the light from a life ring out of the water, without the ring itself, Cruise Fever reported. Some passengers watching the operation from their balconies later said they had seen crew members retrieve a life ring with its light still attached.

Crew members reviewed security camera footage that confirmed the woman had gone over the side of the vessel, about four hours after the incident, according to Cruise Fever. The captain told passengers over the public address system at about 10 a.m. on Friday, several hours after she was first reported missing, Cruise Mummy reported.

The initial search centred about 72 nautical miles southwest of Zakynthos, slightly further out than the position of roughly 70 nautical miles later given for the sighting.

Naples call cancelled

The October 10 call at Naples was cancelled outright, and passengers spent what would have been their final port day at sea as the ship returned to its home port, Cruise Hive reported. Tracking showed Odyssey of the Seas sailing past Naples towards Civitavecchia. The disembarkation scheduled for Sunday was left unchanged.

One guest wrote on Reddit that the day in Naples had been cancelled and said they hoped the disruption to everyone's travel plans would be kept to a minimum.

The ship and its route

Odyssey of the Seas is a Quantum Ultra-class ship that entered service in 2021 and has a capacity of 4,198 guests on double occupancy, TheTravel reported. Cruise Hive put the vessel at 167,704 gross tons. It left Civitavecchia on October 4 on a seven-night round trip with calls at Santorini, Kusadasi, Mykonos and Naples.

What the cruise line said

Royal Caribbean confirmed while the woman was still missing that a search and rescue operation had been launched. The statement was issued before news emerged that she had been found alive, Cruise Mummy reported, and several guests said they received an official update at around 10 a.m. on Saturday confirming that she had survived and was receiving medical treatment.

Authorities have not confirmed details about her medical condition or the circumstances that led to her going overboard, Cruise Hive reported.

We immediately launched a search and rescue effort and are working with authorities. Our Care Team is actively providing support and assistance to the guest's loved ones during this difficult time. For the privacy of the guest and their family, we have no additional details to share.

One passenger said the woman had been able to walk independently after being brought ashore by rescue boat, and another reported that the captain had said she was fine other than hypothermia, according to Cruise Mummy, which reported that the full extent of her medical assessment has not been disclosed.

The woman has not been publicly identified. Reports citing Greek media and the Hellenic Coast Guard describe her only as a 44-year-old citizen of El Salvador.

Arrival in Civitavecchia

Odyssey of the Seas was due at Civitavecchia on Sunday, October 11, the end of the seven-night sailing, with disembarkation unchanged, Cruise Hive reported. No impact has been announced to the following seven-night Greek Isles cruise, which is scheduled to leave the same day.

Royal Caribbean cited the privacy of the guest and her family in withholding further information. Passengers relaying the captain's announcement said only that she was at a mainland hospital and was doing well.