Carnival Conquest Rescues Mariner From Disabled Sailboat
During a sea day on the 14-day Miami voyage, passenger Julie Mannheim watched from her balcony and said the rescued mariner told rescuers he had been at sea for 10 days.
Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Conquest rescued the sole occupant of a disabled sailing vessel on Aug. 26 after rescue authorities relayed a distress call while the ship was bound for Grenada. The cruise ship diverted, brought the mariner aboard and reached St. George’s on schedule the following day.
The rescue took place in view of passengers during a sea day on a 14-day voyage from Miami. Under SOLAS Chapter V, a ship’s master who is able to assist must proceed with all speed to people in distress at sea.
Passengers followed the rescue operation
The captain made announcements over the public address system as the ship searched for the sailing vessel. “We were all praying that we would find this person or these people,” passenger Julie Mannheim told News Center 7.
Mannheim watched from her balcony as the sailboat approached and the mariner was transferred to the cruise ship. She said she heard the man tell rescuers that he had been at sea for 10 days. Guests later saw the sailboat drift away.
Carnival said the rescued individual remained in the care of the ship’s team as the voyage continued. The cruise line did not identify the mariner or release further details about the sailing vessel.
John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador, praised the captain and crew, saying Carnival ships “will always do their best to help those in peril on the sea.”
The 2002-built, roughly 110,000-GT Carnival Conquest carries 2,980 guests at double occupancy and has 1,150 crew members. It departed Miami on Aug. 21 for one of Carnival’s SEA voyages, an invitation-only program for eligible guests aged 21 and older.
SOLAS sets the response requirement
SOLAS Chapter V requires a master to assist people in distress when the ship is in a position to do so, regardless of their nationality, status or the circumstances in which they are found. If a ship cannot reasonably or safely respond, the master must record the reason in the logbook and should notify the appropriate search-and-rescue service. The convention also calls for governments to coordinate the release of a rescuing ship from its obligations with the minimum further deviation compatible with safety.
The incident followed two other cruise ship responses in recent months. MSC Cruises’ MSC Musica assisted a vessel while sailing to Ibiza in late July. Silversea Cruises’ Silver Whisper helped rescue a man from a disabled sailboat nearly 500 miles off the Oregon coast in late May.
Carnival Conquest is scheduled to complete its current voyage in Miami on Sept. 4.
