Man Missing After Going Overboard From Carnival Panorama Off Baja
Passengers were directed to their cabins for about an hour while crew searched the ship and reviewed security camera footage that confirmed he had gone overboard.
A 56-year-old man was missing after Carnival Cruise Line said he jumped overboard from Carnival Panorama during its return voyage from Puerto Vallarta to Long Beach, California. The ship reversed course and conducted a search Saturday, Sept. 19, before resuming its voyage as U.S. and Mexican authorities continued the operation.
The incident occurred on the final full day of a seven-night Mexican Riviera cruise. Carnival Panorama returned to Long Beach on Sunday.
Cameras confirm passenger went overboard
The response began after the passenger was reported missing. Crew members paged him and searched the ship.
“When notified of a missing guest, the ship’s team initiated search and investigation procedures, including reviewing CCTV footage,” a Carnival spokesperson said. The cruise line also notified the U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican authorities.
Passengers were directed to their cabins for about an hour during the shipwide search. Security personnel checked staterooms and scanned guests’ ship identification cards before camera footage confirmed that the man had gone overboard.
“I’ve done a lot of cruises here and never had anything like this done before,” passenger Michael Bedwell told KABC. He said passengers initially received little information beyond instructions to return to their rooms.
Carnival Panorama changed course toward the area where the passenger was believed to have entered the water and searched before continuing north. Carnival said its care team was assisting the man’s family, who were traveling with him.
The ship had departed Long Beach on Sept. 13 for calls at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán and Puerto Vallarta.
How overboard cases are detected and how they end
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Charlie Valor said the man went overboard about 50 miles off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. Rescue Coordination Center Alameda deployed fixed-wing aircraft and coordinated with the Mexican Navy and commercial vessels in the area.
Federal law requires cruise ships to have railings at least 42 inches high and to incorporate technology capable of capturing images of, or detecting, a person going overboard to the extent that such technology is available. Camera systems can record an incident without necessarily generating an immediate alert, leaving crews to review footage after someone is reported missing.
A G.P. Wild study prepared for Cruise Lines International Association identified 212 passenger and crew overboard incidents from 2009 through 2019 and calculated a rescue rate of 28.2%.
The case follows a December 2021 incident involving Carnival Miracle near Ensenada during another voyage from Long Beach. The Coast Guard searched for more than 31 hours before suspending that operation without finding the passenger.
Authorities had not publicly identified the Carnival Panorama passenger or disclosed the circumstances leading to his going overboard. No recovery had been reported as of Monday.
