The world’s largest cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea after passengers had lunch while castaways waved their flag
The world’s largest cruise ship has rescued fourteen people stranded at sea after passengers spotted them during their lunch.
The castaways had been drifting for eight days before they waved a large white flag and climbed aboard Royal Caribbeans Icon of the sea on Sunday, according to reports.
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The ship’s captain said he did not know where the group came from and it remains unclear how they ended up in this situation.
Either way, eagle-eyed passengers spotted them desperately trying to get their attention just one day into their eight-day holiday Miami Unpleasant Honduras.
Alessandra Amodio, who traveled with her family on the Icon of the Sea, estimated from a map that the ship was between Cozumel, Mexico and western Cuba when the rescue took place.
“We were really surprised and honestly a little shocked,” she said Fox again. “We’ve been on a handful of cruises and have never seen anything like this happen.
“It was crazy to think that these people were stuck at sea for so long, and we were all on board, excited and relieved that the ship was able to save them.”
Passengers couldn’t believe their eyes as they peered out of the windows from the lunch buffet as several people filmed the ordeal.
Videos on social media show the small boat stranded far out to sea before the passengers made it back to safety aboard a rescue boat.
According to Amodio, the crew made several trips to the small boat to rescue everyone, with the entire process taking about two hours.
“The boat turned around and we stopped as close to them as we could and stopped,” she said. “RCC (Royal Caribbean) deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat to investigate.
“Everyone around us was watching us from the windows and just talking about how this wasn’t something we thought we would ever experience, and we hoped everyone on board was okay.
“But we were never afraid of ourselves.”
After the passengers raised the alarm, the crew quickly broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar” over the loudspeakers at around 3 p.m., according to Amodio.
She added that the captain then announced that a ship in distress had been spotted and that the ship would turn around and investigate.
After the rescue, the captain confirmed that fourteen people had been rescued, but he did not know which country they came from.
The next day, all the rescued people left the ship when it docked in Roatan, Honduras.
Following the rescue operation, Royal Caribbean said in a statement: “On March 3, 2024, Icon of the Seas encountered a small ship adrift and in need of assistance.
“The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation and brought fourteen people safely on board. The crew provided them with medical assistance and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Under maritime law, a ship and its crew have a legal and moral obligation to help save human life.
“A master of a ship at sea, who is able to render assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons at sea are in distress, is obliged to render their assistance with all due speed,” said the International Maritime Organization.
According to Marine Insight, Code Oscar is unique to Royal Caribbean and is usually used when someone falls overboard.
Captains use the signal instead of shouting orders to ‘prevent the potential for chaos’.
The Sun has contacted the US Coast Guard for comment.
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