70-Year-Old Passenger Goes Overboard from Carnival Cruise Ship, Search Underway

A passenger in his 70s is missing after going overboard from Carnival Splendor late Friday night / early Saturday morning while the ship was on a 4-day sailing that is scheduled to return to Sydney, Australia on Sunday.

Tracking data shows the 3,000-passenger Carnival ship doing a zig zag search pattern while the search is underway.

Family Reported the Man Missing

According to news reports, the man was travelling with family, who quickly noticed he was missing and alerted the ship’s crew around 2:00 AM.

A review of the onboard CCTV footage confirmed what happened next.

In a statement, a Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson said:

“The male guest was travelling with family, who alerted the ship’s crew of a possible missing person, and a review of the CCTV footage confirmed the guest’s action.”

Some reports add that the footage showed the man apparently climbed over the safety railing and jumped overboard.

The incident occurred about 18 miles northeast of Moreton Island.

Carnival also added in a statement that “all appropriate authorities have been alerted and Carnival will assist authorities in their investigation upon the ship’s return to Sydney. Carnival’s Care Team is supporting the guest’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved one.”

Large-Scale Search & Rescue Operation

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is leading a major search and rescue effort after being notified early Saturday morning. Resources deployed include:

• Challenger jets from Cairns and Melbourne
• Five rescue helicopters from the Brisbane area
• Six surface vessels
• Assistance from Queensland Police

Passengers onboard have reported seeing rescue helicopters searching the waters nearby as the ship remained in the area.

Man-overboard incidents are rare on modern cruise ships, but when these events do take place crews quickly review CCT footage and enact protocols to try to recover the individual as quickly as possible.

At this stage, the search is still active and no update on the passenger’s status has been released just yet.

Carnival has already emailed guests for the next sailing out of Sydney, saying that it will be delayed and that guests should wait to hear from the cruise line with new embarkation times.