A Norwegian Breakaway crew member fell overboard Sunday while the cruise ship was sailing toward Boston from Bermuda, prompting a large Coast Guard search off Cape Cod that ended later the same day. The ship had been about 19 kilometres off Wellfleet when a security camera captured the fall into the ocean.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England said it received the report after the crew member was seen on security video going into the water. A shipwide announcement followed, and lifeboats were launched as the vessel reported the emergency. The cruise line said that once the incident was confirmed, it immediately informed the United States Coast Guard Marine Rescue Coordination Center and a coordinated search and rescue operation began.
The search quickly widened. The Coast Guard sent several helicopters, and a crew from Coast Guard Station Provincetown joined the effort early Sunday morning. The vessel was carrying passengers back to Boston on a seven-day round-trip cruise to Bermuda, and the missing crew member's identity had not been released.
There was also a hard boundary to what the search could accomplish. The Coast Guard later took over the operation and released the Norwegian Breakaway to continue the voyage, then suspended search and rescue efforts Sunday afternoon. The ship docked at Black Falcon Terminal in Boston shortly before that suspension, and passenger embarkation procedures were delayed.
Norwegian Breakaway said the safety, security and well-being of its crew was its highest priority and that its thoughts were with the crew member's family during what it called a difficult time. The unanswered question now is not how the alarm was raised, but what the security video and the suspended search mean for the person who went overboard off Cape Cod.
