Cruise Ship Passenger Missing
Another cruise ship passenger was reported missing today. A 73 year old British passenger was on a Celebrity Cruise ship off of Portugal and did not disembark in the Medeira, Portugal port.
A crew member reported the cruise passenger disappearance when the man had not used his cabin. He was travelling alone.
Celebrity said that the captain immediately reversed the course and began an search as well as notified British, Portuguese and Bahamian officials, as well as the FBI. The ship continued its 14 night trans-Atlantic cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Miami.
Missing persons at sea require a search and rescue. Once a person is reported missing the shipping company has a duty to do a reasonable search and rescue. If the person is not quickly found on board the vessel, then the vessel should return to the last location at sea when the person was seen. The failure to perform a reasonable search and rescue can render the shipping company liable for the disappearance of the person.
We have extensive experience handling cruise ship passenger disappearance cases. We recommend that anyone about to go on a cruise take the Cruise S.O.S. Card with them. The Cruise S.O.S. Card includes important information including emergency steps to take incase of accident, crime or disappearance of you or your family members when you are on a cruise.
