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Man overboard on Anthem

Mom.to.2

By Mom.to.2,
in Royal Caribbean International

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grammax3

grammax3

Posted
Posted

 

Thanks for posting this. We were wondering when they would decide to call off the search. It was a shame all the rumors that were said about this incident. Many said the young man was recovered, others said it was a teenager, doing it on a dare. When people don't know for sure what happened, they should wait for actual information, not just what they heard or think.

 

Very sad for this family, but the Captain and ship's crew did a great job keeping everyone calm. The one thing that was quite obvious was the Captain's voice when he made announcements....that alone was heartbreaking.

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grammax3

grammax3

Posted
Posted
Sending Prayers for family.

Question?

It has been said they notified the family How did Royal know who jumped?

 

In such a short period of time, they notified the family. I also wonder how they knew so quickly, unless one of the witnesses knew him. If I remember correctly wasn't it soon after the witnesses were asked to go to the information desk that the Captain announced the family had been notified?

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Capt_BJ

Capt_BJ

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It has been said they notified the family How did Royal know who jumped?

I've no idea of the specifics in this case. However, a primary function of the 'safety drill' b4 the cruise begins (and despised by many) is to validate the muster list. It is not unusual in a man overboard situation to sound general emergency just to get a quick accountability for everyone. OR they may ask everyone to return to their stateroom for a short time, and the stewards will count heads and verify in this way.

I did check some weather buoy data and I believe the water temps in the area of the incident are in the 50's ... the ship was not hugging the coast ... where the water is warmer ... the straight line to NY/NJ takes 'em farther offshore

Some might question why the USCG needs a Research & Development Center (R&D Center, Groton CT) ..... over the years CG has developed and 'continuously improves' models which help determine 'survivability' of a person (in this case with no protective gear like a survival suit) in water of temp X ..... decisions to call off a search are always hard and are not DRIVEN by these models, but ARE significantly impacted .... with no outside factors to question historical data .... "case suspended pending further developments" and after a time "case closed"

*****************

In the initial stages of an incident like this the USCG will instruct vessels in the area to begin a search and may even provide specific search patterns ...... once CG has 'sufficient' assets on scene the vessels are "released".

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nelblu

nelblu

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Posted
It has been said they notified the family How did Royal know who jumped?

I've no idea of the specifics in this case. However, a primary function of the 'safety drill' b4 the cruise begins (and despised by many) is to validate the muster list. It is not unusual in a man overboard situation to sound general emergency just to get a quick accountability for everyone. OR they may ask everyone to return to their stateroom for a short time, and the stewards will count heads and verify in this way.

 

This happened to us on our Serenade Med. cruise. After we left Civitavecchia (Rome) there was a general alarm (can't recall the announcement) of someone falling into the water. We hung around some 6 hours searching. Also helping was other cruise ships and other vessels in the area. Staff made many stabs at inventorying Pax. Finally, all were sequestered to our cabins. We tried to leave our cabins, but were rebuffed. We could see a lot of activity from our balcony.

 

The upshot--no one fell into the Mediterranean and it was assumed that a shirt or something that was laying on a lounger blew into the water.

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WrittenOnYourHeart Great Review Rare

WrittenOnYourHeart

Posted
Posted
This happened to us on our Serenade Med. cruise. After we left Civitavecchia (Rome) there was a general alarm (can't recall the announcement) of someone falling into the water. We hung around some 6 hours searching. Also helping was other cruise ships and other vessels in the area. Staff made many stabs at inventorying Pax. Finally, all were sequestered to our cabins. We tried to leave our cabins, but were rebuffed. We could see a lot of activity from our balcony.

 

The upshot--no one fell into the Mediterranean and it was assumed that a shirt or something that was laying on a lounger blew into the water.

 

And that is also part of why people are asked NOT to leave things on their balconies.

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JaneStarr

JaneStarr

Posted
Posted (edited)
In such a short period of time, they notified the family. I also wonder how they knew so quickly, unless one of the witnesses knew him. If I remember correctly wasn't it soon after the witnesses were asked to go to the information desk that the Captain announced the family had been notified?

It was a short period of time.

 

I was texting my family, and I looked at my time stamps. Think it was shortly before 4:49 PM that the captain asked for witnesses; by 5:35 he had already made the announcement that the family had been notified.

Jane

Edited by JaneStarr
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JaneStarr

JaneStarr

Posted
Posted
It has been said they notified the family How did Royal know who jumped?

*****************

In the initial stages of an incident like this the USCG will instruct vessels in the area to begin a search and may even provide specific search patterns ...... once CG has 'sufficient' assets on scene the vessels are "released".

This is exactly what we were told by an officer. We quickly commenced a “grid search” with Norwegian Gem while awaiting the USCG assets.

 

Once released by the CG, Captain Sorensen announced we were heading back to Bayonne and that the Coast Guard would continue the search. I think he mentioned they had infrared equipment.

 

He had this very serious, yet calming tone to his voice and offered thoughts and prayers to the family. It was a very sad end to our final dinner.

 

We were leaving Silk after our 6pm dinner when the announcement was made. Everybody in our area was silent, and many had heads bowed.

Jane

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adelros

adelros

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Just a little tidbit of advice that my dad has said multiple times in regards to a man overboard situation. He says in this case, to throw chairs (or anything else near you) overboard as near to the person as you can. I'm not sure how easy or beneficial this would actually be, but the idea is that the chairs and stuff would float and it would be easier to spot a person surrounded by chairs than just a bobbing head. Again, not sure how realistic it is though or if you would be in trouble for throwing a bunch of chairs overboard, but it makes you wonder if someone reacting this way could've saved the person.

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topnole

topnole

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Posted
Just a little tidbit of advice that my dad has said multiple times in regards to a man overboard situation. He says in this case, to throw chairs (or anything else near you) overboard as near to the person as you can. I'm not sure how easy or beneficial this would actually be, but the idea is that the chairs and stuff would float and it would be easier to spot a person surrounded by chairs than just a bobbing head. Again, not sure how realistic it is though or if you would be in trouble for throwing a bunch of chairs overboard, but it makes you wonder if someone reacting this way could've saved the person.

 

Old teak maybe but modern stuff is all plastic and metal. That isn’t gonna help. They do have life rings around the ship here and there. That is probably what is best to throw in the water in the spirit of what your dad said.

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gerelmx

gerelmx

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Posted
Old teak maybe but modern stuff is all plastic and metal. That isn’t gonna help. They do have life rings around the ship here and there. That is probably what is best to throw in the water in the spirit of what your dad said.

 

Like this they have a whistle and a lamp

 

b705a38f67a2d592aeb78a32b0ea5a88.jpg

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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gaylemh

gaylemh

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Posted
Old teak maybe but modern stuff is all plastic and metal. That isn’t gonna help. They do have life rings around the ship here and there. That is probably what is best to throw in the water in the spirit of what your dad said.

 

It may help, if only to see where the current is taking them, and find the best place to search.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

Posted
Posted
I wonder why these aren't equipped with GPS and a satellite phone to send out their positions once they hit water.

 

A satellite phone? You're going to stop stroking, trying to keep your head out of water, to use a phone?

 

Anyway, the two life rings attached to the bridge wings have EPIRB's (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) attached to them. These transmit on specific frequencies to dedicated SAR satellites. Within minutes, SAR centers around the world know there is an emergency, and where it is, and will call the ship using the call sign transmitted by the EPIRB. Why aren't all the life rings equipped with this? Because any life ring so equipped, and in a passenger area, would be an invitation to "test it out", or even just inadvertently turn it on (usually by turning them upright), and the ship has to pay a fine for each "false alarm". Best to keep this equipment under the control of the professionals.

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