Carnival says security video shows missing Houma man jumped overboard (2024)

FAQs

Did they ever find the boy that jumped off the cruise ship? ›

Parker's body was never found after his fatal leap on Thursday, which sparked a massive U.S. Coast Guard search between Cuba and the Bahamas' Inagua islands in the eastern Caribbean.

As soon as an incident happens, cruise ship crew will activate a button that pinpoints the place where the person went into the water. The ship will then stop and turn back to that area.

Some of the major cruise lines have installed what are known as man overboard detection systems, technology that is meant to detect when someone has fallen overboard immediately. However, this technology is not required on all cruise vessels, which begs the question, “why?”

Number of People Missing from Cruise Ships

According to statistics, around 200 people have reportedly gone missing on cruise ships since 2000, a figure which equates to about 10 people per year. However, remember, the actual figure could be quite different due to unreported incidents and varying laws on disclosure.

They are placed intentionally to ensure passenger safety. The only way you risk a fall is if you're standing on furniture to peer over the side or climbing somewhere you're not supposed to. It's not possible for you to trip over a door frame or slip on a wet deck and fall off of a vessel.

And while going overboard on cruise ships is a rare incidence, it does happen occasionally – young children that climb on the railings are particularly at risk. Kids roam free. While cruise ships are confined areas, they are large and full of safety hazards.

Ships carrying more than 250 passengers sailing in and out of US ports are also governed by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA), which requires them to have video monitoring so that any person overboard can quickly be spotted.

An average of 19 people go overboard on cruise ships every year, industry data has found. Since 2010, cruise ships have been required to install technology to help prevent overboard deaths.

Man Overboard Statistics

Cruise lines with the highest rate of overboard accidents since 1995: Carnival Cruise Line – 55 recorded overboard accidents. Royal Caribbean – 39 recorded overboard accidents. Norwegian Cruise Line – 20 recorded overboard accidents.

If you're new to cruising and notice sea days on your itinerary, you might wonder what you could possibly do on a day when your ship doesn't stop in a port of call and, instead, stays out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. Rest assured, sea days are anything but boring.

Are there undercover cops on cruise ships? ›

Cruise lines don't have police onboard. Instead, they have security teams they employ. The captain has the ultimate authority in decision-making on the ship regarding what should happen to those suspected of criminal activity.

Do Cruise Ships Dump Sewage? Yes. To get into a few more specifics than above, the U.S. allows cruise ships to dump treated waste into the ocean if they are within three and a half miles from shore. Beyond that point, there are no restrictions for dumping untreated, raw sewage in U.S. ocean waters.

There are no police officers on cruise ships, but most vessels have small jails known as the brig, and unruly passengers could find themselves locked up if the ship's security team determines that they have violated the cruise line's code of conduct.

Unfortunately, it's rare that a passenger is found alive. A Carnival cruiser who fell off a ship over Thanksgiving 2022 made headlines when he was rescued after spending close to 20 hours in the Gulf of Mexico. He was lucky because his positive outcome is not common.

James Michael Grimes was found by a bulk carrier vessel, a harrowing 20 hours after he fell off the Carnival Valor on the night of November 23. Lt. Seth Gross oversees search and rescue missions in the greater Louisiana Gulf Coast area, and said his rescue crew arrived just in time to save Grimes' life.

About 386 people were reported to have gone overboard on major cruise lines between 2000 and 2020, according to The Washington Post. A study by Cruise Lines International Association found that only 28% of those who fell overboard between 2009 and 2019 survived.

Some passengers said it appeared to be an impulsive, spur-of-the-moment decision. “I had hung out with him and his brother in the hot tub until 3:30,” passenger Bryan Sims tells The Post. ” It was standing room only. He sat right beside me the whole time.” “He was pretty drunk,” Sims continues.