Cruise ship passed by disabled fishing boat, 2 die

[joseephuss]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/apr/22/cruise-ship-passed-by-disabled-fishing-boat/

Cruise ship passed by disabled fishing boat
Sole survivor angry, mournful

RIO HATO, Panama — Three Panamanian men were on their way home after a night of fishing, happy with their success, when the motor on their small open boat rattled and quit, leaving them adrift in sight of land, but too far out for their cellphones to work.

With nothing left to eat but the fish they caught and a few gallons of water, they drifted for 16 days, more than 100 miles from home, before they thought they were about to be saved.

Adrian Vasquez, 18, saw a huge white ship coming toward them. He waved a red sweater to get their attention, reaching high over his head, and dropping it low to his knees. Though he was near death, the skipper of the little panga, Elvis Oropeza Betancourt, 31, joined in, waving an orange life jacket.

“Tio, look what’s coming over there,” Mr. Vasquez recalled saying in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. “We felt happy, because we thought they were coming to rescue us.”

The ship didn’t stop, and the fishing boat drifted another two weeks before it was found. By then, Mr. Vasquez’s two friends had died.

“I said, ‘God will not forgive them,’” Mr. Vasquez recalled. “Today, I still feel rage when I remember that.”

The day of the first sighting, March 10, birdwatchers with powerful spotting scopes on the promenade deck of the luxury cruise ship Star Princess saw a little boat adrift miles away. They told ship staff about the man desperately waving a red cloth.

On Thursday, Princess Cruises, based in Santa Clarita, Calif., said a preliminary investigation showed that passengers’ reports that they had spotted a boat in distress never made it to Capt. Edward Perrin or the officer on duty.

[Seven]

WTH? Makes no sense.

In sight of land and they had no flotation device, of any kind, and attempt to paddle to land?

They STAY on a boat and die?


Good thing they had cell phones. A raft would've been too much.

[iceberg]

WTH? Makes no sense.

In sight of land and they had no flotation device, of any kind, and attempt to paddle to land?

They STAY on a boat and die?

Good thing they had cell phones. A raft would've been too much.

sounds odd to be sure, but i also have to wonder what the currents are like that out there. paddling by hand in currents going another direction won't likely go very far.

[Cythim]

No mention of flares, horns etc either. No radio? You cannot go out in the ocean without being prepared like that.

[hipfake08]

No mention of flares, horns etc either. No radio? You cannot go out in the ocean without being prepared like that.

Remember it's not the US with a lot of rules and regs on any type of boat.

They took what they thought they needed and no one stopped them.
Battery may have died on the raido.

[Joshmvii]

They didn't need regulations to tell them don't go out into deep ocean on a little boat without taking precautions in the event that the motor malfunctions. It's terrible a couple of them died, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't have prepared better.

[Doomsday101]

international maritime law dictates that all ship commanders are obliged to assist those in danger of being lost at sea.

[trickblue]

international maritime law dictates that all ship commanders are obliged to assist those in danger of being lost at sea.

/thread over

[rynochop]

international maritime law dictates that all ship commanders are obliged to assist those in danger of being lost at sea.

Yep...who wouldn't??

[Doomsday101]

Yep...who wouldn't??

Evidently the Capt or this cruise ship

[Cythim]

Evidently the Capt or this cruise ship

It says he didn't get the report that the boat was out there.

[Doomsday101]

It says he didn't get the report that the boat was out there.

Princess Cruises said passengers on the Star Princess apparently alerted a crew member to the disabled fishing boat in March, but initial indications are that the captain was never told.

I'm sure more will come. If the crew members failed to notify the capt then they will be delt with.

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-04-20/travel/travel_cruise-ship-apology_1_cruise-ship-princess-cruises-cruise-line?_s=PM:TRAVEL

[Joshmvii]

Yeah, the article clearly said the captain just wasn't notified. You're talking about a huge cruise ship, so if some passenger told a "crew member," which might very well have been a cocktail waitress or someone else who just wasn't really listening or caring what the passenger said, that doesn't mean much.

[Rogah]

Sounds like a horrible tragedy. The captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship, so fair or unfair his career is probably over, but it doesn't seem like he knew about the distressed boat and just callously kept steaming forward.

FWIW, and IMHO, if you're a passenger in such a situation the correct procedure is to stand near the railing, point to the distressed boat and yell "man overboard!!!" repeatedly and at the top of your lungs. That would get a bit more attention than telling some vague "crew member" who quickly forgot the whole thing.

[Doomsday101]

Sounds like a horrible tragedy. The captain is responsible for everything that happens on his ship, so fair or unfair his career is probably over, but it doesn't seem like he knew about the distressed boat and just callously kept steaming forward.

FWIW, and IMHO, if you're a passenger in such a situation the correct procedure is to stand near the railing, point to the distressed boat and yell "man overboard!!!" repeatedly and at the top of your lungs. That would get a bit more attention than telling some vague "crew member" who quickly forgot the whole thing.

I'm sure the cruise line will do more to train crew members so that something like this does not happen again.

[burmafrd]

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150897139/cruise-ship-didnt-aid-drifting-boat-passengers-say

puts a little different spin on it

[SaltwaterServr]

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150897139/cruise-ship-didnt-aid-drifting-boat-passengers-say

puts a little different spin on it

Dis-freaking-gusting. I've answered distress calls that were 20+ miles from our location in the Gulf before, knowing full well the Coast Guard would get there before we would. Someone calls for help, everything else in the world is secondary on the open ocean. You drop the buoy on the anchor, reel in at full speed if you have to, whatever, but you answer the call. Always.

Not to make light of any of this, but did anyone else notice that one of the people involved is named Gilligan?

[CliffnMesquite]

I have never heard of a ship that didn't post lookouts. The guest probably told a maid. There is no excuse for this, and heads should roll. Including the Captians.

[burmafrd]

I have never heard of a ship that didn't post lookouts. The guest probably told a maid. There is no excuse for this, and heads should roll. Including the Captians.


They did not tell a maid; that is clear. They did talk to some ships officers.

[trickblue]

http://www.npr.org/2012/04/19/150897139/cruise-ship-didnt-aid-drifting-boat-passengers-say

puts a little different spin on it

So the captain lied through his teeth... this will not end up well...

Anybody else notice the bird watcher's name is Gilligan? Bad omen... ;)

[Seven]

sounds odd to be sure, but i also have to wonder what the currents are like that out there. paddling by hand in currents going another direction won't likely go very far.

I understand that ice, but to be in a huge body of water with absolutely zero safety/plan B provisions is just, well, stupid.

NOW they want to make it a cruise ship fiasco. (Which it is by maritime law.) Butl ets have the real moral to the story here; These dudes did absolutely everything wrong and what one should do prior to and when out on the ocean.


I also find it comical that they all had cell phones. Heaven forbid they have a survival kit. A simple flare gun more than likely would've saved their lives as more than a handful of people would have noticed that.


I wonder if they had one bandaid between the three of them.

[Doomsday101]

I understand that ice, but to be in a huge body of water with absolutely zero safety/plan B provisions is just, well, stupid.

NOW they want to make it a cruise ship fiasco. (Which it is by maritime law.) Butl ets have the real moral to the story here; These dudes did absolutely everything wrong and what one should do prior to and when out on the ocean.


I also find it comical that they all had cell phones. Heaven forbid they have a survival kit. A simple flare gun more than likely would've saved their lives as more than a handful of people would have noticed that.


I wonder if they had one bandaid between the three of them.

Your right those fisherman made some big mistakes but does not change the fact that this cruise ship was still obligated to help

[Sam I Am]

I understand that ice, but to be in a huge body of water with absolutely zero safety/plan B provisions is just, well, stupid.

NOW they want to make it a cruise ship fiasco. (Which it is by maritime law.) Butl ets have the real moral to the story here; These dudes did absolutely everything wrong and what one should do prior to and when out on the ocean.


I also find it comical that they all had cell phones. Heaven forbid they have a survival kit. A simple flare gun more than likely would've saved their lives as more than a handful of people would have noticed that.


I wonder if they had one bandaid between the three of them.

There is two stories here. Both are wrong. They are idiots for not being prepared, but the Captain of the cruise ship should be fired and not allowed to captain a commercial ship again.

I'm not sure how maritime law is conducted and I think it actually depends more on the country where the law was broken. This guy deserve prison time, not only for lying about the account, but for the failure to render aid too. Especially when several people already believed the boaters were in distress.

[Joshmvii]

The captain is an idiot anyway, because had he saved those dudes he would've had a free ride to morning talk show city, and then probably a book deal if he played it right. Instead, he probably ruined his career.

[speedkilz88]

Not a good year for ship captains.

[CanadianCowboysFan]

In the future, those cruise ships will just run over the boat, then say oops will be simpler that way.