Several people have informed us that a NCL crew member went overboard yesterday from the Norwegian Pearl during a cruise returning from Alaska.
The Norwegian Pearl is on an eight day “Glacier Bay cruise” which started on September 4, 2016 and ends on September 11th, in Seattle.
The woman reportedly was employed for two contracts for NCL.
This evening, the Juneau Empire published an article saying that a passenger went overboard from the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship in the Lynn Canal, according to an Alaska State Trooper spokesman. I believe this account to be in error as several NCL crew members indicate that the woman was a crew member and not a passenger.
The Sitka Sentinel reported that the woman was reported missing from the Norwegian Pearl at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday when she was noticed to be absent from her cabin. NCL security personnel later looked at CCTV which revealed that she had gone overboard while the vessel was under-way.
The Coast Guard in Sitka launched a helicopter and the station in Juneau launched the 45-foot Coast Guard Cutter Liberty yesterday. These searches were reportedly suspended today.
The woman’s Facebook page this evening has many photographs and comments posted from her friends commemorating her life. Her friends describe her as a loved, cheerful and vibrant young woman.
We are withholding publishing her name, job position and her nationality pending confirmation that her family is aware of the situation.
Other NCL crew members have disappeared from cruise ships in the past couple of years.
A woman went overboard several days ago from the Carnival Ecstasy as it was sailing near the Bahamas during its return cruise to Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S. Coast Guard just ended it’s search today after a considerable effort for the past two days, and after considerable publicity.
This is the 277th person to go overboard from a cruise ship since 2000, according to cruise expert professor Ross Klein.
September 10 2016 Update: NCL crew members says that according to the ship’s security officer, they were looking for her all over the cruise ship when she couldn’t be located in her cabin. NCL sent out the rescue boat to search for her. She apparently left a note in her cabin.
Public media KTOO reports provides this additional information: “The 25-year-old woman, identified only as a Columbian national, disappeared from the vessel about 1:40 a.m. Thursday while it was in Lynn Canal between Funter Bay and Point Retreat. It’s not clear if the woman jumped or simply fell overboard. The woman was not discovered as missing until 5 a.m. Thursday morning as the Norwegian Pearl was approaching Glacier Bay. Alaska State Troopers are investigating the incident.”
Photo Credit: By Captain-tucker – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons / wikimedia.