Yesterday, a crew member apparently went overboard from the Costa Deliziosa, according to the website of cruise expert, Dr. Ross Klein.
The Deliziosa was at the end of its transatlantic crossing heading to the Canary Islands.
The information was conveyed to Dr. Klein from a person on the Costa cruise ship who wishes to remain anonymous.
There was no information available regarding the circumstances surrounding the disappearance.
AIS tracking sites show the cruise ship making what appears to be maneuvers to retrace its route in the Atlantic to search for the man.
There have been 290 people who have gone overboard since 2000, according to Dr. Klein’s website.
Costa has not made an official statement regarding the incident to date.
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Update: A reader brought to my attention that this incident was published yesterday on a Dutch website (with photos). The website says that the crew member went overboard around 6:00 A.M. The ship apparently sailed ahead and then had to turn around and sail for three-and-one-half hours back to the location where the crew member went overboard. The delayed search was not successful. A Portuguese aircraft assisted in the search, according to the article.
Update: Costa sent us the following statement:
“Statement Regarding Costa Deliziosa Crewmember
GENOA (March 30, 2017) — At approximately 10 a.m. local time on March 29, 2017, while Costa Deliziosa was on a transatlantic repositioning cruise to Europe from the United States, a crewmember was reported missing. Following standard procedure, ship command notified Costa Crociere headquarters and implemented a full-ship search. When the crewmember was not located onboard, the ship turned around and began search and rescue operations and notified the nearest Maritime Rescue Recovery Center, which dispatched a search plane to the area.
Late on the night of March 29, MRCC released Costa Deliziosa from the search and the ship continued on to its next call at Santa Cruz, Tenerife. Guests were informed throughout the day. Costa is in contact with all relevant authorities and its Care Team is assisting the crewmember’s family.
The 2,260-passenger Costa Deliziosa is on a 24-day transatlantic cruise from Port Everglades, Florida, to Venice, Italy.”
Image credit: Marine Traffic.