This morning, a crew member from the Oasis of the Seas died due to COVID-19, according to an announcement from the captain of the Royal Caribbean  cruise ship.

In a short announcement broacast over the ship’s intercom, the captain stated that Carlos Baluran “passed away this morning.” Royal Caribbean contacted his family and offered them support from the company’s care team. The captain claimed that Mr. Baluran had been “well taken care in the hospital and by the company’s medical team.”

The captain offered support for the crew through the company’s 24/7 “Employee Assistance Program” on a confidential basis. He led one-minute of silence and ended the announcement “Rest in Peace.”

Mr. Baluran worked the night shift in the incinerator room on the Oasis. He was a long term (10 year) employee for the company. He is the fourth Royal Caribbean crew member to die from COVID-19 in a hospital in Broward County in the last three weeks. Three crew members from the Oasis alone have died due to COVID-19 in the last two weeks.

On April 18th, long term Royal Caribbean bar waiter Dexter Joyosa (right), from the Philippes, died in a hospital in Fort Lauderdale.

Two days later, Indonesian waiter Iputu Sugiartha (middle) died of COVID-19 ashore at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale at the age of just 41 years old. He left behind a wife and two children.

Three weeks ago, Indonesian crew member Puyol Puuyy Yool (below) , who was employed in the housekeeping department at Royal Caribbean on the Symphony of the Seas, died of COVID-19 at a hospital in Broward County.  He was just 27 years of age.

The Oasis of the Seas returned to South Florida and disembarked its last group of guests on March 15th, following the CDC’s first no-sail order. For the past six weeks, the Oasis has been off the coast of Florida except for occasionally coming to ports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to receive provisions and fuel and to bring crew members ashore for medical treatment.

Please pay your respects to Mr. Baluran on our Facebook page.

May 4. 2020 Update: Today the Miami Herald published A third crew member from Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas dies from COVID-19.

Photo credits – Facebook