A passenger went overboard from the Star Breeze while the cruise ship was sailing off the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. The Windstar Cruises ship sounded a “Code Oscar” after it discovered the passenger was missing.
According to a local media report from Tahiti, the passenger involved is a 66-year-old male from the United States. The newspaper reports that the man jumped overboard at approximately 2:00 a.m. on January 19th following a marital dispute. The exact circumstances of the incident are under investigation.
A French Navy patrol vessel was dispatched to the area and arrived at the scene around 8:00 a.m. to assist in the search efforts in the Polynesian waters. Unfortunately, the search and rescue operation was unsuccessful.
The Star Breeze continued on its scheduled voyage to Hiva Oa Island in the Marquesas. According to CruiseMapper, police investigators boarded the ship and began conducting interviews upon it’s arrival at Hiva Oa Island.
This is the second person to go overboard from a cruise ship in 2026, according to cruise expert Dr. Ross Klein, who tracks such incidents. According to Dr. Klein’s definitive data (Cruise Junkie), there have been at least 432 people who have gone overboard from cruise ships and large ferries since 2000.
The Star Breeze is not equipped with an automatic man overboard system that can instantly signal when a person goes overboard by using motion detection, infrared, and radar technology. This state-of-the-art technology can track a person in the water, even at night, leading to a much greater likelihood of a successful search and rescue. Searching for a person in the water at night without a man overboard system is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
The Star Breeze is not legally required to have an automatic man overboard system because it is not subject to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010. The CVSSA requires cruise ships to have a man overboard system when sailing from U.S. ports, which the Star Breeze does not.
Man overboard systems save lives, as we wrote about when a father and daughter were saved after going overboard from a Disney Cruise last year. Over 275 passengers and crew members have gone overboard since the CVSSA first went into effect.
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