A pianist working aboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas was rescued from the Pacific Ocean off Southern California on Friday, November 6. The crew member was discovered by fishermen near Catalina Island after reportedly spending approximately nine hours in the water.

There have been no public reports indicating that crew aboard Ovation of the Seas were aware of the overboard incident or had launched a search and rescue operation. The ship was in port in Los Angeles when the fishermen rescued the crew member, according to ship tracking data.

Fishermen Sean Norton and Grant Garrett were returning to Newport Beach after a morning of marlin fishing when their boat’s captain spotted the crew member in the water. In an interview with CBS Los Angeles, Norton recalled how he and Garrett each grabbed one of the man’s arms and lifted him from the ocean.

The crew member, 37, was visibly shaken and initially struggled to speak. “He could not stop shaking and he could not talk,” Norton said. “And it was clear to us that he was near death.”

“Thank you. I thought I was gonna die,” Norton recalled the man telling him.

The fishermen contacted the U.S. Coast Guard for assistance, and Newport Beach lifeguards responded to their vessel. Newport Beach lifeguards subsequently transported him ashore, where he was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in stable condition for further medical evaluation.

Lifeguard officials believe the crew member may have gone overboard at approximately 2:30 a.m., about nine hours before the fishermen discovered him late Friday morning. The exact time he entered the water has not been confirmed.

Limited information has been released by authorities and Royal Caribbean. Authorities have not publicly established how the crew member entered the water, when the ship’s officers became aware of his disappearance, or whether a man-overboard alert or search was initiated before the fishermen discovered him.

Royal Caribbean Group confirmed that the rescued man was one of its employees and said it was providing assistance. “We are providing support and assistance to our crew member during this difficult time. To respect the privacy of our employee, we have no additional details to share.”

The Ovation of the Seas, like all Royal Caribbean ships, does not have a man overboard system that automatically alerts a ship’s bridge when someone goes overboard. Man overboard systems save lives and are required to be installed on cruise ships by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, although nearly all cruise lines ignore this and do not comply with the law.

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The Ovation of the Seas was completing a four-night round-trip cruise from Los Angeles that included visits to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. The ship was scheduled to return to Los Angeles at 7 a.m. on November 6, with another cruise departing later that afternoon.

Cruise Law News last reported on a person overboard in October, when a 44-year-old woman survived approximately 20 hours in the Ionian Sea after going overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas. The woman was discovered floating with a life ring by a passing cargo ship and subsequently rescued by the Greek Coast Guard.