Cruise ship delayed after crew member disappears at sea

A cruise ship has been delayed after the loss of a crew member at sea. The Ambassador Cruise Line delayed the start of its British Isles Discovery cruise after the person disappeared.

The member of staff, from India, was reported missing after breakfast when they “could not be located” at the start of their working day last Thursday (May 2). The ship had reversed its course to retrace the route back to where the crew member was last seen before being released by the coastguard, a spokeswoman for Ambassador Cruise Line said

The ship turned back to Portugal to search the area of the sea where the missing crew member was seen the previous afternoon. The ship, called Ambience, was on the final leg of its round-the-world tour when the alarm was raised with the coastguard while the ship was sailing off the coast of Cape Finisterre Spain.

The crew member was not found and the ship was released by the coastguard to continue its original course back to the UK, arriving on Sunday evening instead of Sunday morning as planned.

Due to its late arrival, events to mark the ship’s return from its round-the-world cruise were cancelled. In a statement, the line said today: “Following the sad events of last week, we can confirm that embarkation for our British Isles Discovery cruise, originally due to sail on Sunday 5 May 2024, was delayed by 24 hours with embarkation taking place on Monday 6 May 2024.

“Embarkation timings remained the same, and we asked all guests to arrive at the original time shown on their boarding pass, just one day later.”

The cruise has been amended and will return to Tilbury as planned on May 16. The spokesperson added: “Ambassador would like to take this opportunity to thank our guests for the kindness and support that has been shown since the incident occurred – it has been very much appreciated.”

In an earlier statement, Ambassador said: “Our immediate priority is to provide full support to all crew members closely affected by this incident. Guests onboard have been kept informed throughout the day and have been advised of recent developments.

“Many have expressed their well-wishes, and we would like to thank them for their concern and support.” Planned events to mark Ambience’s return have been cancelled.

“Ambassador remains committed to the safety and well-being of all our crew and guests. We are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of our colleague at this difficult time.

“Specialist support will be offered to all crew affected by today’s events,” the spokeswoman added.