Tonight we received information from a former crew member that a search and rescue operation is underway near Vanuatu after a Carnival employee has gone overboard from the Carnival Spirit cruise ship.
There is an article from Australia stating that there is a man overboard lost from a Carnival cruise ship who is “believed to be a member of the kitchen crew” aboard the Carnival Spirit on a voyage out of Vanuatu.
The newspaper states that a passenger on the cruise ship, who did not wish to be identified, stated 
that an announcement was made more than 10 hours ago that a crew member had gone missing “for up to 20 hours by that point.”
The Carnival cruise ship turned back towards Vanuatu, which is about 20 hours away from its current position.
Under the Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act of 2010, cruise lines are suppose to have implemented automatic man-overboard CCTV systems to detect man-overboards as soon as they happen. Under applicable U.S. maritime law, there should never be this type of mystery when a crew member (or passengers) disappears on the high seas.
Does anyone have information regarding this incident to share?
Cruise expert Dr. Ross Klein reports that 233 people have gone overboard from cruise ships since 2000.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia / Hpeterswald