What happens when a passenger falls overboard on a cruise ship? (2024)

It’s the one announcement you don’t want to hear on a cruise — “Code Oscar”. If it’s broadcast from the bridge over the ship’s public address system, it’s a call-out to the crew to alert them that someone has gone overboard.

The situation is frightening for other passengers and crew, alarming for the cruise line and also expensive.

On March 16, 2024, it was announced that a passenger fell overboard during a during a cruise of northern Europe. The man disappeared from MSC Euribia a day after the ship left Southampton on its seven-night excursion.

In June 2023, a 42-year-old woman survived a fall from the tenth deck of a Royal Caribbean ship, Mariner of the Seas, which was off the coast of the Dominican Republic. She was even well enough to continue with the cruise but the reason for the accident was not disclosed.

Former flight attendant Kay Longstaff, then 46, fell off the Norwegian Star off the coast of Croatia in 2018. She was rescued after spending ten hours in the water, at a rumoured cost of nearly £500,000 to the cruise line. The reason for her fall was not revealed.

Provided you behave sensibly on a ship, it’s unlikely that you’re going to topple off it. Keep an eye on your kids and know where they are. Follow the crew’s instructions in rough weather. And however much hospitality you’ve enjoyed on board, stay off those railings.

Main photo: MS Deutschland in the Chilean fjords (Alamy)

What happens when a passenger falls overboard on a cruise ship?

I’ve been on board when a Code Oscar has been announced. Several years ago, I was on a Carnival ship, some distance out of Mykonos. The call went out. While the crew are thoroughly trained in dealing with “man overboard” emergencies and leapt into action, it was a different story among the passengers for the simple reason that you don’t know who has fallen off the ship. School holidays were in full swing and there were hundreds of children and teenagers on board, many of whom were in the kids’ club, or otherwise away from their parents. Ashen-faced mums and dads were racing all over the ship, trying to find their offspring.

The drama unfolded as the captain slowed right down and started circling the area where the sighting of the “person” had been reported. Rescue boats were lowered, spotlights focused on the water, and the coastguard summoned. I was in the dining room with my kids at the time and everybody rushed to one side of the room to watch.

It turned out that the alarm was a false one. Some passengers, after a liquid lunch, had spotted an air bed floating in the water and had taken it for a person and raised the alarm, the captain later told me through gritted teeth.

However spurious the sighting of a person overboard, every alarm has to be taken with the utmost seriousness. The crew will always operate to the same protocols; stop the ship, turn around to the spot where the incident happened, inform the coastguard and put down rescue boats.

How often do people fall off cruise ships?

The idea of falling off a cruise ship is a chilling one but is also extremely rare. According to the most recent data from trade body Cruise Lines International Association (Clia), between 2009 and 2019, 212 people, representing just 0.0004 percent of passengers and crew, went overboard.

How can someone fall overboard?

It’s near-impossible to fall off a ship by accident. People who fall off ships are either drunk, high, suicidal, or are pushed. In the Clia report, every case that had been investigated was the result of “an intentional or reckless act”. So worrying about falling off the ship really shouldn’t even feature on your list of potential disaster-at-sea scenarios.

What safety measures are in place?

Ships are built to the highest possible safety standards. “Railings are designed to prevent people from going overboard,” says a spokesperson for Clia. “Cruise ships have safety barriers in all public areas that are regulated by the US Coast Guard. By law, railings must be 42 inches tall. This height governs the railing of ships sailing not only in the US but elsewhere in the world.”

Every balcony has either several railings or a plexiglass or steel panel so that no person can accidentally slide underneath. Cabins with a private balcony have locks high up on the doors, out of the reach of young children, so if you do leave your kids alone in the cabin for a while (which is not advised), they shouldn’t be able to open the door.

Ships carrying more than 250 passengers sailing in and out of US ports are also governed by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA), which requires them to have video monitoring so that any person overboard can quickly be spotted. In the event of rough weather that is potentially dangerous, the captain will close the outside decks to avoid anybody being flung around.

Passengers have a responsibility for their own safety, too. You’re told very clearly at the mandatory safety briefing never to climb on the railings. In more than 20 years of writing about cruising, I’ve only seen one person sitting on the railing, an influencer posing for Instagram. Good luck with that.

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