Liberty...searching now possible man overboard

[chengkp75]

So then why did you bother to mention drug interdiction when it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this thread?

 

Sigh. Because in the immediately preceding post, Aquahound had mentioned that he was surprised that the cutter had its AIS on, while at the same time mentioning that the same cutter had been busy for the week in the same area. USCG cutter busy in the Florida Straits without AIS equals drug interdiction.

[geocruiser]

Aquahound and Chengkp75,

 

Thank you for all your info. What do the letters AIS mean?

[Cruzaholic41]

I was on this cruise. I can confirm what was just said. He sat on the railing on deck 12. In his drunken state, he fell over backwards. He was 43 years old and he was from Canada.

 

This was a dramatic (and traumatic) end to a very odd cruise. It started with a very late departure and with some very irate passengers being kicked off the ship. Divers were doing some routine work under the ship and some people went way over the top with their complaints. That sorta set the tone for the entire cruise and for this to happen Sunday night was a darn shame.

[chengkp75]

Aquahound and Chengkp75,

 

Thank you for all your info. What do the letters AIS mean?

 

AIS is the Automated Identification System, which is mandated for all vessels over 400gt (I think that's the cut off). This is a system that transmits the ship's name, position, speed, course, and a few other data points on a VHF frequency. It's primary use is to allow ships to identify the ships around them, as a security measure (so you know if Iranian gunboats are coming at you or just the pilot boat). It has two methods: the VHF, which is basically line of sight, and satellite, which can track any ship anywhere in the world. Satellite AIS is predominately a government function, for search and rescue and maritime security.Modern integrated radars on ships today have the ability to ping any radar target for AIS data, and present it on the radar screen, much like air traffic control does.

 

Since AIS is an open frequency broadcast, it is also received by land stations, and commercial sites like "marinetraffic" and "vesselfinder" will "enroll" shore stations, for a fee, to provide them with traffic information. This is the source of most cruise fans ability to track their cruise ships. These sites will advertise an "upgrade" to satellite AIS, but government agencies limit the feed from the satellites to one position every 24 hours, while the government gets full, real time input.

[Cruzin-K]

I was on this cruise. I can confirm what was just said. He sat on the railing on deck 12. In his drunken state, he fell over backwards. He was 43 years old and he was from Canada.

 

This was a dramatic (and traumatic) end to a very odd cruise. It started with a very late departure and with some very irate passengers being kicked off the ship. Divers were doing some routine work under the ship and some people went way over the top with their complaints. That sorta set the tone for the entire cruise and for this to happen Sunday night was a darn shame.

Wow! How simply awful. I have no idea what would possess someone to sit on a railing, but then again, I don't drink that much :(

[geocruiser]

AIS is the Automated Identification System, which is mandated for all vessels over 400gt (I think that's the cut off). This is a system that transmits the ship's name, position, speed, course, and a few other data points on a VHF frequency. It's primary use is to allow ships to identify the ships around them, as a security measure (so you know if Iranian gunboats are coming at you or just the pilot boat). It has two methods: the VHF, which is basically line of sight, and satellite, which can track any ship anywhere in the world. Satellite AIS is predominately a government function, for search and rescue and maritime security.Modern integrated radars on ships today have the ability to ping any radar target for AIS data, and present it on the radar screen, much like air traffic control does.

 

Since AIS is an open frequency broadcast, it is also received by land stations, and commercial sites like "marinetraffic" and "vesselfinder" will "enroll" shore stations, for a fee, to provide them with traffic information. This is the source of most cruise fans ability to track their cruise ships. These sites will advertise an "upgrade" to satellite AIS, but government agencies limit the feed from the satellites to one position every 24 hours, while the government gets full, real time input.

 

Thank you. It is very interesting info.

[hellsop]

3:eek:

 

I am not an expert, but I am wondering if it would have been easier to have everyone go to muster stations and do a sweep of the ship, if they needed to do a roll call? Check cabins and public areas clear.

 

Cabins are a far more comfortable place to wait than muster stations. If they're checking cabins clear *anyway*, why not have people wait there instead of standing in a muster crowd? The reason people muster out there on deck is because they might have to pile into lifeboats that are out there on deck.

[Trickie Dickie]

Canadian? What are they doing down there???? :confused:

 

Doing our part in keeping world peace. :D

[bilyclub]

I remember this picture. I'm not condoning this idiot's behavior, but this isn't as bad as it looks. This is Radiance Class and below his feet is the metal deck that extends out over the life boats. This guy actually isn't in any danger.

 

The same deck that the Mr. Smith landed on.

[1SGCruiser]

I think your timing is just "off". It seems a bit insensitive to be hashing out what you think would be a better protocol on an active MOB thread. The quibbling back and forth with what you think is right isn't appropriate right now (and comes across as annoying due to the circumstances. Sorry), that's all.

 

I agree it was a matter of timing and continued rehashing. Although I'm sure this was not the case, It ended up sounding both inappropriate and very questioning - i.e., why did they do it like that. Continuously.

[ksuljem]

As someone who was on the ship I was very happy to wait in my room as opposed to standing elbow to elbow at my muster station. We were in our rooms for about an hour and a half. Although I say this as a person with a balcony. If was in an inside cabin I might of liked the muster station better.

[UVACAV]

I was on this cruise as well. Kudos to the Captain and ship's crew for the way they handled it. The ship was already turning around by 10:00 and then lifeboats were in the water shortly thereafter. Rumors spread quickly about the age of the MOB, but it was always consistently male. I heard 16, 20 and over 40 at various times.

 

After we were asked to go to our cabins, which seemed like the right call, the PA system periodically asked for certain passengers to return to their cabins. I heard a number of names several times. One name I recall was Frank ____.

 

Coincidentally, there were a number of passengers I talked to that heard a woman screaming "Frank" from her balcony with phrases like "why would you do this?"

 

Honestly, I have no idea if any of that is actually true as it was all hearsay.

 

We were ultimately released from our cabins after about 90 minutes and things went on as usual, although with a more somber mood. The ship did not start on its way again until about 1:00 -1:30 am as I recall.

 

The sea was as calm as I have ever seen it, but falling from the 12th deck either with intent or in an inebriated state likely meant a recovery effort was underway.

 

Worse, after we were released, we all were watching the search ships from various decks and saw sharks near the boat. Maybe that was typical, but I don't know if that presented any problems or not.

 

Very sad all around.

[reallyitsmema]

As someone who was on the ship I was very happy to wait in my room as opposed to standing elbow to elbow at my muster station. We were in our rooms for about an hour and a half. Although I say this as a person with a balcony. If was in an inside cabin I might of liked the muster station better.

 

Interesting, was reading on your rollcall thread and one person is claiming you were on lockdown for 4 hours. They are also seeking compensation for aggravation, lost time and stress that was put on their children because of the delayed departure and the MOB.

[ksuljem]

I unfortunately was a few rooms down from his room. The woman when she heard ran onto the balcony screaming his name. She was sleeping at the time and woke up to guards at her door. Very sad all around. There was a guard posted outside his room for the rest of the cruise. Luckily for the woman she was on the cruise with friends so she had people there for support. From what I saw they were in her rooms within seconds of her finding out.

[UVACAV]

We were not on lockdown for 4 hours. The delayed departure was annoying, but really only resulted in the casino and shops not being open. The ship could not control the MOB and did what any family member would have wanted them to do if it was your relative OB.

 

Some people will complain about anything and seek a quick buck wherever they can. If Royal Caribbean wanted to do something for us passengers, I would be fine, but I am certainly not going to seek it out.

[reallyitsmema]

We were not on lockdown for 4 hours. The delayed departure was annoying, but really only resulted in the casino and shops not being open. The ship could not control the MOB and did what any family member would have wanted them to do if it was your relative OB.

 

Some people will complain about anything and seek a quick buck wherever they can. If Royal Caribbean wanted to do something for us passengers, I would be fine, but I am certainly not going to seek it out.

 

I think the ship handled the situation exactly as they should have and figured that other poster was exaggerating. Too bad that poster can not show a little compassion towards the family of the person overboard.

[Susie51]

I was on this cruise as well. Kudos to the Captain and ship's crew for the way they handled it. The ship was already turning around by 10:00 and then lifeboats were in the water shortly thereafter. Rumors spread quickly about the age of the MOB, but it was always consistently male. I heard 16, 20 and over 40 at various times.

 

After we were asked to go to our cabins, which seemed like the right call, the PA system periodically asked for certain passengers to return to their cabins. I heard a number of names several times. One name I recall was Frank ____.

 

Coincidentally, there were a number of passengers I talked to that heard a woman screaming "Frank" from her balcony with phrases like "why would you do this?"

 

Honestly, I have no idea if any of that is actually true as it was all hearsay.

 

We were ultimately released from our cabins after about 90 minutes and things went on as usual, although with a more somber mood. The ship did not start on its way again until about 1:00 -1:30 am as I recall.

 

The sea was as calm as I have ever seen it, but falling from the 12th deck either with intent or in an inebriated state likely meant a recovery effort was underway.

 

Worse, after we were released, we all were watching the search ships from various decks and saw sharks near the boat. Maybe that was typical, but I don't know if that presented any problems or not.

 

Very sad all around.

Thank you for sharing. I feel so sorry for the family.

[geocruiser]

I don't see the search vessel on Vessel Finder any more. Did they stop or turn off the AIS?

Edited March 24, 2015 by geocruiser

[chengkp75]

I don't see the search vessel on Ship finder any more. Did they stop or turn off the AIS?

 

As I said, AIS depends on line of sight from the ship to a shore station, not just to any land. That equates to no more than 30-40nm, depending on the antenna height of the shore station and the antenna height of the ship. Many ships go "out of range" during normal voyages, which is why the site will try to get you to buy the satellite package. If you go on marinetraffic (I frankly haven't used ship finder), and switch to "vessels", and then "all vessels" not just "in range" it will show the last received position along with the time it was received. Given that particular cutter's mission though, they have probably switched off their AIS as they are no longer performing SAR.

[hellsop]

AIS is the Automated Identification System, which is mandated for all vessels over 400gt (I think that's the cut off). This is a system that transmits the ship's name, position, speed, course, and a few other data points on a VHF frequency.

 

Aside: my understanding is that the requirements changed recently, and requirements for commercial vessels considerably lowered. AIS required for pretty much everything over 65ft long or carries 150+ passengers, but Class B is okay for vessels fishing, dredging, or passenger-carrying but less than 65 ft long and not moving faster than 14 knots.

[chengkp75]

Aside: my understanding is that the requirements changed recently, and requirements for commercial vessels considerably lowered. AIS required for pretty much everything over 65ft long or carries 150+ passengers, but Class B is okay for vessels fishing, dredging, or passenger-carrying but less than 65 ft long and not moving faster than 14 knots.

 

IMO regulation states (and I was slightly off):

 

The regulation requires AIS to be fitted aboard all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards engaged on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not engaged on international voyages and all passenger ships irrespective of size. The requirement became effective for all ships by 31 December 2004.

 

What you are quoting is the USCG regulation for US flag vessels. IMO allows flag states to make more restrictive requirements for vessels flagged to their nations. These also apply to foreign flag vessels within US waters.

[TADCruise]

I was on this cruise as well. Kudos to the Captain and ship's crew for the way they handled it. The ship was already turning around by 10:00 and then lifeboats were in the water shortly thereafter. Rumors spread quickly about the age of the MOB, but it was always consistently male. I heard 16, 20 and over 40 at various times.

 

 

 

After we were asked to go to our cabins, which seemed like the right call, the PA system periodically asked for certain passengers to return to their cabins. I heard a number of names several times. One name I recall was Frank ____.

 

 

 

Coincidentally, there were a number of passengers I talked to that heard a woman screaming "Frank" from her balcony with phrases like "why would you do this?"

 

 

 

Honestly, I have no idea if any of that is actually true as it was all hearsay.

 

 

 

We were ultimately released from our cabins after about 90 minutes and things went on as usual, although with a more somber mood. The ship did not start on its way again until about 1:00 -1:30 am as I recall.

 

 

 

The sea was as calm as I have ever seen it, but falling from the 12th deck either with intent or in an inebriated state likely meant a recovery effort was underway.

 

 

 

Worse, after we were released, we all were watching the search ships from various decks and saw sharks near the boat. Maybe that was typical, but I don't know if that presented any problems or not.

 

 

 

Very sad all around.

 

 

There have been a lot of comments about the passengers being requested to return to their cabins vs reporting to their muster stations. If the crew had to deploy the lifeboats to assist in the search that is another reason why the passengers were asked to report the their cabins. The muster stations are on the same deck as the lifeboats and having passengers gathering there could have hampered the crews ability to get the lifeboats in the water.

[mystrymaster]

Another cruiser who was on the boat.

 

We came out from the main dining area and started to return to our cabin to get changed and going up the stairs I felt a rock of the boat, as we continued up the stairs I didn't feel the normal rock the other way to either straight or the other direction. When we got onto the 8th floor (our floor) we started to walk starboard and noticed we were walking what felt like up hill. So I stopped so I could see if we would rock back and again nothing. The ship was definitely listing. We ran into another woman in the hall who felt it as well. I suggest maybe we were turning around the keys.

 

Then the bing bing bing of the announcement bell with a very "non happy" but not in an angry way captain came on with the words you never want to hear. "THIS IS NOT A DRILL" Oscar Oscar Oscar (we had no idea what this meant at the time) Attention crew Oscar Oscar Oscar. Then silence for what felt like an eternity but the mic was still open.

The captain finally continued. "Ladies and Gentlemen we have reports of a Man overboard and I have already completed the turn around of the ship and we are going back to the GPS location and will start the search" It was also at that moment we felt the ship right itself.

 

We had arranged to meet some friends down on deck 4 and quickly went there to see if they were okay. As we turned around we quickly pinned ourselves against the wall as two crew members in full MDR gear came sprinting down the hall way towards the aft of the boat. We met up with our friends and proceeded up to deck 12 all along the way hearing panicked conversations of family members wondering where X person or Y person was.

 

We get up to deck 12 in maybe 2 minutes and see 1 search boat already in the water, within maybe 10 minutes max there were 3 search boats out looking. It was at that point we were asked to go back to our cabins. Everyone calmly (shockingly so) returned to their cabins and waited.

 

We were there for about 15 minutes when security knocked on our day and simply stated "No Balcony" and told us "stay in your cabin", we had an Inside stateroom but it was on the outside of the boat. about 5 minutes later our cabin steward knocked on our door and asked to see both of us, checked us off his list and went on his way.

 

The entire time we were in our cabins there were many announcements made by the captain updating what was going on and advising us that now other ships had arrived to assist with the search. Within 90 or so minutes we were released from our cabins and the rest of the ship quickly returned to normal cruise activities.

 

This was my first experience on a cruise ship in an "emergency" situation by the crew and I have to say they handled it fantastic. I was very impressed with how quickly every member of the crew stepped into emergency mode without being panicked in the least. After going through this I feel much better about the emergency preparedness of the crew. Being told to go to our cabins was IMO, the 100% perfect thing to do for speed and efficiency of figuring out who it was.

 

I feel for the family of the victim.

 

 

 

*** none of the quotes are exact, but are their more to show dialog over thoughts

Edited March 24, 2015 by mystrymaster

[Ocean View]

Wow I felt your thoughts and it brought tears to my eyes I got a chill. I am sorry for your experience but thank you for your account of events. This is something we never think about when we set sail on a cruise. As I posted before my heart felt sorrow for his family and friends.

[majarosh]

Mystrymaster

Just as I recall as well. We were in the casino. I was standing next to a security person and heard on his walkie talkie the OSCAR OSCAR OSCAR man overboard this is not a drill. He immediately started running. We were in port side deck 7 7638 balcony. Watched as you did the goings on. When we were " released " from our cabin we went to deck 4 to partake of my dirty smoking habit, where I came to find out the the sliding doors were not opening. NOW I understand why. There were "recovery" boats aka life boats also involved in the water...no wonder the open air lower decks were closed as 3 and 4 have life boats. We then took the elevator up to 11. Eerie feeling for sure.