Man Overboard? False Alarm on the Grand

[ilovhywd]

We had an interesting afternoon on November 14 while at sea in the Atlantic Ocean with calm seas and magnificent weather.

 

Approx. 2:15 p.m., a "Man Overboard" announcement was made over the public address system. You never saw so many people move so fast to run to windows, balconies, and railings The Promenade Deck was immediately cleared of all passengers and closed to everyone except crew members who were posted every six feet or so around that deck.

 

We first noticed that two flares were thrown into the ocean to mark the spot; however, it took the ship almost a half hour to stop, turn around, and go back to the area. All that was found was an empty orange life raft!

 

The ship then turned off all motors and air conditioners so that there would be no mechanical noises. The crew on the Promenade Deck listened for calls for help. The ship spent about three hours at the spot.

 

At approx. 4:00 p.m., they decided to have a roll call. Everyone had to return to their cabins, and each cabin steward had to physically check each cabin to make sure all passengers were accounted for. In addition, each crew member had to call his or her department head to report in. Around 4:30, they determined that all passengers and crew members were accounted for, and we continued on our way with a sigh of relief. Apparently, the falling object that 5 people observed was a life raft from the upper decks that was improperly secured to the wall. It became loose, blew off, and inflated when it hit the water.

 

Everyone we spoke to was impressed with the way the situation was handled by the captain. Announcements were made regularly to inform passengers of the situation. However, many of us had some questions. We personally didn't have an opportunity to find out the answers, so I am going to post them now as "food for thought!"

 

(1) When the ship slowed down, why didn't they immediately lower a small boat (tender) which could have returned to the spot much more rapidlly than the ship was able to?

 

(2) Why did they wait two hours to do the roll call?

 

Were any of our fellow passengers able to find out the answers to these questions??

[chrysalis]

I would suspect that lowering a lifeboat into the water while the ship is still moving is a very dangerous situation...especially at cruising speed.

[bhopal21]

However, many of us had some questions. We personally didn't have an opportunity to find out the answers, so I am going to post them now as "food for thought!"

 

(1) When the ship slowed down, why didn't they immediately lower a small boat (tender) which could have returned to the spot much more rapidlly than the ship was able to?

 

(2) Why did they wait two hours to do the roll call?

 

Were any of our fellow passengers able to find out the answers to these questions??

 

I would think that the crew would be in a far better position to answer these questions than anyone posting on cruise critic. I am sure that there are very good reasons and policy for the actions that the captain and crew took.

 

Mike

[ilovhywd]

I guess I wasn't clear.

 

I meant that when the ship stopped, before it turned around, there was an opportunity to lower a small, faster boat. If a person survived a fall, they could only tread water for just so long, so every minute would count.

 

Mike, I was asking if any of my fellow passengers had the opportunity to pose these questions to a crew member. Certainly, none of us know the answers!

[TCF]

Here are the likely answers.

1. On the open ocean the waves/swells when you are 100 feet above the water looking down may not look to be that big....they are! A calm sea...at least on the Pacific...is 8 - 10 ft swells. A "small" tender craft...that looks very large when you stand next to it on the deck...is in fact very small in 8-10- waves/swells and cannot move fast safely in waves/swells that high.

2. Every crew person is trained to do a specific job in an emergency. There are a limited number of crew on each ship and they are better used trying to spot a body floating up and down in 8 - 10 waves/swells as soon after the "man overboard" call than counting passengers. If they cannot find anything after searching....then they have time to count heads.

Sounds to me from this report that the Captain and crew did a perfect job!

Tom:)

[dforeigner]

I would think that the crew would be in a far better position to answer these questions than anyone posting on cruise critic.

Mike

 

Actually, there are crew members that do read and post here. For the record, I am not one of them.

[Shogun]

Hi there,

 

Sounds like another case of a Princess captain and crew doing everything right.

 

Never been on a ship with a man over board call, have been with accidents, falls , fire calls etc etc.

 

Ever time Princess has done everything right by the book as quick as possible, they may be quicker ways of doing things, but by the book means there are no more accidents to deal with and nothing gets over looked.

 

In any accident rushing in may be the brave thing to do but it can also be the foolish thing to do.

 

yours Shogun

[BigTimeCruiser]

We are currently onboard and observed much of this event. Talked to one of the ship's officers who reported that a maintenance worker had knocked one of the 35 passenger inflatable life rafts into the water by accident. This is the type that are contained in the white containers along Deck 7. Anyway, someone noticed the life raft either fall into the water or in the water and notified the crew of something overboard. The seas were extremely calm, so the ship did not have to contend with swells or high waves. I can only suspect that the Captain did not launch the high speed boat because the maintenance worker had already reported his mistake to the bridge. So, the Captain in my opinion, did an EXCELLENT job by conducting a crew and passenger headcount and following all of their standard procedures to ensure that everyone was accounted for and safe!!!! My compliments to Captain Nicolo Bomararco and his Officers and crew.

[Casshew]

Taking the time to do a roll call when someone is in the water, in distress is a huge mistake. They needed to do all they could to find the missing person, when they exhausted every option - then they do the roll call.

 

Sounds like the captain and crew were excellent.

[spongerob]

I guess I wasn't clear.

 

I meant that when the ship stopped, before it turned around, there was an opportunity to lower a small, faster boat. If a person survived a fall, they could only tread water for just so long, so every minute would count.

 

It takes quite a bit of time to launch a boat. My guess is that it would take 10 to 20 minutes to launch the small boat, in which time the ship would have to be stopped. By that time, the ship might be able to return to the search area. It's possible that the way things are done are the best practices, which years of real experience have shown to be the best.

[willysgrandma]

The same thing happened on the Crown on I believe the Aug. 16 cruise. If I remember correctly, some teens called in the man overboard as a joke and when they found out who they were, they were escorted off the ship with their families at the next port.

[jajohnson]

There is a formal, Coast Guard approved, search and rescue process whenever a man overboard occurs. This includes specific maneuvering tactics which will assure that the ship returns to where the man overboard occurs. These are time proven techniques. While the OP suggestions may appear to be logical, I would want the ship to do what works if I were to ever fall overboard. Secoind guessing helps no one.

[smeyer418]

There is a formal, Coast Guard approved, search and rescue process whenever a man overboard occurs. This includes specific maneuvering tactics which will assure that the ship returns to where the man overboard occurs. These are time proven techniques. While the OP suggestions may appear to be logical, I would want the ship to do what works if I were to ever fall overboard. Second guessing helps no one.

 

and putting a small boat into the water is both dangerous and fruitless. The people looking from a higher deck have a much better chance of seeing something. A person on a small boat has almost no chance unless they run right over the person....The Coast Guard in searches relies mostly on airplanes and helicopters for individuals in the water and then vectors a boat from the aircraft when they find them.

 

BTW the inflatable life rafts are for the crew...the hard boats are for the passengers, although there are extra inflatables if the hard boats can't be used for some reason.

 

Sounds to me like someone slept at a holiday inn express last night.

[DougH]

I was on the RCL Legend of the Seas a couple of years ago in Alaska when we had a "Man Overboard" alarm. We were sailing slowly out of Misty Fjords and I was the only person out on the aft decks. Just as I stepped back inside the call "Oscar, Oscar port side" went out over the PA and I immediately stepped back outside. Within a minute or two lots of crew and passengers were outside looking to see what was going on and checking the water. I was amazed at how fast a small boat was dropped in the water and headed back the way we had come, can't have been 5 minutes. We stayed stopped for appox 20-30 minutes until the boat returned, the Captain made an announcement and we started sailing again.

 

Turns out somebody was out on deck and yelling "hello, hello" to hear the echo off the canyon walls. Someone else on deck heard the yelling and thought it was "help, help". Very nice of the first person to admit to doing something stupid, and very quickly letting the crew know what had caused the incident. Overall I was very impressed with how quickly the RCL crew responded to the call.

[JLC@SD]

What do the "Anderson turn", "Williamson turn" and "Scharnow turn" all have in common......all are methods of turning the ship to respond to "man overboard".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamson_turn

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_turn

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scharnow_turn

[merela]

Both my dad and my uncle were on the ship. I would have been worried until I get an email from my dad.

 

Glad no one was overboard.

[KAYEF]

BigTimeCruiser

Okay. I just HAVE to ask.:confused: We disembarked yesterday after that FANTASTIC transatlantic cruise on the GRAND.

They announced there would be six hundred kids aboard your cruise in the Caribbean; is it really crowded?

We had such a calm cruise with so few passengers, it seems to us it would be crowded with long lines now. Hope it's not...........

and hope your weather is glorious.

[BigTimeCruiser]

BigTimeCruiser

Okay. I just HAVE to ask.:confused: We disembarked yesterday after that FANTASTIC transatlantic cruise on the GRAND.

They announced there would be six hundred kids aboard your cruise in the Caribbean; is it really crowded?

We had such a calm cruise with so few passengers, it seems to us it would be crowded with long lines now. Hope it's not...........

and hope your weather is glorious.

 

Yes....the Dining Rooms have lots of kids now and the noise level is much higher!! We noticed that the wait for elevators has increased dramatically even though many people are using the stairways. Today is a sea day and you would usually expect longer lines. At 6:30pm Anytime Dining was full and people were waiting with pagers---something we didn't see on the TransAtlantic. The next four days are port days, so the ship should be empty because many of the tours are sold out.

Curt :)