Stop The Holiday Trip, Mardi Gras Cruise Ship Saves 16 Boat Passengers Floating At Sea

Illustration of the Mardi Gras cruise ship, Carnival Cruise Line. (Wikimedia Commons/kees torn)

JAKARTA - Even though it was on a vacation trip with passengers, this cruise ship temporarily stopped its activities to save several people who were adrift on the high seas.

International shipping company Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement that the Mardi Gras cruise ship, which is part of its fleet, saved 16 people from the ocean.

While sailing in open water not too far from Cuba Friday morning last week, the crew of the cruise ship Mardi Gras saw what was supposed to be a gruesome sight, a small ship in rough seas crashing,

The crew spotted the wrecked ship just before 8 a.m., Carnival Cruise Line said in a news blog. Mardi Gras stops his vacation trip to help, rescuing 16 stranded people.

The ship that crashed was about 60 miles northwest of Key West, Florida, according to Matt Lupoli, Carnival's senior manager for public relations.

"All the passengers were adults; 11 men and five women", Lupoli told CNN Travel, as quoted on June 4.

All of them have Cuban national identities. The sixteen people received nurses from the medical staff aboard Mardi Gras and were provided with adequate clothing and food.

Previously, the cruise ship Mardi Gras was on a seven-day cruise in the Caribbean. The ship returned last Saturday to Port Canaveral, Florida, as scheduled after a day at sea, Lupoli said.

On its way, the ship made several Western Caribbean stops, including Cozumel and Costa Maya, Mexico, and the Island of Roatan, Honduras.

It is known that the cruise ship Mardi Gras was launched in July 2021. Its normal passenger capacity reaches 5,282 people, with a total of 1,745 officers and crew, according to Lupoli.

It is not uncommon for cruise ships to help with the maritime rescue. Lupoli added that crew members were always scanning the waters and as the Mardi Gras captain pointed out to guests on board, it was a maritime custom to help anyone who was having trouble at sea.

In 2020, the Carnival Elation rescued 24 people from a ship that sank off the coast of Florida, when it had a very small crew and no passengers during the early months of the pandemic.