Search Underway for Passenger Overboard Royal Caribbean Ship

Authorities have launched a search for a passenger overboard from Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship. At the time, the Quantum-ultra class vessel was en route to Singapore.

Guest Overboard Spectrum of the Seas Cruise Ship

A search is underway for a passenger who apparently “fell” overboard the Spectrum of the Seas cruise ship, which Miami-based Royal Caribbean operates.

The cruise line launched a search for the missing guest, and according to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), authorities were notified at 7:50 AM on July 31, 2023.

According to The Straits Times, the missing guest is a 64-year-old female who can’t swim, and the woman’s family first raised the alarm to the ship’s crew.

The guest was overboard while the Quantum-ultra class vessel was in the Singapore Strait while heading back to its homeport in Singapore.

The ship was ending a four-night voyage that included visits to Klang and Penang in Malaysia. The cruise first commenced out of Singapore on July 27.

MRCC said in a statement: “At about 7:50 am on 31 July 2023, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore operated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), was notified that a passenger onboard a Cyprus-flagged passenger vessel, Spectrum of the Seas, had fallen overboard in the Singapore Strait while enroute into Singapore.“

A search effort is underway to find the passenger, including authorities issuing a safety broadcast to other vessels in the area to keep a lookout for a missing person and report any sighting to the MRCC. Royal Caribbean has also confirmed that a care team is supporting the missing guest’s family.

Ship Already on Next Voyage

At this time, the Spectrum of the Seas has already returned to Singapore and departed on Monday afternoon on the following 12-night voyage, including calls in Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and Japan, before ending in Yokohama on August 12, 2023.

The cruise ship operates a mixture of 5-, 7-, 9- and 12-night itineraries in Asia for a first year-round season out of Singapore. Spectrum of the Seas will shift to begin sailings out of Shanghai, China, in April 2024. The vessel has a gross tonnage of 169,379 and a guest capacity of 4,246 at double occupancy.

Second Overboard in Recent Days

This is now the second overboard from a cruise ship in over a week. On July 25, a search was suspended for a 30-year-old male overboard passenger from Carnival Elation, operated by Carnival Cruise Line.

The incident happed approximately 95 miles east of Melbourne in Florida, and the US Coast Guard covered more than 1,300 square miles before calling off the search.

For Royal Caribbean, the last overboard was from Mariner of the Seas on June 25, 2023, when a female guest accidentally went over the ship after sitting on the railings to take a photo. Thankfully, in this case, she was rescued by the ship’s crew.