Another person has gone overboard from a cruise ship, with the search for the male passenger in their 80s called off after it appeared that he had intentionally jumped from the ship.
The man was went overboard from Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess on Saturday afternoon as the boat left Port Kelang in Indonesia. It had left Fremantle in Western Australia six days previously, and was half-way through a 12-day trip. The ship turned around to search for the passenger, with the crew combing the waters about 100 nautical miles east of Singapore until darkness fell, but the search was later called off.
In a statement, Princess Cruises, which is operated by Carnival Australia said that it appeared the man had intentionally gone overboard. Princess Cruises said its “thoughts and prayers were with the man’s family and friends in this very tragic circumstance”.
The Sun Princess, which can accommodate almost 3,000 passengers over 18 decks, was first launched in 1995 and refurbished in April 2016.
The incident comes just over a month after Brisbane 47-year-old Natasha Schofield jumped from a P&O ship called Pacific Dawn as it cruised near New Caledonia. Carnival Australia also operates P&O.
Schofield had been on a holiday with her husband and three children and was with her husband when she jumped from the deck of the Pacific Dawn. It was originally thought the woman may have been leaning over the raising on the side of the ship when she lost her footing, but her actions were caught on security camera, which police said left no doubt as to her intentions.
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