One Ship Made A Rescue
Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras had just begun her sailing from Port Canaveral to her first port of call in Aruba when the Coast Guard reached out for assistance.
The Coast Guard had received a distress call and request for medical assistance from a private boat. The two individuals on board the vessel were about 20 nautical miles from Castle Island in the Bahamas with Mardi Gras less than nine miles away.
Mardi Gras was in search and rescue mode for nearly two hours before the cruise ship was able to make the rescue by releasing its fast rescue boat and a lifeboat around 1:00 am Monday morning.
Once the individuals were onboard, the gentleman was admitted to the ship’s medical center and was treated for unknown reasons.
After the rescue, Mardi Gras continued on her eight-day roundtrip Caribbean voyage and plans to arrive in Aruba today, August 8, 2023.
One Ship Needed A Rescue
On Friday, August 4, 2023, about 6:00 pm local time, with wind gusts up to 36 mph at the port of Civitavecchia (Rome), Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 was forced away from the pier snapping her bow line. As she drifted away from the pier, both her forward and aft gangways collapsed.
Tugboats were quickly deployed to hold Queen Mary 2 in place while new lines were secured. Once secured, crews were able to retrieve one gangplank and then inspect the ship for safety before she continued on her journey.
Fortunately, despite three other ships being in port, the crew’s quick reaction assured no other vessels were damaged and no injuries were reported.
Queen Mary 2 was in port as part of her 28-day “Mediterranean Highlights” itinerary. She departed New York on July 21, 2023 and is expected to return on August 18, 2023.