According to NBC News, Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas is the latest ship to experience a “man overboard” event. From the article,
“Rescuers were searching early Monday for a cruise-ship passenger who fell (emphasis mine) overboard near the Florida Keys, according to the Coast Guard.”
First, my heart goes out to this individual’s family and friends. Second, you don’t “fall” off a cruise ship. You either jump or you get drunk and start doing stupid things like sitting on or hanging too far over the railing, one wrong slip, and….. if you have the good fortune to actually survive the fall, you’re going for a swim. Getting drunk might play a role in the only other possibility I can think of – getting pushed overboard.
No matter where the fault lies in why someone goes overboard, man overboard detection systems are on the market. While I’m admittedly uninformed of their utility, I have to wonder if it isn’t time for the industry to step up investment in them? Obviously, one life saved should make them worth the price, before you even get to public relations value. (Image courtesy of Shutterstock)
-MJ, March 23, 2015
