One other rescue at sea occurred through the vacation season, when the crew aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Girl plucked 18 refugees from a makeshift boat within the Caribbean on New Yr’s Eve. It was the fourth cruise ship rescue of migrants within the area inside per week.
Boat Sighted Between Key West, Cuba
The group of 18 Cuban refugees, together with males, ladies, and youngsters, encountered Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Girl between Key West and Cuba on December 31, 2002, whereas the ship was crusing its 6-night New Years’ Ahoy Cruise from Miami. Scarlet Girl had departed Costa Maya and was headed to Bimini.
In keeping with stories, the refugee boat was noticed round 5:30 PM, and a crew member swam to the boat with a rope whereas its inhabitants had been bailing water from the vessel and yelling for assist. The group was taken on board, in accordance with maritime regulation that requires cruise ships to help anybody in misery at sea.
Concerned within the rescue was Scarlet Girl captain Giovanni Schiaffino, who posted a photograph of the rescue on Instagram and wrote: “I’ll always remember this photograph, as a result of on this picture there are concern, hope, charity, desperation, energy, love, fraternity, honor, need, desires, emotion, altruism, solidarity.”
Schiaffino continued, “and in case you listen in that arm outstretched by our crew member, ..you might discover 1094 outstretched arms and outstretched arms from all my superb Scarlet crew members, and I’m certain from all of us at VV. Thanks once more for what all of us did collectively.“
The ship modified course and started heading to Key West. A US Coast Guard vessel arrived at about 9 PM and transferred the refugees onboard. Company watching the switch stated refugees had been given spa robes and Virgin Voyages uniforms to put on.
Scarlet Girl then continued her New Yr cruise with a port name in Bimini earlier than returning to Miami on January 2, 2023. The two,770-guest ship departed on her subsequent cruise as scheduled, a four-night Hearth and Sundown Soiree crusing to Nassau and Bimini within the Bahamas.
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Cruise Ship Rescues No Longer Unusual
It wasn’t the primary time {that a} Virgin cruise ship had encounter Cuban refugees. On September 14, 2022, Scarlet Girl’s crew rescued eight folks discovered on a makeshift raft north of Cuba. Its occupants had been taken onboard, and correct authorities had been alerted.
There have been different end-of-year rescues in the identical space. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Dawn picked up a number of refugees from a small boat off the Cuba coast on December 30, 2022, whereas the ship was headed again to its homeport in Miami.
Three days later, Carnival Celebration rescued 5 refugees on a makeshift raft off the coast of Havana, Cuba. The ship was on her approach again to Miami, too. And on January 2, 2023, Movie star Cruises’ Movie star Past rescued 19 Cuban migrants within the Florida straights because the ship was returning to its homeport in Fort Lauderdale.
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