Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship ‘Empress of the Seas’ rescued two Costa Rican fishermen who were adrift for a total of 20 days between Jamaica and Cuba.
The two men, who left Porto Limon, Costa Rica to go fishing on 1st December, had set their nets to soak (a usually hours-long process) and went to sleep. When they woke up, the winds had blown their vessel away from where they had left their gear, according to data provided by Royal Caribbean Chief Meteorologist, James Van Flee. Trying to get back, they ran out of gas and were adrift for 20 days.
Crew members operating the radar system for the Empress of the Seas had noticed an anomaly that turned out to be the small fishing boat. The crew lowered one of its lifeboats to rescue the fishermen.
When they were found by the Empress of the Seas, one of the two men could not even walk and was carried onboard. The two men told the crew that they had food and water only for seven days.
By the time they got to Jamaica, the fisherman was able to walk again on his own. The crew who worked to help save them took up a collection of cash, some USD 300 for them to buy clothes and food as they left the hospital,
…James Van Flee informed.
Miraculously, the cruise ship’s scheduled route for that time was Cienfuegos, Cuba, but she could not operate tenders in heavy storms and the Captain opted to a port with a pier.
