Other Ships Cruise ship passenger missing after going overboard on trip to Hawaii

[Jason D. Tiller]

A passenger on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship is missing after they went overboard Tuesday evening during a trip from Brisbane, Australia to Honolulu, Hawaii.

In a statement, the U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report of a man overboard from the Quantum of the Seas cruise ship just after 11:00 p.m. Hawaii-Aleutian standard time on Tuesday night. The unnamed Australian passenger reportedly disappeared some 800 kilometres south of Kailua Kona, Big Island.

Cruise ship passenger missing after going overboard on trip to Hawaii

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Terrible tragedy. The man has been identified as Warwick Tollemache of Brisbane, aged 35.

The reports that I have read thus far are somewhat ambiguous and do not mention if it looked like an accident or self-induced. It is supposed to have happened at around 11pm ship's time and so it would have been dark. But there is a comment that the crew immediately started search and rescue procedures, suggesting that there were witnesses.

This is an excerpt from The Mail Online:

April 25, 11pm (local time): An Australian man falls overboard from the cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean, 1400km south of the Hawaii. The ship comes to an abrupt halt as a desperate late night search is launch

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

So tragic. Thanks for the additional information, including the man's name. I feel for the family as they are the ones who are suffering, not knowing exactly what happened to their relative once he went overboard. Depending on where specifically the incident occurred (the media is only saying off the coast of Hawaii), I think it is highly probable that he either drowned or soon became a late night snack for a Great White shark, or both.

The search has been suspended:

Search suspended for cruise ship passenger who fell overboard off Hawaii

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Quantum of the Seas reported a person overboard Tuesday night.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Arun Vajpey]

I feel for the family as they are the ones who are suffering, not knowing exactly what happened to their relative once he went overboard

Apparently, his girlfriend was supposed to travel with him on the same cruise but had to back out in the last minute due to work commitments. I understand that Warwick's mother went on the same ticket instead but was not with him when he fell.

Looks like there were witnesses to the incident. Although it is still not yet clear as to how or why Warwick Tollemache fell, witnesses reported that he they saw him hit a tender as he fell and then into the water. Therefore, he might have been knocked out and drowned.

 

[Doug Criner]

The ship is reported to have come to an abrupt stop after the man's fall. So, the ship must have been underway, right? It is said that the man struck a "tender" while falling. Why would there have been a tender alongside? Maybe they meant "fender"? But then why would a fender have been deployed? Or maybe the "tender" was a lifeboat stowed on the boat deck?

 

[Arun Vajpey]

Well, it is difficult to determine exactly what happened. The following is the excerpt on the web:

While it is still unknown how Mr Tollemache fell, passenger Ken Carcas told Sky News Australia that, according to multiple passengers, “two crew saw him go overboard". "A lady heard a scream, went out onto the balcony and saw him drop past, hit the tender below and fall into the water," he said on Thursday.

 

[Oliver K]

Most tragic, overboards shouldn't really be happening in 2023 so something must have gone terribly wrong if suicide hasn't been ruled out

 

[Arun Vajpey]

It is said that the man struck a "tender" while falling. Why would there have been a tender alongside?

It is still possible that it was a freak accident. With so many witnesses around, I think we can rule out foul play. Someone trying to commit suicide by jumping overboard usually does not scream, but I suppose there can be exceptions.

It is only my theory, but the balcony at which he was standing could have been set back a little from the deck below where the tender or lifeboat or whatever it was - was stowed. If he lost his balance and fell, hit his head on the "tender" and was KOed before he fell to the water, he would have drowned before anyone could do anything.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Here's a news report I just found, which features video footage from the ship after the man went overboard. A couple of passengers were interviewed as well:

 

[Bill West]

On cruise ships nowadays a portion of the boats are built solely as a lifeboat and a portion are built as a combination lifeboat/tender. The latter is what the passengers would be more familiar with and those of them who know the difference would use the 2 terms to distinguish them. Many of the cruise ports are not big enough for large ships and the ship's tenders are the way the passengers get ashore to enjoy the sights. These tenders are very substantial, closed in, good windows, raised cockpit for the coxswain. I've read the notices in some of them about the lifeboat use. Wheelchair ramps and anchors to be discarded, seating benches to be flipped someway, all to increase the capacity to that allowed by the emergency context of the lifeboat rules while still having a boat suitable as a nice tender.

Bill