Passengers sailing on a 7-day Greek Island cruise aboard Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ship Odyssey of the Seas witnessed a rescue at sea overnight. Videos are being posted online with the Hellenic Coast Guard confirming that 77 migrants were taken aboard the cruise ship and were transported to a Greek port. Greece and Turkey have ongoing confrontations over the tide of migrants with each country accusing the other of failing to properly manage the situation.
The Hellenic Coast Guard reported that an unnamed Maltese-flagged cargo ship saw a large sailboat that it believed was in distress late on Monday, August 5, and reported the situation. The sailboat appeared to be overloaded and was not making headway. It was in a position 112 nautical miles southwest of Pylos in southwestern Greece on the Ionian Sea.
The Royal Caribbean International vessel Odyssey of the Seas, introduced in 2021 is 167,700 gross tons with a double occupancy capacity of 4,198 passengers. The ship, which is 1,138 feet in length (347 meters) had departed the Italian port of Civitavecchia and was sailing to the Greek island of Santorini.
The Hellenic Coast Guard requested the assistance of the cruise ship to change course to proceed to the sailboat. Passengers said they were given little information with various rumors circulating on the cruise ship when it reached the scene early Tuesday morning.
The cruise ship initially sent one of its tenders and later also deployed a smaller launch. Video posted by the passengers shows the tender towing the sailboat toward the cruise ship and either the line was released or parted.
The Odyssey of the Seas took aboard 77 people whom the captain informed the cruise passengers this morning were stranded migrants. The Hellenic Coast Guard reports they were being transported to the southern Greek port town of Kalamata.
The cruise ship was forced to cancel its scheduled port call at Santorini and is now proceeding to Kusadasi, Turkey to resume its schedule on Wednesday.
