Second Carnival cruise ship passenger in a day is overboard

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a passenger who fell from the Carnival Holiday during the night as it sailed in the Gulf of Mexico -- the second such incident on a Carnival ship in less than 24 hours.

The Coast Guard says the 1,452-passenger Holiday notified it just after midnight that a 50-year-old woman had gone overboard. The ship was about 75 miles south-southwest of Pensacola, Fla., when the incident occurred, and the agency says it has dispatched two Coast Guard cutters and several aircraft to take part in the search.

Carnival says in a statement that the search began after a passenger reported hearing a splash.

The incident comes less than 24 hours after a passenger on another Carnival ship, the Carnival Inspiration, fell overboard while reportedly climbing a railing to get a better view as the ship approached Tampa. The 46-year-old man, Larry Miller, was plucked out of the water early Monday by one of Tampa's pilot boats.

Like the Inspiration, the Mobile, Ala.-based Holiday sails short cruises to Mexico. The ship had just left Mobile on Monday on a five-night trip and is not expected back until Saturday.

"Carnival is currently providing support to the family of the missing guest during this difficult time," the line says in its statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with this individual and their family and friends."

There have been an unusually high number of "man overboard" incidents this year on cruise ships that include three other occurrences on Carnival, one on Norwegian Cruise Line and one on P&O Cruises. Only the P&O Cruises passenger was found and rescued.

Comment: Cruise passenger claims are extremely complex and our not governed by the Jones Act. However, it is imperative that the injured person or the family of the deceased passenger hire competent maritime lawyers. The claim can be governed drastically by the language in the ticket and can even involve shortening of time frames within which to make a claim.

Steve Gordon  http://www.offshoreinjuries.com