A passenger incident onboard Norwegian Jewel led to an emergency search and rescue operation in the Atlantic Ocean during the ship’s 12-day sailing from Barcelona to Miami. The cruise departed Spain on 15 October 2025 and was mid-crossing when the alarm was raised.
Emergency Signal in the Night
Guests were woken at around 2:00 AM on 21 October by an announcement over the ship’s speakers: “Code Oscar, starboard.” This phrase is used throughout the cruise industry to signal a man overboard situation, alerting crew without causing immediate panic among passengers.
A British traveller later confirmed that the captain addressed guests directly, explaining that someone had gone overboard and that the vessel was immediately switching into full search and rescue mode. With the ship in darkness and the incident happening in the middle of the night, conditions made the initial stages of the search especially challenging.
Search Effort in the Open Atlantic
At the time of the incident, Norwegian Jewel was far out in the North East Atlantic, having left Ponta Delgada in the Azores on 20 October. Due to the ship’s remote position in international waters, the crew initially led the search, circling the area for several hours in hopes of locating the missing person.
Passengers were asked to remain calm and stay indoors while the ship manoeuvred at low speed to retrace its path and scan the ocean.
Search Later Suspended
Tracking data shows that after more than 10 hours of searching, the ship eventually resumed its normal cruising speed, suggesting that the operation had been suspended or handed over to coordinating authorities.
Norwegian Jewel is still expected to arrive in Miami on 27 October 2025, as originally scheduled.
Awaiting Official Statement
As of now, Norwegian Cruise Line has not released a public statement regarding the incident. Cruise lines typically wait until official procedures are complete — and family members have been notified — before releasing details.
