MSC SEASCAPE

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Search for missing crew member suspended

The US Coast Guard suspended the search for a crew member of the 'MSC Seascape' in the night of Nov 15, who was believed to have fallen overboard in the Atlantic Ocean north of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Still missing was a 30-year-old man of Indian nationality who was reportedly observed going overboard, approximately 80 feet from the bow of the ship from a height of approximately 32 feet above the water. He was reportedly wearing a white shirt and red shorts. Coast Guard watchstanders received initial notification of the incident from the cruise ship on Nov 12 at approximately 8:57 p.m. when it was en route from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. A Coast Guard aircrew deployed a self-locating datum marker buoy which measures sea currents to assist with search planning efforts. Rescue crews located the three life rings in the morning of Nov 15, of which two were recovered, unfortunately search efforts did not yield signs of a survivor. The Coast Guard air and surface assets searched for a total of 34 hours completing 12 searches and covering approximately 887 square nautical miles within the established search area. Coast Guard and interagency air assets involved in the search: - MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Borinquen; - Coast Guard Cutter 'Joseph Napier'; - Coast Guard Cutter 'Joseph Doyle', - U.S. Customs and Border Protection; - Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action; - U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary; - U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol; - MSC Seascape.

Search for crew member who fell over board

US Coast Guard rescue crews wree searching for a crew member of the 'MSC Seascap' on Nov 15, 2023. He was believed to have fallen overboard in the Atlantic Ocean north of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Missing is a 30-year-old man of Indian nationality who was observed going overboard, approximately 80-feet from the bow of the cruise ship from a height of approximately 32-feet above the water. The man was reportedly wearing a white shirt and red shorts. A lifeline and three life rings with the cruise ship’s name on them were thrown, and the cfrew launched a rescue boat to search. Coast Guard watchstanders received initial notification of the incident from the cruise ship on Nov 14 at approximately 8:57 p.m. as the ship was enroute from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter and diverted the Coast Guard Cutters 'Joseph Napier' and 'Joseph Doyle' to the scene. Once on scene, the Coast Guard aircrew commenced searching and deployed a self-locating datum marker buoy that measures sea currents to assist with the search. Shortly thereafter the Coast Guard cutters arrived on-scene. At approximately 7:30 a.m. the Coast Guard aircrew reported locating the three life-rings within the search area. The 'MSC Seascape' continued its voyage to Dominican Republic after being released from the search.

Sisters allegedly carried 4,75 kilograms of cocaine upon return from cruise

Two sisters came back with several kilos of cocaine hidden in the lining of their backpacks, from a weeklong cruise aboard the 'MSC Seascape' to the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Mexico, a federal investigator alleged in a criminal complaint. They departed from the port of Miami on July 16, 2023. When the cruise returned to Miami on July 23, US Customs and Border Protection officers conducted an enforcement operation and encountered the sisters in their shared cabin. They instructed the two to bring their luggage for a secondary inspection- When the sisters left the cabin with their belongings, a narcotic-detection dog that was brought aboard to assist with the search, exhibited a changed behaviour and alerted to the odor of narcotics, coming from one of the women's belongings, so the sisters were separated and searched. During the search, theofficers found an anomaly sewed inside the lining of the pair's backpacks. In total, about 4.75 kilograms of cocaine was said to have been hidden in the backpacks, which Summer Louis, a Homeland Security agent, estimated in the complaint to be worth $15,000 to $40,000. The sisters denied knowing about the drugs inside their luggage in statements to law enforcement, though one of the pair told investigators that she noticed her backpack was heavier than she originally remembered after she left her bag behind at a restaurant to use the restroom during their July 19 stop in Jamaica. One of the sisters told authorities that friends they had met up with in Jamaica asked if she wanted a bag to put her belongings in. The woman said that she did not notice anything suspicious about the bag because she did not see anything inside it, and took the bag back to the ship. CBP officers reviewed security footage from the ship. On July 19, footage showed the pair leaving together and returning separately to the ship while wearing dark-colored backpacks. Phone records also showed that one of the sisters sent a message two days before the cruise trip to a contact named "Kenny Jamaica." The text, as it appeared in the complaint, read in part: "I don't know what u doing but am not doing it no more so what ever u got going on let it stop playing with me and now you not going to pick up the phone." The sisters told investigators they were not asked or paid to smuggle drugs. The Federal prosecutors accused the sisters of importing a controlled substance, though no charges have yet been filed.