Rescue At Sea

Disney Cruise Line recently received two prestigious awards for saving the life of a passenger who plunged overboard from another cruise ship earlier this fall.

Crew members from the Disney Wonder received a Disney Heroes Award from Bob Iger, president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. The U.S. Coast Guard also presented the crew members with a Meritorious Public Service Award.

On Sept. 3, the Disney Wonder was returning to its Port Canaveral homeport shortly after midnight when it received a distress call from another cruise ship that reported one of its passengers had gone overboard 28 miles off the Florida coast.

Under the command of Captain John Barwis, the Disney Wonder diverted course and rushed to aid the other cruise ship. Upon arriving in the search area, the crew lowered its rescue boat into the dark, choppy sea. Crew members throughout the ship supported the rescue by asking guests to remain quiet so searchers could locate the man in the dark by listening for his calls for help. When the rescue boat team found the man, he had been in the water for 90 minutes.

During the Meritorious Public Service Award presentation, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Steve Branham noted that one of the Coast Guard's missions is to rescue people at sea. The closest U.S. Coast Guard unit was an hour away from the search area.

"We can't do it by ourselves," he said. "Mariners at sea are our allies.The Disney Wonder stepped up and located the individual."

Commenting on the rescue, Disney Cruise Line President Karl Holz said, "I was incredibly proud of the Disney Wonder crew [and] I was thankful for the focus on training, training, training!"