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The woman was last seen late on the afternoon of November 9 aboard the TUI-operated vessel, which had left Spain five days earlier on an 11-night repositioning cruise, according to a detailed account published by Cruise Hive. A stateroom attendant noticed the following evening that her bed had not been slept in, prompting multiple announcements over the ship’s public address system requesting that a female guest report to reception. The crew subsequently conducted a full headcount at muster stations and a comprehensive search of the 14-deck, 956-cabin liner carrying approximately 2,000 passengers and 800 crew members, yet located no trace of her.
TUI said in a statement that it was deeply saddened to confirm a guest had been reported missing while the ship crossed the Atlantic and that the operator was supporting authorities with their inquiries. The company added that nothing suggested weather conditions, despite some rough seas earlier in the voyage, had played a part in the disappearance. By the time the alarm was raised the vessel had traveled more than 500 miles from the last confirmed sighting point at coordinates 28°16.7′N, 038°09.2′W, making a return search impractical, the US Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in Norfolk, Virginia, determined.
The US Coast Guard broadcast an urgent request to all ships in the vicinity to maintain a sharp lookout for anyone in the water, the agency’s alert showed. The Marella Voyager, which joined the TUI fleet in 2023 according to the Daily Echo, continued on its planned route toward Antigua, where it is due to arrive on November 13 before heading to Barbados for the winter season. Security teams have been reviewing onboard footage in an effort to establish further details about the circumstances, Cruise Hive reported.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed the missing passenger is British and stated it is supporting her family while remaining in contact with the relevant authorities. A similar incident occurred in September when the US Coast Guard suspended its search for a passenger who went overboard from the Carnival Panorama off Mexico after more than 41 hours of efforts covering over 1,700 square miles, a US Coast Guard press release noted. Data compiled in the US Coast Guard’s passenger vessel annual report for 2020-2022 recorded two fatalities from falls into water among 79 total passenger vessel deaths during that period.
The captain informed passengers on November 11 that the woman was still considered missing, according to reports carried by the Daily Star. No further updates on her whereabouts had emerged as the vessel proceeded with its Caribbean itinerary, which will see it offer cruises in the region before returning to Europe in 2027. The incident has renewed attention on safety protocols during long ocean crossings where response times can be constrained by distance and vessel speed.
