Costa Favolosa accidents and incidents

02 May 2023Drug Smuggling

On May 2, 2023, while the ship was docked at Marseille-Fos Port (France), four passengers were arrested for drug smuggling.

The tourists (one male and three females) were all Brazilian nationals and were apprehended upon leaving the ship. The French customs agents noticed suspicious behavior from a couple carrying a suitcase. During the disembarkation, after seeing the police at a checkpoint, they hastily returned back. Moments later, the woman reappeared carrying a backpack. When the officers requested to inspect her baggage, she panicked and threw the backpack overboard. The bag was soon retrieved and contained 8,4 kg (18,5 lbs/pounds) of cocaine.

After searching the couple's stateroom, the officers found 6x bags (hidden beneath the mattress) containing 86.4 kg (190,5 lbs/pounds) of cocaine.

The drugs' total estimated worth was EUR 5+ million (~USD 5,5 million).

The other two Brazilian women were arrested after the police found a reservation voucher confirming their involvement. Both women, who already disembarked Costa Favolosa in Marseille for a shore excursion) were apprehended upon returning to the ship, having discarded their bags.

The investigation revealed that the Brazilian tourists were recruited to smuggle the cocaine by a South American cartel. They all flew from Brazil and embarked on the ship in Savona. The cartel had arranged for the bags to be delivered to a rented apartment in downtown Marseille. The police suspected that a second team involved in the scheme embarked on the ship in Rio de Janeiro to transport the cocaine via the Atlantic.

The incident occurred during the 15-day Transatlantic repositioning crossing from Rio de Janeiro to Marseille (itinerary April 14-29) visiting ports in Brazil (Salvador de Bahia/Apr 16, Maceio/Apr 17, Recife/Apr 18), and Spain (Santa Cruz de Tenerife/Apr 24, Cadiz-Sevilla/Apr 26, and Barcelona/Apr 28) and ending in Marseille on Apr 29th.

March 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) On March 19, 2020, the liner remained anchored near homeport Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe). Costa Favolosa was denied docking and passenger debarkation in several Caribbean ports due to Coronavirus concerns. In Pointe-a-Pitre all passengers were disembarked but the ship and all its staff-crew (1009) remained under quarantine. All (except only the engine and deck crew) remained isolated in individual passenger cabins for several days.

On March 26, Costa Favolosa and Costa Magica were allowed to anchor near PortMiami (3 mi / 5 km offshore). The ships reported a total of 30 people (crew) with flu-like symptoms. The vessels were allowed anchorage only to medevac (via lifeboats) seriously ill crew - 7 from Favolosa and 6 from Magica. The sick were hospitalized for testing and observation. Both vessels were subsequently allowed to make a technical stop (docking for provisions and bunkering) at Freeport Bahamas.

All cruisers (from both ships) were finally disembarked in Martinique and Guadeloupe and repatriated via chartered flights. Following the debarkation, Favolosa had 6 confirmed cases (3 passengers, 3 crew), while Magica had 4 (3 passengers, 1 crew).

On Apr 4, 2020, a 48-year-old male crew died due to Coronavirus. The man (Andrew Fernandes, from Mumbai India) was employed on the ship as a security officer. He was tested positive for COVID-19. Being in critical condition, he was medevaced from Favolosa and hospitalized in Miami's Larkin Community Hospital. The medical evacuation was on March 29th and conducted by a USCG boat dispatched from Base Miami Beach.

27 March 2019Drug Smuggling

On March 27, 2019, upon boarding the liner in homeport Santos (Brazil), a total of 16 cruise passengers (8 men, 8 women) were arrested and charged with drug trafficking. The total amount of smuggled cocaine was 300 kg (USD 6 million, street value ~USD 40 million). The arrested were 10 Brazilian, 3 French and 3 Belgian, all of whom aged under 30.

The drugs were found by ship's security personnel during the electronic baggage inspection. In addition to the cocaine, each piece of baggage also contained USD 1,000 in cash. Following the arrests, the vessel was cleared to leave port and continue with the scheduled voyage.

The accident occurred at the beginning of 19-day Transatlantic repositioning cruise (itinerary March 27 - April 15) from Santos to Savona, with call ports in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Salvador de Bahia, Maceio, Recife), Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Arrecife), Spain (Malaga, Barcelona) France (Marseille) and Italy (Savona).

26 April 2013Other Incidents

On April 26, 2013, strong winds prevented the vessel to dock in call port Valletta Malta. It spent ~45 min anchored outside Grand Harbour. Then the Captain decided to skip the port and headed towards Catania Sicily. The itinerary change included an extra day at sea. Costa Crociere made arrangements for a charter flight to transport ~150 passengers from Sicily (Catania Airport) to their scheduled disembarkation point Malta. Another flight charter (Malta-Catania) transported all passengers with scheduled embarkation in Valletta. From Sicily (April 28), the ship continued to the next call port Naples Italy.

17 September 2012Other Incidents

On September 17, 2012, the vessel’s scheduled departure from homeport Venice Italy was delayed ~8 hours by protests. Venice departures of the MSC Cruises ships MSC Opera and MSC Musica were also affected.

All the Venice’s waterfront areas were blocked by numerous small boats with hundreds of local protesters. They argued that the growth of big cruise ships stopping in Venice had a negative impact on the city as a travel destination. Large cruise vessels visiting Venice pass too close to Piazza San Marco, and are deemed potential risk for environmental damages or accidents that would hugely impact the city’s historical importance. The issue grew louder since the Costa Concordia sinking (January 2012).

31 August 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On August 31, 2012, a 31-year-old female crew jumped overboard (committed suicide) while the ship was in the Mediterranean (Aegean Sea) and en-route from Istanbul Turkey to Venice Italy. The woman (of South African origin) worked on the ship as a dancer. The conducted search operation continued ~6 hours but was unsuccessful in finding the body. The incident caused itinerary change – call port Dubrovnik Croatia was dropped.