Costa Pacifica accidents and incidents

10 October 2019Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On October 10, 2019, a 75-year-old female passenger was reported missing and overboard while the ship was en-route from Madeira Island to Malaga. At ~10:45 pm, crew members were alerted by a passenger who witnessed the elderly woman voluntarily jumping from her cabin's balcony on Deck 8.

The cruise liner issued a "man overboard" mayday and started a search and rescue operation. The emergency call was received by NATO ships in the area. The 4 naval vessels (American, Norwegian, Belgian, Dutch) were allowed to reroute and assist the operation. Soon the vessels were joined by a Spanish tugboat (Maria Zambrano, IMO 9429106), a Spanish rescue helicopter and a French MPA (maritime patrol aircraft). At ~9 am on October 11th, the Spanish coastguard (Salvamento Marítimo) found and retrieved the woman's body in the Gulf of Cadiz.

The incident occurred during the 11-day Mediterranean cruise (itinerary Oct 3-14) roundtrip from homeport Savona (Italy) to France (Marseille), Canary Islands (Santa Cruz de Tenerife), Madeira Island (Funchal), Malaga, and Civitavecchia-Rome.

18 August 2015Other Incidents

On August 18, 2015, Costa Cruises officially canceled its ship visits to the Turkish ports Istanbul and Izmir for the remainder of 2015. These 2 call ports in Turkey were replaced by alternative ports in Greece and Italy, and on some itineraries – with Valletta Malta. These itinerary changes affected 3 Costa Crociere ships – Pacifica (September, October, and November), Costa Deliziosa (October and November) and Costa neoClassica (August through December). The decision came in response to the terrorist attack on the US consulate (Istanbul, Aug 10).

18 March 2015Drug Smuggling

On March 18, 2015, Spanish security forces in call port Malaga intercepted high-quality cocaine transported on the cruise ship. The drugs’ market value was estimated at around EUR 1 million.

The drug bust occurred by chance, as National Police agents conducted a routine check of Costa Pacifica passengers and crew disembarking from a Transatlantic cruise from South America.

When the ship arrived at ~1 pm, the patrolling police observed a vehicle leaving the cruise dock. The driver was nervous, which brought their attention and they decided to check his documentation. The man was of Colombian origin. Inside his car, the police found a double bottom with 8 packages of cocaine. Its quantity was 4,3 kg, with a market value of around EUR 250,000.

One man (not revealed passenger or crew) was arrested and charged with drug smuggling. He was caught with cocaine packaged around his body and legs. Meanwhile, Civil Guard and police agents carried out screening for all disembarking passengers and arrested 2 other men with a total of 12 kg of cocaine.

February 2014Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

On February 27, 2014, an Italian news media reported a measles illness outbreak affected a total of 59 crew. No sick passengers were reported. The infected were disembarked in port Civitavecchia-Rome for medical treatment ashore.

The disease affects the respiratory system. The symptoms are coughing, fever, red eyes, runny nose, rash. The virus spreads via close or direct contact, but mostly by coughing. The highly contagious measles virus is particularly dangerous to women in their childbearing age. All US-based cruise ship companies vaccinate their staff and crew for measles.

11 December 2012Ship Collision / Allision

(pier collision) On December 11, 2012, at ~8:15 am while maneuvering for docking in call port Marseille (France), due to heavy winds the vessel struck a pier (piling).

The results were portside hull damage (~26 ft / 8 m long gush above the waterline), affected propulsion unit (bow thruster) and interior damages (on crew deck 0). No injuries were reported.

The Marseille departure was delayed by ~16,5 hours, as the ship left port on Dec 12 (at 10:30 am) instead of the scheduled Dec 11 (at 6 pm). The current itinerary was not affected, since Dec 13 was a sea day.

As compensation, all passengers received EUR 150 per cabin in onboard credit plus free port transfers in call ports Marseille, Barcelona, and Palermo (Sicily). Due to the delay, passengers flying back home from Barcelona were complimentarily transported via buses from Marseille (on Dec 12).

Note: Actually, this type of marine accident is called “allision” (striking a fixed object) as opposed to “collision” (striking another vessel.

05 June 2009Other Incidents

On June 5, 2009, the ship’s naming in Genoa Italy was a dual christening ceremony. It included (for the first time in the world ever) two Costa ships - Pacifica and Luminosa. Both cruise vessels were christened simultaneously, setting a Guinness World record for “Most ships inaugurated in one day by one company”.

Fun fact is that both vessels were also simultaneously launched (on June 5, 2008) at their respective shipbuilding yards  – in Sestri Ponente (Pacifica) and in Marghera (Luminosa).