MSC Preziosa accidents and incidents

30 December 2023Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On December 30, 2023 (at ~around 12:30 AM local time/~12:30 AM UTC), a male passenger went overboard while the ship was en route from Port Santos/Sao Paulo (Brazil) to Angra dos Reis.

MSC announced that the man (32-year-old Carlos Alberto Mota Candreva) intentionally jumped overboard, falling into the sea from his cabin's balcony, after having an argument with his girlfriend (27-year-old Vitoria Barbara Momenso).

The ship deployed two rescue boats and conducted a search and rescue operation, soon joined by the Brazilian Coast Guard and the Brazilian Navy. After ~2 hours, MSC Preziosa was released to continue the voyage. The body was not found.

The incident occurred at the beginning of the 5-day "New Year's Eve Cruise South America" (itinerary Dec 29-Jan 2, roundtrip from Santos) visiting Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, and Buzios.

20 November 2023Boat Rescue

On November 20, 2023, the ship assisted a Brazilian maritime rescue operation after responding to an SOS/distress call from a sinking fishing boat.

The vessel in distress was near Jorge Grego Island (Ilha Grande, Brazil) and manned by 7 crew. It eventually sank near Ilha Grande. Six fishermen were rescued while one lost his life.

Following the rescue, the 6 men were transported to the village Vila do Abraao, from where were transferred to the mainland (Angra dos Reis City's Santa Luzia Pier). The coordinated efforts included a Civil Defense ambulance and a Fire Department boat.

From Santa Luzia Pier, the survivors were transported to a hospital unit by two ambulances dispatched from SAMU (Mobile Emergency Care Service) and CBMERJ (Military Firefighters Corps). The body of the deceased was discovered by firefighters inside the submerged vessel and was transferred to Angra dos Reis' IML (Instituto Medico Legal) for identification.

The incident occurred during MSC Preziosa's 3-day "South America Cruise" (itinerary Nov 18-21) roundtrip from Santos/Sao Paulo visiting Buzios.

January 2022Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) On January 2, 2022, the debarkation in homeport Rio de Janeiro was delayed by 6+ hours due to a health inspection by Anvisa (Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency). A total of 28 COVID-positive cases were reported (26 passengers plus 2 crew).

All crew and passengers (12 yo and older) were fully vaccinated, while kids (under 12) were with negative PCR tests.

Following Anvisa's inspection, the liner was allowed to continue operations.

The incident occurred at the beginning of a 7-day South America Cruise (itinerary Jan 2-9, roundtrip from Rio de Janeiro) with call ports Ilheus, Maceio, and Salvador de Bahia.

April 2020Cruise Illness / Virus Outbreaks

(Coronavirus) The liner reported 2 COVID-positive crew after routine testing. Both announcement was made by the Captain via the onboard PA (public address) system.

The first confirmed case was announced on April 30, the second - on May 1. Both infected, together with all the ship's staff-crew remained isolated in separate passenger staterooms. After these cases, MSC decided to conduct swab tests (diagnosing upper respiratory tract infections) on all shipboard employees.

At the time, Preziosa was anchored near MSC's private island Ocean Cay (Bahamas), together with 4 fleetmates (Armonia, Divina, Meraviglia, Seaside). Preziosa's last voyage with passengers (7-day roundtrip from homeport Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe) ended on March 15. On April 11, the Captain initiated an emergency plan by which all the staff-crew were quarantined in passenger cabins (1 person per stateroom). Only the on-duty crew were allowed to leave their rooms and serve the others.

01 February 2019Crew / Passenger Injuries and Overboards

On February 1, 2019, at ~11 am, while the liner was docked in the port of St Johns (Antigua), two French passengers sustained injuries after being robbed ashore. The couple was sightseeing in downtown when was attacked and robbed by two young men. They took a handbag from the 62-year-old woman (Christiane Marcelle Drouth), stabbed her 70-year-old husband (Jacques Colbert) in the abdomen, then run off. The cruise tourists were assisted by local police and the man was transported by an ambulance to Mount St John Medical Centre.

Later on the same day (Feb 1), the robbers - Joel Richards (20-year-old) and Anderson Garcia (19-year-old) - were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery, Both men were from city's district Hatton.

The incident occurred during 7-day "Caribbean, Cuba And Antilles" cruise (itinerary Jan 27 - Feb 3) roundtrip from homeport Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe) and visiting BVI-Tortola (Road Town), St Maarten (Philipsburg), Dominica (Roseau), St Kitts (Basseterre), Antigua (St Johns) and Martinique (Fort-de-France).

26 December 2018Crew / Passenger Crimes

On December 26, 2018, while the liner was docked at Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), a female passenger was robbed and her hand slashed with a knife. The British woman (Sally Wilson, 72-year-old) was later hospitalized and underwent surgery. She and her husband (Michael Wilson, 74-year-old) had to disembark the cruise ship and left Trinidad on December 28.

The elderly couple was sitting on a bench at the Savannah (Queen's Park Savannah, city's largest open space) when they were approached by a man carrying a knife. He cut the strap of woman's handbag and escaped with her belongings. In the process, her left arm was injured.

The incident occurred during 7-day Caribbean, Cuba And Antilles Cruise (Christmas Holiday itinerary Dec 22-29) roundtrip from homeport Fort-de-France (Martinique) to Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe), Castries (St Lucia), Bridgetown (Barbados), Port-of-Spain, St Georges (Grenada) and Kingstown (St Vincent Island, Grenadines).

08 December 2018Crew / Passenger Deaths

(overboard) On December 8, 2018, a 69-year-old male passenger was reported missing and presumably overboard  The man (Dutch citizen, traveling with his wife) was not found during disembarkation from the cruise liner in Fort-de-France (Martinique). He was last seen on the night of December 7, on their cabin's balcony.

The ship left Martinique at 11 pm (Dec 8) as scheduled. A search and rescue operation was conducted via 1 rescue helicopter assisted by a Navy aircraft. The search was terminated on December 9. The body was not found.

The incident occurred during 7-day Caribbean cruise Itinerary Dec 4-11) roundtrip from homeport Bridgetown (Barbados) to Antigua (St Johns), St Kitts (Basseterre), St Maarten (Philipsburg), Martinique (Fort-de-France), Guadeloupe (Pointe-a-Pitre) and St Lucia (Castries).

05 April 2014Ship Collision / Allision

(pier collision) On April 5, 2014, while maneuvering for docking in homeport Venice Italy, even though assisted by 2 tugboats and a designated pilot on board, the vessel hit the pier with its starboard bow.

The collision affected the terminal building, damaging one of its passenger walkways. Aka “fingers”, these are glass-walled, covered corridors allowing disembarkation from upper decks. No injuries were reported.

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

19 November 2013Crew / Passenger Deaths

On November 19, 2013, at ~8:30 pm, an 87-year-old female passenger sustained a critical head injury after tripping on stairs and falling. She died in the ship’s infirmary at ~9 am the next day.

The elderly woman (Mercedes Lessi Ray, Brazilian) traveled together with her 2 daughters. The body was offloaded in the next call port Salvador de Bahia (Brazil) on Nov 22. The ship was near the end of a Transatlantic repositioning cruise from Europe to South America, leaving from Barcelona Spain and ending in homeport Santos (Sao Paulo Brazil) on Nov 26.

14 July 2013Crew / Passenger Deaths

On July 14, 2013, a 27-year-old female crew died on the ship. The woman (Maria La Camera, of Italian origin) worked on the ship as a hostess and was fluent in several languages.

After failing to show up for work, at ~7 pm her colleagues went to her cabin and found her dying. The ship was on Mediterranean cruise itinerary and en-route from Genoa to Naples Italy. The itinerary’s other scheduled call ports were Marseille France, Barcelona Spain, and La Goulette Tunisia.

In Naples (July 15), local police boarded the vessel for investigation. The initial examination suggested aneurysm as a probable cause of death. The body was transported by an ambulance to a hospital for autopsy.

04 June 2010Structural and Technical Issues

On June 4, 2010, the shipbuilder STX France and the GNMTC company (Libyan state-owned corporation) signed a letter of intent for building 1 cruise vessel with MSC Fantasia-class specifications. The liner was named “Phoenicia”. Its innovative design featured a 120-ton aquarium with live sharks (as specified by Muammar Gaddafi’s son Hannibal).

During the vessel's construction, in February 2011, the civil war in Libya broke out. In June 2011, STX France canceled the contract, ending up with an unfinished hull.

On March 13, 2012, MSC Cruises officially announced the purchase of the vessel for EUR 550 million. Its design’s new specifications were identical to MSC Divina. The new vessel was then named "MSC Preziosa", delivered to MSC in March 2013.