A Carnival cruise ship that was returning to port had to make a change of its course to help rescue a total of 23 people from a stranded boat on Sunday morning, April 14.
The captain of Carnival Fantasy told cruise passengers at around 7:00 a.m. the vessel was answering a distress call. The US Coast Guard had received a call concerning a sport fishing boat which was adrift around 130 ml (209 km) from the Yucatan Peninsula.
A wooden ship loaded with 22 Cuban nationals was bound for Mexico when it stopped working and floated for 3 days before a fisherman came upon and they boarded his boat. The vessel later malfunctioned and had been drifting for 3 days, as well.
Watchstanders alerted Carnival Fantasy and initiated a search at around 12:50 a.m. on Sunday. The vessel and the 23 people were discovered at around 8:50 a.m. Carnival Fantasy arrived at around 10:50 a.m.
2 people experienced minor medical issues and were treated by the ship's medical staff. The 23 people were transferred to the custody of Customs & Border Protection and CG Investigative Services in Mobile.
For other Carnival Fantasy accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.