A Princess cruise ship is being recognized for rescuing five Jamaican boaters from a stranded boat in the Caribbean.
The Island Princess cruise ship was sailing through the Caribbean after departing Fort Lauderdale last week when the crew noticed a small boat floating in the waters. Five Jamaicans on board the boat caught the attention of the boat as they screamed that they had no food or water.
The boaters told the cruise workers that they were on their way to a barbecue but they ran out of gas. They asked the cruise workers to give them fuel so they could get going, but cruises don't do that. Instead they took the passengers on board in a rescue that took 45 minutes and Jamaican officials were notified. The Associated Press reports that the passengers were drifting for three weeks when they were rescued.
Passengers on the cruise ship headed for Ocho Rios, Jamaica were told about the rescue on Monday through an intercom system.
"We noticed the boat slowing down," passenger Andy Greenberg of Omaha, Neb. told AP. "We pulled up and the occupants were screaming: 'No food, no water.'" Greenberg said passengers were told that the motor on the boat broke down."
The Coast Guard is continuing to investigate the incident.
It is not rare for cruise ships to perform rescues. In August a Holland America ship rescued 70 people from a troubled sightseeing boat in Alaska. In June, a Norwegian cruise ship rescue six people from a stranded Sailboat near Bermuda. In May, a Disney Cruise ship rescued four men off the coast of Florida.
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