Cruises Urged to Act on MOBs as Father Jumps Overboard to Save Daughter
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[By: Zelim]<\/p>\n
The recent fall of a young girl from the fourth deck of the\u00a0Disney Dream<\/em>\u00a0cruise ship has renewed pressure on the cruise industry to adopt lifesaving man overboard (MOB) detection technology that experts say is now both available and proven.<\/p>\n The girl, who survived the June 29 incident, was spotted and quickly saved thanks to the quick actions of her father, who jumped in after her. But safety advocates warn that in most cases, no such witness is present and help often arrives far too late.<\/p>\n Matt Mitchell, a former Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard\u2019s Office of Search and Rescue Policy, Founder and CEO of the International Association of Search and Rescue Coordinators (IASARC), and Director of Search and Rescue at, said: \u201cToo many lives have been lost simply because no one knew someone had gone overboard until it was too late. I’ve coordinated hundreds of these cases, and in the vast majority, the notification came hours, sometimes days after the person was last seen. That makes an effective rescue nearly impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n Although\u00a0Disney Dream<\/em>\u00a0had a man overboard alerting system aboard, ensuring the alarm was raised a rescue boat launched quickly, one passenger aboard the vessel at time of the incident, Laura Amador, told CBS News: \u201cThe ship was moving quickly, so quicky, it\u2019s crazy how quickly the people became tiny dots in the sea, and then you lost sight of them.\u201d<\/p>\n According to U.S. Coast Guard data, fewer than 19% of known MOB cases result in a successful recovery.\u00a0 This, despite rules mandating that cruise ships integrate technology that can be used to detect passengers and track who have fallen overboard.<\/p>\n \u201cCutting-edge detection systems can alert the bridge within seconds of a person going overboard, and some can even track the individual in the water until they\u2019re safely recovered,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis technology exists today.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the technological progress, most cruise operators have yet to install these systems.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010 was enacted, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a 2011 policy letter advising its sector commanders not to enforce the MOB provision until suitable technology became commercially available. Fourteen years later, that policy remains in place\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that ZOE technology is available and field-proven, there\u2019s no excuse not to act. We\u2019re no longer talking about ideas or prototypes. These systems work, they\u2019re deployable, they have been Type Approved, and they can save lives.\u201d<\/p>\n While US federal enforcement has yet to catch up, Mitchell said the cruise industry doesn\u2019t need to wait for regulators.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an opportunity for cruise lines to show leadership,\u201d he said. \u201cThe next time someone falls overboard, will the ship report an unknown time and location, or will it report an immediate alert, live tracking, and a successful recovery? That decision is in the hands of the operators.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t
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