A search is under way in the Pacific Ocean for a missing cruise ship crew member who apparently jumped into the ocean while the ship was traveling from San Francisco to Hawaii, a Princess Cruises spokeswoman said.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified shortly after midnight this morning that the crew member, a 34-year-old man who is a Filipino national, had gone missing from the Grand Princess cruise ship about 1,100 miles northeast of Hilo, HI, Coast Guard officials said.
The crew member was last seen aboard the ship at 10:25 p.m. Monday, according to the Coast Guard.
The cruise ship has since changed course to look for the missing man, and a sister ship Star Princess was diverted to assist in the search, Princess Cruises spokeswoman Julie Benson said.
Video captured by a surveillance camera on the ship shows the crew member intentionally going overboard, she said.
Grand Princess staff members conducted a head count of passengers in their cabins, Benson said.
The Coast Guard’s HC-130 Hercules airplane crew is also searching for the missing crew member.
Rescue efforts are also being coordinated with container ship Horizon Reliance through the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System, a computer-based global ship reporting system used to coordinate search efforts at sea, Coast Guard officials said.
The Grand Princess was scheduled to take passengers on a 15-day Hawaiian cruise, returning to San Francisco on Jan. 19, Benson said. The ship departed from San Francisco on Saturday.
The ship is carrying 2,607 passengers and 1,088 crew members, Benson said.
Jamey Padojino, Bay City News
