"Oscar, Oscar, Oscar" are three words you don't want to hear on a cruise ship.
The maritime distress signal is used by some cruise lines to alert crew members that a person has gone overboard; an unfortunate turn of events that has happened at least six times in the past three months.
While man-overboard incidents are rare, they are a leading cause of death for passengers on cruise ships, according to research conducted by Travis Heggie, a professor at Bowling Green State University who specializes in health and safety risks in the tourism industry.
Based on recent man-overboard incidents, here's what passengers can expect if someone goes overboard during their cruise. Individual incidents and exact procedures followed by cruise lines may vary.
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What happens when passenger goes overboard on a cruise ship?
The best-case scenario is that someone on the ship spots the person going overboard and immediately initiates a rescue operation. This was the case in July, when a woman fell off the 10th deck of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and was rescued by crew members in a dramatic, nearly hour-long rescue.
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But if there are no witnesses, it could take hours for the passenger's family or friends to realize they are missing and report the situation to cruise staff.
Once a passenger is reported missing, crew members might announce the person's name over the loudspeaker while conducting an onboard search.
Cruise staff will likely review the ship's security footage to determine if, when, and where a passenger has gone overboard. But in some cases, there is no footage due to blind spots on the ship.
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Once crew members learn that a person has gone overboard, they "immediately inform the Coast Guard, stop the ship, and turn around to help find the missing passenger," a spokesperson for the industry trade group Cruise Line International Association told Insider.
"Often, smaller boats that can move at high speeds are deployed from the ship to search for the person," they said.
Depending on the ship's location, local authorities (such as the Cuban Border Guard) may be put in charge of coordinating search and rescue missions.
If the US Coast Guard is the agency in charge, responders will likely search for the missing passenger from the air and on the water. After 35-year-old Ronnie Peale Jr. fell overboard a Carnival cruise ship in late May, Coast Guard responders searched more than 5,171 square miles for 60 hours.
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Unfortunately, most cruise ship man-overboard incidents don't result in a successful rescue, a 2020 study commissioned by CLIA found.
The low recovery rate has prompted debate on whether or not cruise ships should be required to install man-overboard detection systems that automatically alert crew members when a person goes overboard, instead of retroactively checking security footage.
Rules Royal Caribbean has required crew to follow if a person goes overboard
Cruise lines have specific protocols designed for crew to take quick action during man-overboard incidents, the CLIA spokesperson said.
They don't typically publicize these internal company procedures. But a Bahamas Maritime Authority safety report regarding a 2017 incident excerpted portions of Royal Caribbean International's missing person guidelines.
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Royal Caribbean International did not respond to multiple requests for comment about whether or not the cruise line has updated its missing person procedures since 2017. The industry blog Cruise Law News first reported on the safety report.
According to the safety report, once a guest or crew member is reported missing to guest services, Royal Caribbean policy requires crew to immediately inform the cruise's main control center, called the bridge, as well as the ship's staff captain and security officer.
The bridge officer must then note the ship's position while the security officer takes steps to locate the missing guest or crew member.
Before the captain can turn the ship around to look for the missing person, they must notify marine operations — a corporate department based in Miami — unless they are responding to a confirmed overboard sighting, the report said.
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"The Care Team (Miami) and if necessary, the ship's Medical Unit should be involved to support the family and friends of the missing person," the policy continues, per the report.
Do you work on a cruise ship? Have a tip or story to share? Email this reporter at htowey@businessinsider.com
