Holland America Cruise Ship Rescues 8 Crewmembers From Sinking Vessel Near Aruba

help for crewmembers from holland amercia cruise line accident

News reports tell of the Holland America cruise ship Zuiderdam rescuing  crewmembers from a sinking vessel in the Caribbean waters near Oranjestad, Aruba on January 3.

Per an article in MarineLink.com

At 2:10 a.m. Jan. 3, 2015, while en route to Oranjestad, Aruba, Holland America Line’s ms Zuiderdam answered a distress call from the Bahamian inter-island vessel Excalibur that was sinking with eight crewmembers onboard. Zuiderdam was approximately 15 miles away and the closest ship in the area.

Zuiderdam altered course and was able to successfully execute a nighttime rescue of all eight crewmembers at 3:01 a.m. The ship brought them onboard and provided food and accommodations.  The rescued crewmembers debarked in Aruba on Jan. 5.

The cruise ship was on a 10 day voyage from Fort Lauderdale, Florida through the Caribbean waters.

Fortunately for the crew on the capsized vessel, there were no injuries or medical emergencies.