Cruise ship saves passengers, pets from disabled catamaran in South Pacific
A Carnival Cruise Line ship rescued four people and three dogs from a disabled catamaran caught in treacherous conditions in the South Pacific on Thursday morning, marking the second rescue operation by the cruise line in a week, according to a press release from Carnival Cruise Line.
"We were stuck in an interesting position," one of the rescued passengers said in video obtained by ABC News. "We got demasted, lost our engines, and after we got demasted, it was stuck under the boat, and it was hitting it on every big wave."
The Carnival Splendor diverted its course after receiving an alert from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Nouméa about a distress call. The ship reached the stranded vessel after a five-hour journey south of New Caledonia.
The situation had become increasingly dangerous for the stranded sailors.
"It was like four to five meters swell, 30 to 40 knot winds, and we're in this massive lightning storm, and the swell was coming over the boat," the rescued passenger said. "Yeah, we were dead in the water, 170 nautical miles off of New Caledonia with the three puppies."
The rescued passengers—two couples and their three dogs—are now receiving food, water, and medical assistance aboard the Carnival Splendor.
"Luckily, Carnival, the captain here was an absolute legend came and he saved the day, and now the doggies get their first cruise," the rescued passenger added.
The rescue operation won't impact the cruise schedule, with the ship's 3,300 passengers still set to visit Mystery Island and Noumea as planned before returning to Sydney on Tuesday. The Splendor departed Sydney on Monday for an eight-day round trip cruise to Vanuatu and New Caledonia, Carnival Cruise stated.
This rescue follows another recent Carnival Cruise Line operation in which the Carnival Paradise rescued five men from a makeshift raft south of Cuba last week, according to video obtained by FOX35.
