A ship passenger who goes missing is probably the worst thing that can happen in a sea journey.
The cruise ship Rotterdam of Holland America Line was sailing in the Caribbean on 20 November when it docked at Sint Maarten Island to give passengers a land tour. A bus dropped the tourists off in Marigot on the French side and brought them back to the Port of St. Maarten on the Dutch side to board the vessel.
One of the ship’s passengers, 55-year-old Ann Evans, was found to be missing and the crew reported it to the island’s police force.
A woman matching the description of Evans had used her passport to check into a hotel on the French side of the island and was also seen in the area around the hotel, according to Fox News, citing a local news report.
On 28 November, the Sint Maarten police revealed in a Facebook post that Evans was found and she was safe, USA Today reported.
While it was unclear why she did not return to the cruise ship, at least she was found, unlike what happened to ferry passengers sailing to a tourist spot in Thailand.
Dozens of tourists were crossing between Koh Tao and Koh Samui islands on 23 November when rough and choppy seas washed seawater over the boat’s upper deck.
An Australian passenger caught the ensuing scene on her phone’s camera. The crew were trying to “rescue” not people that had fallen overboard.
The viral video showed luggage floating in the sea after they slid off the ferry. Angry passengers blamed the crew for not properly securing their suitcases.
In the aftermath of the incident, the tourists could only watch their bags drift away. Worse, they were left stranded after they lost essential documents, including passports and travel insurance, NDTV reports.
The ferry operator reimbursed only a handful of passengers for their losses at a maximum 50,000 baht with many others receiving no payout at all, according to NDTV.