Lifeboat Falls Off Cruise Ship During Safety Drill
Last week, passengers aboard the cruise ship Carnival Dream reported that one of the vessel's lifeboats broke away from its davit and fell into the water while the ship was berthed at Cozumel, Mexico. Photos from the scene appear to show structural damage to the bow of the lifeboat.
The dropped boat was on the starboard side, opposite the pier, according to Cruise Hive. It fell into the water and drifted up to a wharf, where it was retrieved. The remainder of the lifeboat's bow was still hanging from the falls.
— Gail Faust (@GailFaust) November 19, 2025
"The team on Carnival Dream was conducting an unmanned test of lowering one of the lifeboats when a latch got caught on one of the cables, resulting in the vessel hanging from one end then falling into the water below," a Carnival spokesperson told Cruise Hive.
It is the second time that Carnival Dream has lost a stowed lifeboat, and the second time that bystander images showed signs of damage to the lifeboat's bow. The first instance was reported on December 30, 2018 while the cruise ship was under way in the Gulf of Mexico. The lifeboat was successfully retrieved by the crew.
LIFEBOAT DAMAGED AFTER FALLING FROM CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP
— CrucerosyExcursiones (@administrador4) January 2, 2019
There was a scare on Carnival Dream when a lifeboat apparently broke off and fell into the water while the ship was at sea. Damage was done and the ship had to come to a stop.... Read more:https://t.co/Jr7o1wkW6x pic.twitter.com/3lKy70eJOP
Aboard Carnival Dream, the lifeboat davits hang out over the water, not over a promenade deck, so the falling boat was not positioned to injure bystanders. No injuries were reported.
In decades past, lifeboats were among the most dangerous objects aboard merchant ships, accounting for hundreds of lives lost and an estimated one out of six seafarer deaths. When a laden lifeboat would be accidentally released in midair (video below) due to human error or equipment failure during a safety drill, the personnel trapped inside often suffered injury or death when they hit the water. A safer drill procedure - to lower away the boat without anyone in it - has been allowed by IMO's Maritime Safety Committee since 2009, and has likely saved countless lives.
Top image: Carnival Dream (file image courtesy Kiran891 / CC BY SA 4.0)
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