Man-Overboard Search Launched for Cruise Ship Crewmember

The U.S. Coast Guard has launched a SAR effort to locate a crewmember from the cruise ship Carnival Victory who went overboard Thursday afternoon. 

The victim, a 37-year-old male crewmember, was seen going over the side at a position about 30 nm off the coast of Cuba as the Victory transited back to her home port of Miami, Florida. 

"The ship's command immediately returned to the location where the crew member was last seen and initiated search and rescue activities, which are ongoing," a Carnival spokesperson said in a statement to media. "All appropriate authorities, including the United States Coast Guard, have been notified."

The USCG has deployed one Ocean Sentry fixed-wing airplane and the cutter Charles Sexton to search the area, and the agency called on other vessels in the vicinity to keep a lookout for the victim. 

The last person to go overboard from the Carnival Victory was a 26-year-old passenger who went missing last December at a position off Islamorada. The Coast Guard launched an extensive but ultimately unsuccessful search. Carnival described McElhany's disappearance as a likely "intentional act" based on the available evidence.

Carnival Victory is due for an overhaul and a renaming as part of the line's $2 billion fleet enhancement program. Next year she will undergo a 38-day, $200 million dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, then reenter service as the Carnival Radiance/.