A cruise passenger who survived 15 hours in the chilling sea after falling overboard had an argument with crew members over vaping.
The 28-year-old man, who has not been identified, was caught vaping by crew members just moments before he had to be rescued in the Gulf of Mexico after falling over the Carnival cruise ship.
The passenger was drinking with his sister at the Carnival Valor’s bar at 11pm on Wednesday, 23, November when he went to the toilet, but concerns were soon raised when he never returned.
He was reported missing at midday on Thursday by his sister, which saw the Mexico-bound ship having to retrace its journey back to New Orleans, and the US Coast Guard was dispatched to look for him.
An eyewitness on a cargo ship quickly alerted emergency services after noticing a man being rescued from the ocean, 20 miles south of Louisiana’s Southwest Pass, with hypothermia, shock and dehydration.
After being rescued, the man confessed to the coastguard he was unsure how he had fallen overboard.
Whitney Gaines, a fellow passenger onboard the cruise ship, revealed she heard the man's family talking about him during breakfast the next morning.
She told the Daily Mail : "He kept getting in trouble for vaping in non-designated smoke areas, because there’s only one area where you can really go smoke.
“I think they were kind of alluding to the fact that he stepped out to go somewhere.”
She added the family believed the 28-year-old was drunk when he disappeared.
The passenger also claims the man's sister was with him at the bar: "‘He was with me and then he wasn’t."
Mrs Gaines said there was no formal announcement on the ship of a missing passenger as her husband, Mike Anderson, claimed he saw crew members searching for the man.
He told CNN: “[I] noticed security starting to search the boat with a photo of the missing [passenger] in their phones.”
Remarkable footage of the rescue showing the Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter saving the man stuck in the sea for 15 hours was released.
Lieutenant, Seth Gross who led the rescue mission, said in a statement: “We are beyond grateful that this case ended with a positive outcome,” Lt. Seth Gross, a search and rescue mission coordinator.
“It took a total team effort from Coast Guard watchstanders, response crews, and our professional maritime partners operating in the Gulf of Mexico to locate the missing individual and get him to safety.
“If not for the alert crew aboard the motor vessel Crinis, this case could have had a much more difficult ending."
Cruise company Carnival revealed it was relieved the passenger was able to be recused.
In a statement, it said: “We greatly appreciate the efforts of all, most especially the US Coast Guard and the mariner who spotted the guest in the water."
