SEASICK PASSENGER MAKES WAVES

[proud_ionian]

A passenger onboard a cruiseship who was convinced that the vessel had major difficulties in severe gale force weather 5 miles north east of Cape Wrath sparked a flurry of international coastguard activity.

According to the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the woman, who was onboard the Lyubor Orlova which was travelling around the Northern Isles on a cruise before returning to Dublin, was so concerned for the safety of the vessel and its crew and passengers that she called her sister in Italy, who in turn called the Italian coastguard in Rome.

Rome Coastguard then called Aberdeen Coastguard who were able to track down the vessel using the Automatic Vessel Identification System. The Coastguard contacted the master of the vessel on the satellite phone who reported that although the vessel had encountered severe gale force 9 winds, it was safely on passage to its destination.

Aberdeen Coastguard Watch Manager George Downie says: "This certainly was an unusual way to receive information, but we were thankful to the Coastguard in Rome for reporting it to us - there could have been a vessel in distress and sometimes people do find unusual ways of communicating with the Coastguard.”

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[proud_ionian]

He adds: “It will be extremely uncomfortable for passengers onboard this particular ship. The weather will be causing the ship to roll up and down with the bow digging in and the stern coming up. In addition there will be a corkscrew effect. Most people can deal with one or the other but both are extremely disorientating. Add to this the fact that visibility from the windows will be virtually nil and you can understand how distressed passengers can become. The impact of the weather will begin to ease as the ship gets round Cape Wrath and into the Minches, so hopefully the passengers will start to feel a little more comfortable soon."

2nd part