Few hours after departing from the port of Split, Croatia, the cruise ship Costa Mediterranea turned back due to medical emergency.

A 70-year-old passenger died yesterday in a restaurant aboard the German Cruise ship Aida Stella. According to the website schiffsjournal.de the passenger suffered a heart attack in the Market Restaurant located on Deck 9.

Many of you have emailed me after yesterday’s note about the loss of our colleague Ariel Leyson and asked what you could do to help.

Just over three months after its inaugural cruise, Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, is a scene of a serious accident. According to information provided by the French newspaper "La Provence", a lifeboat with five crew members inside detached off deck 5 crashing into the sea.  One crew member has been killed and two other crew are critically injured after a lifeboat fell while the ship conducted lifeboat drill in the French port of Marseille on Tuesday, September 13.

After one month intensive care in Jackson Memorial Hospital, Ben Buenaventura died from the injuries sustained in the tragic incident when a Norwegian Breakaway lifeboat fell into the water. The incident happened on Jul 20, 2016, during a weekly lifeboat drill while the ship was docked in Kings Wharf, Bermuda. Four crew members were in the lifeboat when line snapped and one crew member, 41-year old, Diogenes Carpio died immediately.

Last night a 46-year-old Indonesian crew member was airlifted by the Italian Coast Guard from the cruise ship Sovereign operated by Pullmantur. The crew member suffering from heart attack was first transferred to the ships medical facility. After assessing the condition the ships doctor notified the master of the vessel who contacted the Coast Guard. The crew member was airlifted by the Coast Guard 70 miles from the coast of Civitavecchia. After receiving the call, Coast Guard personnel immediately activated the procedures for assistance in emergency situations at sea.

Royal Caribbean passenger sailing on Grandeur of the Seas was found dead in his cabin yesterday afternoon while the cruise ship was in Bermuda. According to Bernews, police authorities received a report of a death of 45-year-old US citizen.

Bermuda authorities have identified the Norwegian Breakaway crew member who lost his life during the emergency lifeboat drill after a rescue speed boat broke from its tethering. According to the Bermuda news site “Royal Gazette” the deceased is a 41-year old Filipino national Diogenes Carpio. The captain of the catamaran Aristocrat, who assisted in the rescue said that the crew member was floating in the water next to the overturned boat.

A dead fin whale was discovered on the bow of the Holland America cruise ship MS Zaandam early Sunday morning at around 5 a.m. just as the ship was preparing to dock in Seward. Investigators from NOAA and members of the Alaska SeaLife Center and Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network and were dispatched to the scene. It's too early to say if the whale was killed when struck by Zaandam or if was already dead when it became lodged on the cruise ship bow. Investigators will remove the whale and determinate the cause of the death and send it for a necropsy with a veterinary pathologist.

A French passenger sailing onboard Costa Fascinosa cruise ship died yesterday morning during an emergency evacuation by a Sea Rescue helicopter. The 77 year-old passenger suffered heart attack when the ship was about 50 miles from Mallorca, Spain. The tragic event happened when the man danced with his wife on the ship at around eleven o'clock at night. The onboard medical team quickly responded to the scene by providing emergency treatment. Spanish coastguard was alerted to carry out urgent transfer to the nearest hospital, and a helicopter was mobilized.