Seasick passenger sparks coastguard scramble to ship

A cruise ship whose seasick passenger sparked an international coastguard operation off the coast of Scotland was today heading back towards Dublin.

The frightened woman on board the Lyubor Orlova was convinced the vessel had major difficulties when hit by severe weather near Cape Wrath.

She was so concerned for the safety of her fellow passengers and crew during the force nine gales that she rang her sister in Italy, who then alerted the coastguard in Rome.

Rome coastguard officials then called Aberdeen Coastguard who quickly tracked down the vessel.

However, the captain said all was well despite the ship encountering gale force winds.

Aberdeen Coastguard watch manager George Downie said: “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.”

He explained: “It would have been extremely uncomfortable for passengers on board this particular ship.

“The weather would have caused 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 cruise ship is due to return tomorrow to Dublin.