Oceania Insignia accidents and incidents

20 June 2024Boat Rescue

On June 20,2024, while en route from Cape Verde to the Canary Islands, the ship encountered a stranded fishing boat carrying migrants from Africa attempting to reach Spain. The boat, damaged in rough seas, was overcrowded, carrying a total of 74 people.

The cruise ship rescued 68 people. Unfortunately, 6 individuals died in the incident.

On June 19th, Philipp Oldendorff (IMO 9540869, 2012-built Bulk Carrier) sighted the adrift boat approx 440 NM (~500 mi/~800 km) south of Tenerife. The cargo ship was the first to provide assistance to the migrants. Oceania Insignia was then diverted by the Spanish Civil Guard to the area to rescue the survivors. Insignia also recovered 3 bodies from the boat. Due to adverse weather, the recovery of another two bodies was impossible, so a locator beacon was left to aid in their retrieval.

Walking Borders (activist group supporting the rights of asylum seekers and refugees) reported the previous week that ~5000 African migrants died at sea on this route during the first 5 months of 2024.

The incident occurred during the 180-day "World Voyage 2024" (Jan 14-Jul 12) from Los Angeles to New York City.

17 December 2018Other Incidents

On December 17, 2018, while berthed in PortMiami, the liner failed the USPH sanitation inspection. The inspection (conducted by the US Public Health agency officers) gave the vessel a score of 80 (which is a failure), based on food preparation and galley cleansing.  Reportedly, all the ship's crew were forbidden to share the information like the brand Oceania Cruises is 5-star ranked.

On January 24, 2019, CDC officially published the report and the failing score 80 (100-point scale). The report indicated that the score was based on heavily soiled (dusty and dirty) food-preparation surface areas. Other issues included some of the ship's cold storage units (not standard), flies in food service areas, potentially hazardous food (improperly stored and prepared), potable water (not pH-tested), non-operational testing equipment.

11 December 2014Fire Accident

On December 11, 2014, two contractors and one crew died in an engine room accident while the ship was docked in call port Castries (St Lucia Island, Caribbean). Two other contractors and three crew suffered heavy injuries (severe burns) and were transported by an ambulance to a hospital. Dead men’s names and nationalities were not disclosed. No injuries among cruise passengers were reported.

All passengers (~600) were disembarked and flown back home. The 10-day cruise (itinerary December 7-17) from San Juan Puerto Rico to Miami was officially cancelled. The vessel was towed back to San Juan for repairs. It re-entered service on March 22, 2015, with a pre-scheduled (for January 10, 2015) world cruise (altered itinerary) leaving from Singapore.