The USCG/US Coast Guard called off its search for an Australian believed to have fallen overboard from a Royal Caribbean liner repositioning from Brisbane QLS to Hawaii (RepositionCruises.com).
The man was reported missing from Quantum of the Seas late on Tuesday night, ~500 mi (800 km) south of Kailua Kona (Hawaii Island).
Quantum OTS remained on scene for ~2 hours but resumed the voyage to Hawaii when no trace of him was found, the USCG said in a statement.
A Coast Guard C-130 Hercules aircrew took up the search over 6 hours but a decision was made to suspend the aerial survey after consulting with the family of the man.
According to Kevin Cooper, a search and rescue mission coordinator for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, after reviewing all relevant information of the case and discussing it with the next of kin, the USCG had made the difficult decision to suspend the active search for the cruiser.
Earlier, the shipowner RCI-Royal Caribbean International issued a statement confirming that a passenger was missing.
“While on its trans-pacific sailing, a guest onboard Quantum of the Seas went overboard. The ship’s crew immediately launched a search and rescue operation and is working closely with local authorities.”
Quantum OTS was on a 16-day Transpacific crossing that started from Brisbane on April 12th and ended in Honolulu Hawaii on Friday, April 28th.
For more Quantum of the Seas incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.