Cruise ship company says passenger deliberately jumped overboard in Hawke's Bay; search postponed

December 30, 2019

The Norweigian Jewel was sailing north from Napier when the 62-year-old Australian went into the water.

Search efforts for a missing Australian man believed by authorities to have "deliberately jumped" from a cruise ship in Hawke's Bay yesterday have been postponed.

A Maritime NZ spokesperson told 1 NEWS no aircraft or vessels are now searching, but they would resume if new information becomes available.

A Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement the 62-year-old jumped overboard while the ship was sailing from Napier.

CCTV camera footage and witness statements indicated it was not an accidental fall, the statement said.

The Rescue Coordination Centre was notified of the incident about 7pm yesterday evening after a mayday call was sent from the ship roughly six nautical miles southwest of the Māhia Peninsula.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the individual's family during this difficult time," the Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

A passenger on the ship, Sara Barrett, told 1 NEWS she is unhappy with the communication and customer service received on board.

"The communication with the cruise in the last 24 hours has been poor. They waited nearly two hours...to tell anyone what had happened," she said.

"It was...only when they brought the boat to a complete stop, they alerted us to the fact they were sending out a rescue boat.

"People on board are very upset and displeased. Crew aren’t being able to get off ship as planned. Customer service has done nothing to remedy the situation or offer concessions for those who have lost money on this trip."

The California woman said she was on her honeymoon and spent nearly NZ$15,000.

"They have offered nothing in refunds, or credits on board. We were told basically tough luck," she said.

At about 6am today, the Napier Coastguard Unit and the Eastland Rescue Trust Helicopter resumed search efforts for the missing man.

Maritime NZ Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesperson Vince Cholewa told 1 NEWS the weather had deteriorated since last night and there are now choppy seas with winds of about 21 knots – 37km/h.

The search has since been postponed.

Sydney man Phil Hacker, who is on board the Norwegian Jewel, told Nine News: "I'm on the balcony and I can see search lights from other ships in the distance moving over the water slowly on both sides."

His partner, Kelly Wong, said she was shocked by the unfolding emergency.

"Falling overboard and being left behind is your worst fear. I can't believe it's happening," she told the Australian media outlet.

The ship departed Sydney eight days ago and is on a 12-day voyage around New Zealand.

The Norwegian Jewel is due to arrive in Tauranga this morning, before heading to Auckland - arriving tomorrow morning. The ship is then scheduled to leave tomorrow afternoon, bound for Sydney.

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