Virgin Voyages crew member dies on ship, Coast Guard says. Another in cruise industry deaths

Devoun Cetoute, Taylor Dolven
·2 min read

A crew member aboard a Virgin Voyages ship died Friday night, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The company says the crew member’s death is not coronavirus-related.

The crew member, a 32-year-old Filipino man, died from “apparent self-harm” aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, the Coast Guard said.

The Scarlet Lady is the company’s first and only ship in operation, and can hold 2,770 people. It was supposed to launch from Miami in March but was canceled due the novel coronavirus pandemic. The company announced it has canceled cruises through Oct. 15.

A Virgin Voyages spokesperson said the crew member’s death was not coronavirus-related and that he was not waiting to be repatriated.

PortMiami logs show the Scarlet Lady docked on Friday at 12:20 p.m. and sailed at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The company also said his body was disembarked at the port. No other information about the crew member was released.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm a crew member has passed away while on board,” Virgin Voyages said in a statement. “We are working with the appropriate authorities to learn more and are respecting the privacy of those impacted. We extend our heartfelt, deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of our crew member.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has approved 81 crew repatriations from the Scarlet Lady since mid-April to the U.S., Jamaica, South Africa and Bulgaria.

Since the cruise industry was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, other crew members have died aboard ships.

One crew member died by going overboard on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas at the end of April near Greece.

On May 10, a 39-year-old crew member from Ukraine on the Regal Princess ship died after jumping overboard while the ship was anchored off Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Another man died aboard the Carnival Breeze in early May, which was on its way to Southampton with plans to disembark crew members throughout several European cities at the time. The cruise line did not disclose the cause of death “out of respect for his family,” Carnival Cruise Line spokesperson Chris Chiames said.

A crew member also died on Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas in early May. The company spokesperson told the Miami Herald the death was from “natural causes.”