Search for Australian Who Fell Overboard Cruise Ship Called Off

People sit and enjoy the facilites on the top deck onboard the cruise ship Quantum of the Seas in Southampton, England, on Oct. 31, 2014. Matt Cardy/Getty Images

The search for Australian man who went overboard a cruise ship has been suspended by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The man, identified as 35-year-old Warwick Tollemache, was on board the Royal Caribbean cruise from Brisbane to Honolulu, fell into the ocean at about 11 p.m. on Tuesday, local time (Wednesday evening Australian Eastern time), about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Hawaii’s Big Island.

“After reviewing all relevant information of the case and discussing it with the next of kin, the Coast Guard has made the difficult decision to suspend the active search for the passenger aboard the Quantum of the Seas,” said Kevin Cooper, the search and rescue mission coordinator.

In a Facebook post, Tollemache’s mother, Mandy, said her family was “heartbroken at the loss of beloved Warwick.”

“He was a kind, beautiful, and gentle soul who was adored by everyone who knew him,” she said. “He will be deeply missed.”

She asked for privacy and thanked people for their understanding.

U.S. coast guard Ryan Fisher noted the search was suspended “pending any new information,” meaning if they can reactivate the search from any news.

However, the sheer size of the ocean was a significant challenge to the search.

“With our district—we operate with a majority of the Pacific—so that does pose challenges, those challenges being just the vastness of the Pacific here, so we really rely heavily on our partners here,” he told Sky News Australia.

“We work as hard as we can. We actually worked alongside Australian counterparts here, so it’s more of just putting all that information together and making those conclusions.”

A British Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules military transport that was carrying evacuees from Sudan is pictured on the tarmac at Larnaca International Airport, in Cyprus, on April 26, 2023. Christina Assi/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. coast guard deployed a C-130 Hercules aircraft to for the search and rescue mission on Wednesday morning, arriving on the scene at about 9 a.m.

After completing five search patterns, which took six hours, the crew returned due to fuel constraints.

The coast guard had been preparing to continue the search on Thursday, but after discussions, decided to call it off.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement that the ship’s crew had immediately launched its own search and rescue operation and worked with local authorities.

“Out of respect for the family, we will not share further details about this unfortunate event,” it said.

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his loved ones at this time.”

Georgina Thompson, a passenger on board the ship, said she and her husband had gone to sleep when they woke up to “Oscar Oscar Oscar” on the PA system, which was the code for man overboard.

“There were lights, you know, the big lights shining on the ocean,” she told Nine’s Today show.

“And also, there were a couple of boats out there in the water.”

She recounted the “very sombre” mood of the ship after it resumed the rest of its journey to Hawaii.