Cruise Ship Worker Took Own Life After Not Being Allowed to Leave: Report

A crew member took his own life on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in mid-November, according to a report.
The crew member, an unnamed Brazilian man, died shortly after the Wonder of the Seas set sail for the Caribbean from Port Canaveral, Florida, on November 13, Crew Center reported.
According to the website, a source said the man, who worked as a galley steward, “apparently died of suicide and left a note before his death along with a video on social media.”
The crew member’s death came after he had reportedly requested to sign off to return home due to personal issues at home. That request was denied, according to Crew Center.
Newsweek has contacted Royal Caribbean for comment.
The death has raised questions about why cruise lines don’t have mental health counselors aboard their ships.
Crew Center said the crew member’s death “is another sad reminder that mental health professionals are needed on board in order to provide direct support 24/7 for crew members and talk with each one about their concerns, challenges and fears. The mental health and well-being of the crew needs to be the main focus among the shipboard management as well.”
Royal Caribbean does not employ any despite at least 25 employees going overboard from the company’s ships in the past 13 years, according to data collected by Cruise Law News, run by maritime lawyer Jim Walker.
The website says that most of the crew members “disappeared mysteriously and appeared to have ended their lives intentionally.”
A Royal Caribbean employee, reportedly an Indian man, went overboard from the Odyssey of the Seas in April last year as the Royal Caribbean cruise ship sailed south of Cyprus.
Before that, a 27-year-old crew member from Poland disappeared from the Jewel of the Seas as the ship was sailing near the coast of Greece in May 2020.
The ship’s closed-circuit camera captured the man jumping from the ship into the sea.
There were a total of 623 deaths on cruise ship lines between 2000 and 2019—89 percent of them passenger deaths, according to a November 2020 study published by the International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health.
Suicide and murder made up about 29 percent of the crew deaths, the study found.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day. Or dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.