A Carnival Cruise Line ship has rescued more than 20 migrants off the coast of Cuba after they called for help from a small wooden vessel.
The cruise ship changed course on Sunday after the crew on board the ship spotted a group of 27 migrants seeking help about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Cuba.
The migrants, made up entirely of Cuban nationals, were helped on board before being given food and medical assistance, the report said Fox13.
Cruise personnel notified the U.S. Coast Guard, but it is unclear whether the migrants remained on board until the cruise ends in Florida, as it also stopped in Roatan, Honduras.
Footage captured the moment more than 20 Cuban migrants were rescued from a makeshift wooden vessel about 20 miles off the coast of Cuba on Sunday
The group of migrants was offered food and medical assistance when the U.S. Coast Guard was called to the Carnival Paradise cruise ship
The rescue mission came as crews aboard the 70,000-ton Carnival Paradise ship – which houses more than 2,100 guests and nearly 1,000 staff – changed course after spotting the migrants calling for help.
Crews aboard the 70,000-ton Carnival Paradise ship – which houses more than 2,100 guests and nearly 1,000 staff – changed course around 2:30 p.m. while en route to Roatan.
Despite the detour, the cruise arrived on time at its intended port, Mahogany Bay, the cruise ship said.
The ship will call at the port of Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday before concluding its voyage in Tampa, Florida, on Thursday.
The latest heroics aboard the Carnival Paradise cruise ship was not the first time it has been used to rescue stranded migrants.
In 2019, a sailor was rescued near Cozumel, Mexico, and in 2022, more than 20 migrants were rescued by cruise ship staff in two separate incidents, according to Travel and tour world.
That same year, dramatic footage also captured a rescue mission aboard an 11-day Caribbean cruise from Rotterdam, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where 14 people were rescued when a Category 1 storm rolled in.
Earlier this month, another group of 16 migrants were rescued from a makeshift vessel near the Florida coast when the US Coast Guard released a shocking image of the makeshift vessel used.
Sixteen migrants aboard the vessel, made from planks, wood and scraps, were detained by officers before being repatriated to Cuba.
“The Coast Guard’s primary mission is to save lives at sea,” Lt. Matthew Miller, Coast Guard Seventh District, said at the time.
Earlier this month, another group of 16 migrants were rescued from a makeshift vessel near the Florida coast, when the US Coast Guard released a shocking image of the makeshift vessel being used.
The cruise ship Carnival Paradise (pictured) has carried out similar rescue missions in recent years, including rescuing more than two dozen migrants in two separate attempts in 2022
‘The maritime environment is inherently dangerous. The Coast Guard and our HSTF-SE partners are committed to preventing unsafe travel at sea and enforcing U.S. immigration laws and regulations,” Miller added.
‘Don’t go into the sea.’
After the rescue mission, the U.S. Coast Guard said it had repatriated 348 migrants to Cuba in the 2024 budget year, which began in October 2023.
Attempts to enter the US illegally by boat have increased in recent years, with violence and unrest in neighboring Haiti causing a spike in daring attempts.
On Friday, two days before the Carnival Paradise cruise rescue, a yacht found to be smuggling more than 30 Haitian migrants was stopped by Miami-Dade County Police Department Marine Patrol officers.
Specifically, the stop near Key Biscayne, Florida, was aboard a 60-foot luxury yacht, with migrants held in a cramped cabin below deck, reports the Miami Herald.