TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Carnival Paradise cruise ship returned to Tampa Thursday with more passengers on board than when it left.
During a trip to Honduras and Mexico, the captain of the ship came to the rescue of two dozen refugees from Cuba.
Herman Bips was a passenger on the Carnival Paradise from Tampa. He told WFLA’s Jeff Patterson that he noticed a difference in speed while driving this week.
“It was Sunday afternoon around 4 o’clock and the boat felt like it was stopping,” Bips said.
On the horizon, he could see a small dot that looked like a boat. As the cruise ship approached, Bips could see an overloaded ship in bad shape.
“Very poor. Someone said it was actually leaking and they were releasing,” Bips said.
The captain of the cruise ship notified his passengers that, according to maritime law, he would render aid and assistance to the vessel in distress.
“At that point, I think he knew he had to get people on board,” Bips said. “I understand that they gave them clothing, medical care, water, food, but they isolated them in a certain area.”
A spokesman for the Carnival cruise line confirmed that the Paradise rescued 24 people on a small boat that was southwest of Cuba. The ship’s crew provided food, water and medical aid to the people in the small boat.
When the Paradise returned to port in Tampa this week, 21 men and three women from Cuba were surrendered to the custody of the US Coast Guard.
“I was so sad, I mean it almost brought tears to my eyes that people were so desperate to leave a place and put themselves – kind of like a long shot. You know — if we hadn’t seen them, they probably would have drowned,” Bips said.
