“Kenneth Schwalbe Missing: Search for Man Overboard from Emerald Princess near Hilo, Hawaii”

Authorities are currently searching for a male passenger who went missing from the Emerald Princess cruise ship near Hilo, Hawaii. The man, identified as 59-year-old Kenneth Schwalbe, was last seen on Thursday evening. Surveillance footage shows him falling from the ship early Friday morning. Search operations have been initiated, and the incident is under investigation. This is one of several recent overboard incidents reported in the cruise industry. Cruise Hive reported

Authorities are currently conducting a search for a male passenger who has been reported missing from the Emerald Princess, a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises. The incident took place in the early morning hours of Friday, August 11, 2023, as the ship was approaching Hilo, Hawaii, which was its first port of call on a 16-night Hawaiian Islands voyage from Los Angeles. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has initiated search operations off the northeastern coast of the Big Island to locate the missing individual.

The missing passenger has been identified as Kenneth Schwalbe, a 59-year-old man from California. Both Hawaiian authorities and USCG teams are working together to search for him after he went overboard from the cruise ship near Hilo, Hawaii. Schwalbe is described as being 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds, and having brown hair. The Hawai’i Police Department was notified of the incident at 8:40 a.m. on Friday, August 11, 2023. It is unclear why the missing person report was not initiated until the following morning, as no details have been disclosed regarding this aspect.

Although authorities have not officially confirmed the cruise ship involved as the Emerald Princess, guests onboard have confirmed that announcements made by the ship’s captain were related to the incident. As there were no other cruise ships in the vicinity of Hilo at the time of the missing person notification, it can be inferred that the Emerald Princess is the vessel in question. Crew members conducted a search of the ship but were unable to locate the missing man, prompting them to notify Hawaiian authorities. Surveillance footage from the cruise ship was reviewed and revealed that an individual matching Schwalbe’s description was seen falling from the ship at 4:18 a.m. on Friday morning. The footage was captured by a camera situated on Deck 9 of the 113,561-gross ton vessel, which comprises 19 decks. Deck 9, also known as the “Dolphin” deck, consists solely of staterooms and a small laundromat, with no public areas.

Search operations were immediately launched, involving resources from the USCG. The surveillance footage allowed authorities to determine the approximate location of the man’s fall, which was about eight miles offshore Hilo, Hawaii. However, no further information is currently available regarding the circumstances of the incident, the missing man’s companions, or any other relevant details.

At the time of the incident, the Emerald Princess was on a 16-night Hawaiian Islands itinerary, having departed from Los Angeles on Saturday, August 5. Hilo was its first scheduled port of call, followed by Honolulu, Nawiliwili, and Lahaina, before returning back to the mainland with a stop in Ensenada, Mexico, and ultimately arriving in Los Angeles on Monday, August 21. However, the call to Lahaina has been changed to Kona due to the recent wildfires that caused significant destruction in Maui, particularly in historic Lahaina.

The Emerald Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship capable of accommodating 3,080 guests at double occupancy, with 1,200 crew members onboard. Unfortunately, there have been several overboard incidents in recent months affecting different cruise lines and sailing regions. These incidents serve as a reminder of the importance of safety measures and the need for ongoing vigilance in the cruise industry. Our thoughts are with the missing man’s loved ones, as well as the ship’s crew and emergency personnel involved in the search operations..