Overview
- A passenger was reported missing from Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition while the ship was about 36 nautical miles east of Arbroath and the alarm was raised on Friday, August 21.
- HM Coastguard led a large search-and-rescue operation that used a coastguard helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, RNLI lifeboats, coastguard rescue teams, a commercial SAR helicopter and nearby vessels.
- The Ambition berthed in Dundee, carried out a thorough ship-wide search and briefly held more than 1,000 passengers and crew before they were allowed to disembark.
- Police Scotland said a body was recovered during the operation, the family have been informed and formal identification and police enquiries are ongoing.
- Ambassador Cruise Line and maritime partners say they followed international SAR procedures, and the incident highlights that overboard events are rare but trigger coordinated multi-agency responses and formal police investigations.