A cruise ship employee was rescued off Santa Catalina Island early Saturday after spending more than nine hours in the water, authorities said.
A fishing vessel found the man, a crew member from Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Ovation of the Seas, about nine nautical miles off Avalon Harbor, said Lt. Santiago Tamburini of the U.S. Coast Guard. Newport Beach lifeguards rescued him around 11:30 a.m., he said.
The man may have jumped off the ship, and the Coast Guard is investigating the incident as a possible suicide attempt, Tamburini said. It is unclear whether the man was wearing a life jacket or clinging to a flotation device in the water.
He is believed to have entered the water around 2 a.m., Tamburini said, attributing his survival to unusually warm ocean waters. A powerful El Niño has combined with a marine heat wave and decades of climate-change-driven warming to send sea surface temperatures to record heights.
“It’s very lucky that he survived,” Tamburini said. “Even with the ideal water conditions we have right now in terms of water temperature, that is a long time to be in the water.”
Lifeguards transferred the man to the Newport Beach Fire Department in stable condition, and he was taken to a hospital for further care, Tamburini said. The Coast Guard’s marine inspections team is continuing to investigate the incident, which is considered a possible marine casualty, he said.
Royal Caribbean Cruises did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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