MSC Cruises reported a missing crew member on March 27, 2018, after the crew member failed to re-board the MSC Opera cruise vessel before it departed from the Cayman Islands. However, questions have surfaced about how long it took the cruise line to report the missing crew member when she was, in fact, missing for four days before the report was made.
The crew member is Yusmaidys Ortiz Perez, a 34-year-old Cuban national. According to the Cayman News Service, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service was told by the cruise ship on March 27 that Perez was missing.
The MSC Opera docked in Grand Cayman on Friday, March 23, 2018, and departed the same day. This timeline meant that Perez went off the ship that day and never returned. Her whereabouts for the four days before the official missing person report was made are not clear. It is also not clear why it took the cruise line four days to discover that one of their very own crew members was not on board the ship, or, if they were aware that she was not on board, why they failed to report her absence for those four days.
The scenario simply does not add up and leads to suspicion regarding why she went missing in the first place. It also raises concern regarding protocol the ship follows to ensure that all personnel are accounted for before leaving the dock.
After Perez was reported missing, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service issued a public advisory, asking for any information that might be helpful regarding her whereabouts and why she was not reported on the ship.
Perez was located in West Bay in the Grand Caymans. The West Bay area is a residential district that is located on the west side of Grand Cayman Island. It is also located north of Seven Mile Beach, one of the island’s more popular attractions.
Perez was found in good health by the Royal Cayman Island Police. She is being held in police custody to allow for immigration authorities to conduct an investigation regarding the circumstances of her disappearance. It remains to be seen whether official charges will be brought, and the police have not released any further details regarding her disappearance. MSC has not provided any additional information regarding Perez’s role on the ship and why her disappearance was not discovered or reported during that four-day-period.
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