The Queen Mary 2 cruise ship was forced to turn back 12 hours after it left New York on Thursday, when cruise ship staff could not locate the woman on board.
The transatlantic ship, operated by cruise ship holiday company Cunard Line, carried out a “search and rescue pattern” in pursuit of the holidaymaker, who was reported missing at between 8pm and 10pm GMT on Thursday (3am local time).The search involved the cruise ship, and a plane, ship and helicopter ran by the US Coast Guard, with the captain sending an emergency message, which read: "Missing woman on QM2. No details yet. Ship turned around and Coast Guard alerted."
But a spokesperson for Cunard Line has now announced the search has been called off and the ship is resuming its route to the Caribbean.The spokesperson said: ”It is with sadness we can confirm that after a comprehensive search, working with all relevant authorities, Queen Mary 2 has halted the search for a missing guest, presumed overboard.
"The ship left New York on December 22, on a 12-night Caribbean itinerary. Cunard's care team is offering every support to the family.
"The ship is now back on course to reach St Maarten on December 26 as scheduled."
The woman was first reported missing as the ship was passing nearly 100 miles (161km) south-east of Atlantic City, New Jersey.The Coast Guard did not have more details to provide regarding the circumstances under which she went missing.
The Queen Mary 2 was built in 2003 at a cost of £700 million and launched the following year.
The luxury ship was renovated earlier this year and boasts suites, state rooms and the "largest library at sea", with 8,000 books, according to the Cunard website.
The ship, described by Cunard as “the last great ocean liner”, is based at the port of Southampton.
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