Meredith says she was told that the Star Princess contacted the boat and "that they were asking the

It was international news recently when a small fishing hotels in washington dc area boat was found adrift in the Pacific Ocean, several hotels in washington dc area hundred miles from the Panama town where it launched. After 28 days at sea, only one of the three men who had been onboard was still alive. The other two died from lack of water and exposure.
Now there are allegations that weeks earlier, while all of the men were still alive, an American-based cruise ship, the Star Princess, spotted the drifting boat — but sailed on without stopping to help.
In March, on a cruise around South America, the passengers included three bird-watchers, two from Oregon and one from Ireland. They were on deck daily to watch for seabirds, using powerful binoculars and spotting hotels in washington dc area telescopes.
One of the other birders on the Star Princess was Judy Meredith from Bend, Ore. She says, "We all watched him for a bit and thought, 'This guy's in distress. He's trying to get our attention. And he doesn't have a motor on his boat.' We could see that."
"He called the bridge and I sort of talked through the story," she says. "And I was trying to have a sense or urgency in my voice — and tell them that the boat was in distress, hotels in washington dc area and they were trying to get our attention."
hotels in washington dc area A crew member used Gilligan's telescope to look at the drifting boat. Gilligan says, at that point, "We were a bit relieved because he had confirmed that he had seen what we were describing. We expected the ship to turn back or stop or something."
Gilligan says he and the other birders could only hope that the captain of the Star Princess hotels in washington dc area was taking the appropriate steps — perhaps contacting Panamanian or other authorities, who would conduct search-and-rescue operations.
When she got home, Meredith contacted Princess Cruises to see what action was taken. She says a customer relations representative told her the captain reported a different version of the incident — and that according to the captain's log, the ship had been passing through a fishing fleet.
Meredith hotels in washington dc area says she was told that the Star Princess contacted the boat and "that they were asking the ship to move to the west, because they didn't want their nets to be damaged. And that the ship altered course. And they were waving their shirts because they were thanking the ship."
Eventually, the bird-watchers learned of a news story from Ecuador. The Ecuadorean coast guard had picked up a small fishing boat near the Galapagos Islands with just one survivor aboard: 18-year-old Adrian Vasquez.
It seemed improbable, but Meredith and the other bird-watchers wondered, hotels in washington dc area "Could this be the boat they saw?" In Panama, reporter Don Winner with the website Panama-Guide.com tracked down Vasquez and recorded video of the interview.
In a statement, Princess Cruises says, "We're aware of the allegations that Star Princess supposedly passed by a boat in distress hotels in washington dc area that was carrying hotels in washington dc area three Panamanian fishermen on March 10. At this time we cannot verify the facts as reported, and we are currently conducting an internal investigation on the matter."
The Star Princess is registered hotels in washington dc area in Bermuda. An official with Bermuda's Department of Maritime Administration says his office is in contact with Princess hotels in washington dc area about the incident but hasn't determined yet whether it will conduct a full investigation. Copyright 2012 National Public Radio.