MIAMI -- The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the Fantome,
the flagship of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, amid fears that the
vessel sank during Hurricane Mitch.
A weeklong search by Coast Guard and naval vessels that
canvassed an area the size of Colorado failed to locate the ship,
which has been missing since Oct. 27 with 31 crewmen aboard.
Coast Guard officials said that survivors in the area's
85-degree waters could maintain their body temperatures for many
days but that dehydration could be fatal within 72 hours. The
Fantome's crew consisted mostly of Caribbean nationals, the line
said.
The 282-foot, four-masted schooner had sailed on Oct. 25 from
the port of Omoa, Honduras, with 100 passengers aboard for a
six-day cruise. With the approach of Mitch, the passengers
disembarked on Oct. 26 at Belize City, Belize, and flew to Miami
aboard a Windjammer-chartered plane. The Fantome, whose replacement
value is put between $10 million and $15 million, was slated to be
repositioned in the eastern Caribbean, along with the line's other
six ships.