A crew member has reached out to Crew Center to report a deeply troubling incident that allegedly happened onboard Margaritaville at Sea Islander on December 23, leaving two crew members dead and three injured. The crew member said the incident took place in the grey water tank while the crew was carrying out their assigned duties. This sort of tank in order to be open, requires a series of procedures due to its gas release including H2S, a highly toxic gas.

The crew member, asking to remain anonymous, told Crew Center: “A big accident occurred in the blackwater tanks where 2 crew died and 3 injured… the 3 injured were sent home without giving them compensation, they only paid them their contract.” The same source alleged the incident followed an order to open the tank.

In follow-up, Crew Center asked for additional details, including names, nationalities, and whether there was any announcement onboard. The crew member said one of the deceased was a Romanian national named Ciprian, and the other was from Indonesian. The three injured crew members are from India, the Philippines, and Indonesia. All of the crew involved were said to be from the engine department, including a third engineer, and the rest motormen.

The same source said a ceremony was held onboard, but claimed it was handled verbally and that crew were not allowed to take photos. A second crew member also confirmed the incident, saying the ship went into what they described as a “media blackout” around the incident.

Margaritaville at Sea Islander operates with roughly 900 crew members, and crew who contacted us say word of the incident spread mostly through conversations between coworkers. Several described an atmosphere where people felt discouraged from speaking openly, saying most were afraid of retaliation or losing their jobs.

For many most painful part is realizing how much risk exists behind the scenes of a cruise vacation. In technical areas below deck tasks can become dangerous fast if procedures are missed or pressure is applied to move forward.

In this case, the crew members who contacted Crew Center say their biggest concern is the safety protocols leading up to the incident, what approvals were given, what checks were done, and whether the proper precautions were taken. They believe these questions matter not only for accountability, but to prevent another tragedy.

They also say there are still unanswered questions about what support was provided afterward, including medical care, repatriation, and compensation, but they stress that the central issue is whether this loss of life could have been prevented through stricter safety controls and enforcement.

Not the first crew tragedy connected to Margaritaville at Sea

This is not the first crew tragedy linked to Margaritaville at Sea. In 2024, a crew member from the AB Deck department died in a lifeboat-related accident on the Islander during a drill while the ship was docked in Cozumel, Mexico an incident that was publicly reported at the time.

Update: More details on the Dec. 23 tank accident aboard Margaritaville at Sea Islander

We received additional information from people with direct knowledge of the December 23, 2025 incident onboard Margaritaville at Sea Islander. To protect those who contacted us, we’re keeping identities private and leaving out any details that could put anyone at risk.

The information shared with Crew Center identifies the two deceased crew members as:
• Ciprian Sucala (Romania) — 3rd Engineer
• Sapwaadji Vip Moh (Indonesia) — Motorman

Correction: gray water tank, not black water

A key detail we are correcting: this was described as a gray water tank, not a blackwater tank as first reported.
Gray water systems can create serious hazards in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces. Crew familiar with this type of work say these areas should be treated with strict precautions because toxic gases can build up quickly.

Allegations of safety failures

According to the information provided by our source, a senior officer ordered the tank to be opened without the normal safety setup in place, such as available oxygen tanks or bottles. This sort of tank in order to be open, requires a series of procedures due to its gas release including a highly toxic gas that could smell like rotten eggs if you are lucky enough to smell it before it kills you.

One of the biggest points raised is that Ciprian and Adji were not even assigned to that job that day, and were not responsible for that tank area. The source said that after the tank was open, a problem was heard over the radio. Ciprian offered to go check what was happening.

What follows is where the story becomes hard to read: Crew Center was told there was no one stationed at the entrance to warn others away, and no clear warning that the tank had been opened. In a properly controlled operation, a safety watch at the entrance along with barriers, monitoring, and clear communication, can be the difference between a contained problem and a fatal chain of events.

The information shared with us says the two men tried to contain the situation and control the leak, and that effort cost them their lives.

After medical emergency code was called over the ship’s system. Within minutes, crew in the area saw one of the men being rushed toward the medical center. Not long after, another announcement went out asking any crew members trained in CPR to report immediately to the medical center.

Even with the emergency unfolding in real time, the person who reached out says the full details weren’t explained right away. They described a long, painful wait before they were finally told what realy happened, nearly two hours later.

The information shared with Crew Center says the case is being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.