These cruise ship passengers got a “cast away” experience from real life
No one packed a volleyball, but the irony was completely intact.
Last weekend, the MV Fiji Princess ran aground on a reef near Monuriki, the uninhabited Fijian island where Tom Hanks spent four biographical years talking to a piece of sports equipment in the 2000 film Throw away. The small luxury vessel, part of the Blue Lagoon Cruises fleet, was carrying 30 passengers and 31 crew members when it beached itself in the early hours of the morning.
According to Blue Lagoon, a “severe downpour” was the culprit. Conditions had been calm when the ship anchored, but the storm apparently dragged the anchor against the reef until the vessel stood, embarrassingly grounded. The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji confirmed that the ship sustained significant damage and was taking on water.
A cruise ship ran aground on the island where Cast Away was filmed
Fortunately, the rescue did not go like the movie. Passengers grabbed their luggage, boarded a large fast ferry and were back at Port Denarau on the Fijian mainland in no time. Blue Lagoon reported that everyone disembarked “in an orderly manner.” No damage. No four-year survival mission. No desperate raft made of FedEx waste. The cruise line put passengers up in hotels in the port city and noted that many guests were “grateful” for how the situation was handled.
The location itself is no secret. Monuriki is a recognized tourist destination in the Mamanuca Islands, a volcanic archipelago famous for its beauty, diving sites and coral reefs. Blue Lagoon actually markets accommodations on the island as part of its 3- to 7-day Fiji cruise packages, some of which include a visit to Throw away movie location. Local tour operators run Throw away-themed excursions there routinely. The island has also served as a filming location for Survivor since 2016, so it knows how to handle a camera crew and a manufactured disaster. However, this was not produced.
While the passengers were fine, the environmental impact was very real. The Fiji Princess had thousands of liters of diesel on board and the Maritime Safety Authority quickly mobilized to prevent any leakage into the surrounding reef system. By Monday, the agency confirmed a successful fuel transfer, with about 23,000 liters removed from the vessel.
The ship is still out there. The passengers are back on land, probably with better vacation stories than someone who just sat on a beach all week. And Monuriki once again delivered exactly what it was always known for.
