Search for missing passenger continues off Scotland after overboard incident on cruise ship

A major search and rescue operation is underway off the east coast of Scotland after a man was reported to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship. The alarm was raised on Friday morning, August 21, 2026, for a passenger missing from the Ambassador Ambition, which was en route from Lerwick to Dundee.

HM Coastguard said it received a report at approximately 8:35 a.m. that a man had gone overboard from a passenger vessel about 36 nautical miles east of Arbroath, Angus. A coastguard helicopter and airplane were immediately deployed, along with RNLI lifeboats from Anstruther and Broughty Ferry. Coastguard rescue teams from Dundee, Arbroath, and St Andrews are also involved in the search, which is being assisted by a commercial search and rescue helicopter and several nearby vessels.

The ship, operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, had been on a solar eclipse trip around Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Shetland. According to a passenger account, the missing man boarded the vessel at Lerwick, Shetland, on Wednesday, August 19, which was the cruise's final scheduled stop. The passenger reported that a call was made during breakfast around 7:30 a.m. for the missing individual to contact...