PORTLAND (AP) – A New Hampshire man who jumped overboard from the Scotia Prince after being denied entry into Canada was being returned Thursday to Portland, where he was to be turned over to federal officials.
The man, whose identity was not released, met the requirements needed to board the Scotia Prince in Portland but was rejected by Canadian immigration officials upon the ship’s arrival in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, officials said.
As the ship was leaving, the man took his luggage and jumped 70 feet into the water in an apparent effort to swim to shore, said Mark Hudson, spokesman for Scotia Prince Cruises, which is based in Portland.
The ship’s captain halted the ship and the crew launched a rescue operation, getting the man out of the 46-degree water within five minutes.
The ship was delayed only 20 minutes in departing for the half-day trip to Portland, Hudson said. The ferry, which has a capacity of 1,000 passengers and 200 vehicles, makes a single round trip each day between Portland and Yarmouth.
The man was to be turned over to U.S. immigration officials upon the vessel’s return to Portland Harbor at 8 p.m. Thursday, Hudson said in a telephone interview from his office in Hamilton, Ontario.
The incident marked only the third episode of someone going overboard that Hudson could recall in the Scotia Prince’s 35-year history.
The man who hopped overboard was treated at a local hospital and held overnight before being returned. He was secured in one of the ship’s cabins and was to be escorted off the ship.
He was denied entry after being questioned by Canadian immigration officials.
because he gave inconsistent answers about where he planned to travel and because he did not have any money, Hudson said.
“It was an issue of funds,” Hudson said. “He wanted to visit Cape Breton but he had no money, no car.”
John Hamill, chief operating officer of Scotia Prince Cruises, said the man was lucky he was not injured by the propellers. As it turns out, the man suffered only a mild case of hypothermia.
“That this gentleman was foolish enough to jump off the stern of the ship is proof positive that the Canadian authorities made the right decision,” Hamill said in a statement.
The man committed no crime, so there was no reason to keep him in Canada. It was unclear what U.S. officials planned to do with the man. All passengers must clear customs upon their arrival.
—
On the Net:
http://www.scotiaprince.com
AP-ES-05-20-04 1503EDT
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.