Stranded Cruise Passengers Rescued Far Faster Than Tom Hanks's Cast Away Character
Thirty cruise passengers were rescued overnight after their ship ran aground at the very island where Tom Hanks filmed his four-year survival ordeal.
The MV Fiji Princess, a 182-foot vessel operated by Blue Lagoon Cruises, ran aground on a reef near Monuriki Island in Fiji's Mamanuca group on Saturday, stranding 30 passengers at the exact location where Tom Hanks's character survived alone for four years in the film "Cast Away." Unlike Chuck Noland, the FedEx analyst marooned in that 2000 movie, the real-life passengers were back on dry land by the following morning.
A ferry was brought alongside the 55.52-meter ship at first light on Sunday and 30 passengers disembarked with their luggage and belongings. No one was injured. The passengers were taken to Denarau Island.
Blue Lagoon Cruises said in a statement that the ship ran aground Saturday near Monuriki Island, scene of the 2000 movie starring Hanks. "Whilst the investigation is in its early stages, conditions upon the ship anchoring in the area were calm, and it appears a severe squall caused the ship's anchor to drag towards a nearby reef whereby the ship became grounded," the company said.
The 55-meter vessel struck the reef during a scheduled seven-day voyage. According to reports from the Fiji Navy, the incident involved approximately 60 people in total, consisting of 30 passengers and roughly 30 crew members. While emergency responders successfully transported all passengers to Port Denarau in the Nadi area, a portion of the crew remained on board to assist with the initial stages of salvage efforts.
The company confirmed there were no injuries to passengers or employees, and it is working to recover the ship, having activated a crisis management plan and enlisted an Australian marine recovery and salvage expert.
An itinerary on the Blue Lagoon Cruises website shows that Monuriki is the first stop on the Escape to Paradise trek, with activities including visits to the filming locations of "Cast Away." The film follows a FedEx analyst who becomes stranded on the uninhabited island after a plane crash, spending four years building shelters, foraging for food, and befriending a volleyball named Wilson before a makeshift raft carries him to rescue. The MV Fiji Princess's passengers needed no raft and no volleyball: one overnight wait for a rescue ferry was the full extent of their ordeal.
The Fiji Princess, which joined the Blue Lagoon Cruises fleet in 2026, remains stuck on the reef as salvage work continues.
Sources:
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
