Crew member dies in elevator accident on cruise ship

P&O Cruises confirmed that one of their crew members died following an elevator accident on the Arvia ship. 

Arvia was only two days into a transatlantic voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to Bridgetown, Barbados, when the incident occurred on Sunday, October 26, 2025. 

The ship then made an unscheduled stop in A Coruña, Spain, on Sunday afternoon. The port confirmed that the visit was related to a "workplace accident involving a deceased crew member." Arvia remained docked from 3 p.m. "until night, when it set sail for Tenerife."

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The United Kingdom's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) website has the fatal accident on its current list of investigations, and inspectors are set to board the ship at its next port of call "to start a preliminary assessment of the accident, and to determine the next steps," according to the BBC. 

Although the cruise line hasn't revealed a lot of details surrounding the incident, a Philippine news agency shared that the crew member was "crushed":

"To all seafarers, we are deeply saddened by the recent loss of a Filipino crew who tragically lost his life after being crushed in a cruise ship elevator."

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"We can confirm the death of a crewmember following an accident on board Arvia yesterday. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends both on board and at home and we are providing every possible support to them," P&O Cruises said in a statement. 

P&O's Arvia cruise ship is an Excellence Class ship that can accommodate up to 5,200 guests and 1,800 crew members. 

The vessel was launched in 2022 for P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival UK. It's expected to arrive in Barbados on November 7.