Carnival cruise ship comes within feet of jet skiers

Two jet skiers were plucked from the water as the bow of a cruise ship closed in on them Saturday afternoon in Port Canaveral.

The jet skiers were saved by quick actions by a Port Canaveral harbor pilot and a Brevard County Sheriff Marine Unit deputy.

The harrowing incident was captured on video by a cruise passenger and posted on YouTube.

More details were added to the pilot association's website Sunday.

Brown quickly alerted Brevard County Sheriff's Deputy Taner Primmer, who was operating the sheriff's marine unit patrol boat escorting the departing cruise ship. Primmer headed toward the jet skiers when one of the water craft flipped and both of its riders ended up in the water "in extremely close proximity to the bow of the ship now bearing down on their position."

Brown, working with the captain and bridge team of the Carnival Magic, maneuvered the vessel away from the boaters while Primmer pulled both of them aboard his patrol vessel and quickly reversed the boat out of danger.

Brown, a 1982 graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy, has been a pilot at Port Canaveral since 2002.

Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray, who watched the video, said the incident shows the professionalism of the people who work out of Port Canaveral — from the Canaveral Pilots Association, to the sheriff's marine patrol unit to the cruise ship personnel.

"If someone gets too close to one of these cruise ships when they're not supposed to, there's no way it's going to be safe," Murray said.