Police Scotland has confirmed that a body was recovered during the search for a man reported overboard from Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition off the east coast of Scotland.
Formal identification had not taken place at the time of the police statement. However, the family of the man who was reported missing has been informed.
The development follows Deck7’s report on Friday that a search and rescue operation was under way after a guest could not be found while Ambition was sailing from Lerwick to Dundee.
Body recovered during North Sea search
Police Scotland said it received a report at approximately 8.55am on Friday, 21 August 2026, that a man had gone overboard from a cruise ship in the North Sea, around 40 nautical miles from Anstruther in Fife.
The force said a search and rescue operation was carried out by police and partner agencies and that a body was recovered.
HM Coastguard said the man-overboard report was received at approximately 8.35am. It placed the reported position around 36 nautical miles east of Arbroath in Angus.
The two distances use different locations on Scotland’s east coast as their reference points and relate to the same incident.
Aircraft and vessels joined operation
HM Coastguard deployed a search and rescue helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft. A commercial search and rescue helicopter and vessels operating nearby were also involved in the response.
Ambition continued to Dundee, where it berthed while a thorough ship-wide search was completed. Passengers who had initially been asked to remain aboard were subsequently cleared to disembark.
Ambassador Cruise Line said the alarm had been raised during the ship’s passage from Lerwick after it was discovered that a guest was not where they were expected to be.
Turnaround operation delayed
The incident caused a slight delay to the ship’s turnaround at Dundee. Ambassador advised passengers due to begin their next voyage to travel to the port according to their scheduled embarkation arrangements.
The cruise line said it was following established search and rescue procedures and working with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, HM Coastguard and Police Scotland.
Ambassador also said it would not provide further details while the incident remained subject to an active police investigation.
Ambition was returning from eclipse cruise
Ambition had been returning to Dundee following a 13-night solar-eclipse voyage that included destinations in the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Shetland.
The ship’s final scheduled call before returning to Dundee was Lerwick on 19 August.
Police Scotland has not released the man’s identity. Until the formal identification process has been completed, authorities have not formally confirmed that the recovered body is that of the missing passenger.
Deck7 extends its thoughts to the man’s family and everyone affected by the incident.