The crew of the containership MSC Rossella III located a 44-year-old woman who had gone overboard from Royal Caribbean International's Odyssey of the Seas in the Ionian Sea in the early hours of Saturday, October 10.
The crew spotted the flashing light of a lifebuoy and alerted the Hellenic Coast Guard.
The woman, a national of El Salvador, had spent up to 20 hours in the water and was reportedly suffering from mild hypothermia.
Authorities were notified early on Friday, October 9, that she had fallen into the sea about 72 nautical miles southwest of Zakynthos. She was found roughly 70 nautical miles southwest of Zakynthos.
"During the search operations, an overturned circular lifebuoy was initially located, whilst in the early hours of yesterday morning the 44-year-old woman was found conscious inside the lifebuoy by the cargo ship 'MSC Rossella III,' flying the flag of Madeira, which was taking part in the search operations," the coast guard said.
A coast guard patrol boat, nearby merchant ships and a Hellenic Air Force Super Puma helicopter also took part in the search. A coast guard rescue vessel recovered the woman and administered first aid before she was taken to Katakolo and then to hospital in Pyrgos.
A coast guard spokesperson told AFP that the woman said she had jumped because, "she wanted to disembark." The Katakolo Port Authority has opened a preliminary investigation.
The 347-metre, 167,704 GT Odyssey of the Seas was sailing from Mykonos to Naples. The Bahamas-flagged ship joined the search and cancelled its scheduled Naples call.