A legal dispute between the family of a tourist who drowned at Horseshoe Bay two years ago and Norwegian Cruise Lines has been settled for an undisclosed sum outside of court.

Pennsylvania resident Hyon Duk Shin, 49, visited the island on the Norwegian Getaway cruise ship with his wife, Yanli Gong, their two sons and his mother, Kwang Shin, in March 2024.

During a trip to Horseshoe Bay, Mr Shin went to help a girl in the water but soon needed assistance himself.

He was brought to shore and taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ms Gong and Ms Shin filed a joint lawsuit against NCL last year, claiming that the company advertised an “easy” beach or swimming excursion for passengers at the popular beach, but failed to warn about dangerous riptides and currents, the absence of lifeguards and previous drownings.

The civil claim, which sought damages, was filed in the United States District Court in Southern Florida and stated: “NCL had notice of these dangerous conditions through public warnings from multiple government entities, available weather and sea condition forecasts, a variety of cruise passenger reports and prior similar incidents.”

Lawyers for NCL wrote in a motion in January that the cruise line “was not required to inspect, supervise or enforce specific safety standards for a public beach that is owned and operated by Bermuda, and there is no evidence NCL created or had notice of any unsafe conditions”.

The motion also claimed there was “no record evidence that [Mr Shin] drowned due to any adverse sea conditions” but, even assuming he did, “such conditions are open and obvious as a matter of law”.

Cecilia Altonaga, a Chief United States District Judge, denied the cruise line’s motion last month and scheduled the case for a five-day trial.

She wrote that on March 27, 2024, the day Mr Shin drowned, “the captain’s log on the Getaway indicated that the wind conditions were conducive to producing ‘stronger rip currents’ ”.

A notice of settlement in the case was filed on Saturday, two days before the trial was set to start.

The details of the settlement are not publicly available, but the parties requested 45 days to complete the necessary documents, including an agreement to permanently close the lawsuit.

Part of Judge Altonaga’s written order on April 6 read: “If the parties fail to complete the expected settlement, either party may, by motion, request the court to reopen the case within 60 days of this order.”

A lawyer for the family of Mr Shin said today that neither they nor Ms Shin could provide any additional comments.

The Royal Gazette contacted NCL about the settlement but there was no response by the time of publication.

At the time of the incident, Bermudian Ali Watlington, a trained lifeguard, helped to bring Mr Shin back to shore after seeing commotion in the water from an overlook on South Road.

In a letter to Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, then the Minister of Public Works, Ms Watlington wrote: “There were two very distinct rip currents, with about ten people in them, and a large crowd all gathered at the west end of the beach.

“I could also see a black shape floating around the west headland. I did not observe anyone running or anything to suggest that there was a problem but the rip currents concerned me and I decided to go down to the beach to see what was happening.”

Statistics released by the Bermuda Police Service showed 28 drowning deaths, including five at Horseshoe Bay, between 2015 and 2025.

Jaché Adams, the Minister of Public Works and Environment, said despite recruiting challenges, the ministry’s lifeguard team performed 75 rescue exercises, as well as 400 minor and 21 major first-aid interventions last year.

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