Recently in Cruise Vessel and Safety Act Category

Cruise Ship Companies Try To Entice People To Cruise After Costa Concordia Disaster Hits Sales Hard

February 22, 2012,

In light of the negative publicity and information that has surfaced about the cruise ship industry after the Costa Concordia tragedy which resulted in the confirmed loss of 25 lives, the cruise ship companies have had to change their typical game plan for getting people onboard a cruise ship for a fun filled, care free vacation. As a result, the advertising plans have changed. For those who love cruising, and still want to cruise, or those who simply want to try a cruise for the first time, now is a good time. The cruise ship companies are offering a lot of discounts. The New York Times has an article about this and tips on how to get the best deal.

Although there are clearly safety issues involving cruise ships that must be addressed and resolved, and maritime laws that need to be changed to better protect passengers and crewmembers, cruising continues to be good choice for a vacation.

Our maritime personal injury firm continues to act as safety advocates for passengers and crewmembers harmed at sea. We are currently representing passengers from the Costa Concordia. We are available for legal consultation regarding the Costa Concordia matter.

Norovirus - Wash Your Hands When On A Cruise Ship

February 10, 2012,

Norovirus is an RNA virus which can cause gastroenteritis in humans. Washing your hands with soap and water is a recommended preventative measure. It is a highly contagious virus and has recently surfaced aboard two major cruise ships, The Ruby and Crown Princess, Around 500 people were affected. In addition, on Saturday, the Crown Princess had to end its voyage two days early in order to sanitize the ship. I applaud them for taking responsibility and doing the right thing by ending the cruise early despite the jost profits they end up suffering.

Due to many outbreaks of the norovirus on cruise ships, many steps have been taken by t to reduce the outbreaks of this virus. According to the cruise lines: "Our sanitation program has been developed in coordination with the CDC and includes such measures as disinfection of high-touch surfaces; encouraging correct hand washing procedures and enhancing this with the use of hand sanitizing gels placed throughout the ship; isolating ill passengers and crew in cabins until non-contagious; encouraging passengers to use their own cabin's bathroom facilities; and providing regular verbal and written communication to passengers about steps they can take to stay well while onboard." Despite these steps, the outbreaks still exist. The cruise ship industry continues to insist the virus has nothing to do with a cruise ship, that the outbreaks are not more prevalent on cruise ships than other places. as far as cutting the cruise short, the cruise line company stated: "We sincerely regret having to cut short our passengers' cruise vacations because of this highly-unusual situation. We will, of course, be refunding their cruise fare, arranging flights home, including covering change fees if air was not booked through Princess, providing hotel accommodation if necessary, and offering a 25 percent future cruise credit."

According to an article published in the Sun Sentinel it is peak season for norovirus. In addition, Princess has stated that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said there are "widespread outbreaks of norovirus occurring in the U.S.". A recent article in the Florida newspaper Sun-Sentinel provides more discussion about this virus. Passengers can get very sick from this virus, and in rare cases, the virus can cause death.

It is difficult to prove any negligence on the part of the cruise ship for the outbreak of the norovirus during a cruise. One can question their sanitation procedures, but it is difficult to prove the cruise line did something wrong that resulted in the outbreak. If there are back to back cruises with an outbreak of the norovirus, that would be different. In such a case, that would suggest the cruise ship company didn't properly sanitize the ship after the first outbreak and before the start of the next cruise.

Rivkind and Margulies, P.A. are Miami based maritime attorneys that handle all type of accidents occurring on the waterway, including boating accident, cruise ship accidents, and accidents involving personal watercrafts.

Miami Cruise Ship Attorney Discussed in Ireland Press About Costa Concordia Sinking

January 24, 2012,

Miami attorney Brett Rivkind was discussed in a recent news account of the Costa Concordia in Ireland. The Ireland paper discusses how it has experience with a prior disaster involving an Ireland citizen who died during a cruise onboard a Costa cruises lines cruise ship. The death involved Lindsay Obrien, who was only 15 years old when she went on a cruise with her family aboard the Costa cruise ship the Magica.

Lindsay was served alcohol aboard the ship despite being a minor, and was reported to have fallen off the balcony railing on the cruise ship. The case was handled by Miami maritime lawyer Brett Rivkind. Brett Rivkind is also handling cases involving the Costa Concordia, and has been interviewed by major news stations, including CBS evening news.

The Ireland article brings back the memory of Lindsay O'Brien and the tragedy that occurred. The Costa Concordia is a painful reminder of another Costa cruise lines disaster resulting in death.

Brett Rivkind continues to act as a safety advocate for both passengers and crew harmed at sea.

Costa Cruises Admits Captain Mistakes in Costa Concordia Disaster

January 15, 2012,

Costa cruise lines has issued a statement admitting the captain was too close to shore, and that he did not follow appropriate procedures for an emergency situation.

The captain has been arrested, and the first officer is also being detained. Authorities in Italy confirmed the captain did abandon the ship before all the passengers were evacuated.

The captain has said the rocks were not charted, but it is reported the area in question is know for the rocky sea bottom and was in fact well charted.

At least five people have been confirmed dead.

The captain was a safety officer with Costa and then became a captain. His background and qualifications have not been released yet.

Costa did defend the crew, saying they acted appropriately in the assistance of the evacuation of so many passengers under such stressful conditions.

Passengers described the situation as chaotic, and likened the situation to the Titanic disaster.

Our firm continues to act as safety advocates for those harmed at sea.

Captain of Costa Concordia Arrested As A Result of Grounding of Ship

January 14, 2012,

CNN has just announced that the captain of the Costa cruise line cruise ship, Costa Concordia, has been arrested and is being investigated for abandoning ship and manslaughter.

The cruise ship, for some unexplained reason, struck a large rock in shallow waters off the coast of Tuscany, and this massive cruise ship is now laying on its side submerged in water. Three people are dead, two passengers and one crewmember. Many others are missing.

concordia1.jpgThe captain is being heavily criticized for not only being in such shallow waters, known for its rocky sea floor, but for failure to start emergency evacuation procedures. Instead, the passengers were told there was an electrical problem.

Passengers described the situation as chaotic. Fear and panic spread rapidly. The ship leaned to one side and passengers were frantically trying to find their way to life boats in the dark. Some were reported to have jumped off the ship.
concordia4.jpg
I am continuing to monitor the situation and reports as they come in, and my client, a cruise ship captain, is providing his insights into the situation which I will share with my readers.

I continue to act as a safety advocate for those harmed at sea.

Man Pleads Guilty to Rape of Thirteen Year Old on Cruise Ship

November 16, 2011,

Dylan Cole Bloodsworth, who was referred to as a "serial rapist" by the prosecutor, has pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old during a cruise aboard a Carnival Cruise Line cruise ship, the Elation. The assault occurred last March.

This sad story which was highly publicized involved a 13-year-old who was travelling on the cruise ship with her family. She had agreed to go with Bloodsworth to his cabin under the pretense that he was going to retrieve a jacket. He then sexually assaulted the minor in yet another tragic case of a sexual assault on a minor occurring aboard a cruise ship.

These horrible stories we hear is a reminder to all parents who decide to take minor children on a cruise ship that sexual assaults and rapes do happen on cruise ships with a much greater frequency than ever was imagined by the general public. It has only been in recent years that there has been increased public awareness of crimes, including sexual assaults and disappearances, happening onboard cruise ships. The public attention has also resulted in Congressional Hearings addressing cruise ship safety, which eventually led to the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act past in the year 2010 and signed into law by President Obama.

In this particular case, the sexual assault was not committed by a crewmember. It was committed by another passenger. We have also read recently of stories involving passengers engaging in the sale of drugs while onboard ship. One must be aware that the cruise ship has been compared to a small city, which would include the potential for all types of criminal activity that occurs in a city. In the past, passengers have come onboard cruise ships with a false sense of security, and have not expected that these types of crimes can occur onboard a cruise ship. Unfortunately, minor children have often been the victims of sexual assaults which are a direct result of the fact that these types of incidents have been kept out of the public eye for some period of time, resulting in the false sense of security passengers get when boarding a cruise ship.

Again, this is a reminder to be very careful when going onboard a cruise. One must consider all aspects of the cruise, not just the advertisement by the cruise ship companies about the beautiful ports they are going to travel to, and all of the fun activities onboard the ship. One must consider the availability of medical care, including the fact that the cruise ship company takes the position that the ship's medical staff are independent contractors and that the cruise ship will deny liability for any negligence on the part of the medical staff. One must also consider the different ports the cruise ship is taking the passengers to. Are these ports safe? Has the cruise line warned the passengers of any criminal activity known in the particular areas of the ports they are travelling to? With respect to shoreside excursions and activities, are they safe? Are the operators of these shoreside excursions experienced and well trained? Is the equipment up to date and safe? Who regulates these shoreside excursions? Again, the cruise ship companies will allege that these shoreside excursions are provided by independent contractors and the cruise line will deny liability for any accidents that might occur during a shoreside excursion.

Continue reading "Man Pleads Guilty to Rape of Thirteen Year Old on Cruise Ship" »

Parents of Rebecca Coriam Appear on CNN Demanding New Cruise Ship Laws

October 7, 2011,

I had previously reported about another incident involving a cruise ship worker that went missing while onboard a cruise ship named. Rebecca Coriam was working on a cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Lines named the Disney Wonder. The 24 year old crewmember apparently made a mysterious phone call and then later disappeared without a trace.

It has been reported that at least 168 people disappeared from cruise ships and ferries in international waters since 1995, statistics provided by International Cruise Victims Association.

According to international maritime laws, typically the country where the ship is registered gets involved in the investigation. In the case of the Disney Wonder, the ship is registered in the Bahamas. Although a British citizen, the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam was investigated by police from the Bahamas. Rebecca's parents, rightfully so, have expressed shock and anger at the fact that the Bahamian police got involved in the investigation instead of American or British police. This has been a problem I have observed over the many years I have been representing passengers and crewmembers who have been victims of accidents and crimes onboard the passenger cruise ships. Most of these incidents happen in international waters, and involve ships that are registered for the convenience of the cruise line companies in a foreign country. There are often complex jurisdictional issues that get in the way of a prompt and adequate investigation being conducted. An example is the George Smith case, which involved a passenger who was on his honeymoon who went missing while on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line ship the Brilliance of the Seas. The Turkish police authorities were the ones who got involved in the immediate investigation of the incident, and there were delays with the F.B.I. getting fully involved in the investigation despite the fact that George Smith was an American citizen. The investigation was highly criticized, and blamed by many experts as the reason why his disappearance was never solved despite there being strong evidence of his disappearance being related to foul play.

In the case of Rebecca Coriam, the Bahamian police have little incentive to conduct a complete and thorough investigation in a case involving a British resident. The only real connection to the Disney Wonder, or the company, with the Bahamas, is the fact that the Bahamas is used as the country to register the ships. The Bahamas are considered a flag of convenience for the cruise ship companies. Registering in the Bahamas is a big benefit to the cruise ship companies, and obviously a big benefit to the Bahamas that have all of these cruise ship companies paying money to register their ships in the Bahamas.

The parents of Rebecca Coriam pointed out that only a single police officer from the Bahamas got involved in the investigation. It was also pointed out that the investigator failed to interview any of the approximately 3,700 passengers and crew that were onboard the ship.

Continue reading "Parents of Rebecca Coriam Appear on CNN Demanding New Cruise Ship Laws" »

Crimes on Cruise Ships

July 27, 2011,

Associated Press reported a California man has pled guilty in a U.S. Virgin Islands court to drug dealing onboard the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship the Allure of the Seas.

I recently did a blog about a man who pled guilty to going on a cruise with the intent to perform elicit sexual acts and in fact sexually molested a minor child.

I have also blogged about sexual assaults and rapes onboard cruise ships, as well as disappearances. The most famous case involving a disappearance of a passenger on a cruise ship is the George Smith case. I represented the parents of George Smith. It is believed he was the victim of foul play during a cruise. An ongoing F.B.I. investigation has not been closed regarding the circumstances and cause of his death. However, early reports reflected that there was blood found in his cabin, as well as outside on the awning area underneath his balcony. A passenger in the cabin next door heard loud noises going on in the cabin as if a fight had been taking place. The last people who were known to be with George Smith were other passengers who later were kicked off the cruise after allegations of a sexual assault against them surfaced.

What does that all teach us? I have been handling maritime personal injury and wrongful death cases, including cases involving disappearances, rapes and sexual assaults for almost thirty (30) years. We have learned that sexual predators can be on a cruise ship, as well as drug dealers. The cruise line often states they are like a floating city. This means that along with the analogy to a floating city, comes the recognition that each week there is a potential of 2,000 or more passengers from all over the country coming onboard, one or more who may come aboard with the intent to commit a criminal act. Of course, there is another potential 1,500 to 2,000 crewmembers from all over the world onboard the ship. The cruise lines have a limited ability to do thorough background checks on all of these crewmembers.

The cruise lines have historically kept from the public the number of crimes committed onboard cruise ships. It hurts their image. Most of the major cruise line companies have big public relations departments. Everyone has seen the commercials advertising the cruise ships as the "fun ship", and creating the image of a carefree and safe vacation. Most people think a disappearance or a serious crime aboard a cruise ship is virtually nonexistent. At least, that was the thoughts prior to the George Smith incident receiving national and international attention, and spurring Congressional Hearings into safety issues onboard cruise ships. Eventually, President Obama signed into the law the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act on July 27, 2010.

Continue reading "Crimes on Cruise Ships" »

How to Solve a Cruise Ship Disappearance

July 20, 2011,

We have all read about disappearances on cruise ships. The most well known case involves George Smith, who went missing on his honeymoon cruise on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Brilliance of the Seas. George was on a honeymoon cruise with his bride, Jennifer Hagel Smith. They had just had a story book wedding. They were a beautiful couple. People said they were like the perfect couple that is on the top of a wedding cake.George Smith2.JPG

How can someone go missing on a cruise ship, never to be found again? What follows such an incident in an effort to try to solve what happened? What are the possibilities of what can happen? Having represented the family of George Smith, who for the past six years have been seeking answers to what happened to George the night he was last seen in the cruise ship bar with his new bride and other passengers, we have experienced the horror and sorrow a family faces when trying to get answers. We have also handled several other cases where family members lost a loved one on a cruise ship. We have become all too familiar with the grief and sorrow of the family members and the last of closure they are able to get.

The Smiths had many questions as to what happened to their son. Where was his wife Jennifer when he disappeared? How did it happen? Was it a murder? Who was responsible? Why wasn't the FBI there sooner? Did the cruise line tamper with and cause the destruction of material evidence? These are questions the media addressed extensively following the disappearance. The case received national and international attention.

I will mostly discuss the George Smith case even though there have been many incidents of disappearances and people going overboard on cruise ships, never to be found. International Cruise Victims Association, a great organization composed of victims of crimes onboard cruise ships, as well as family members who have lost loved ones on a cruise, documents many incidents and discusses the frustration of victims and family members in trying to get answers to questions that arise after these terrible events occur. Kendall Carver, President of International Cruise Victims Association, lost his daughter when she disappeared aboard a cruise ship. He has never been able to solve the question of what happened to his daughter. The cruise ship company never reported it in time for a proper investigation to take place, and then the cruise ship company actually resisted his efforts to get information from the cruise, to help him solve the mystery. He had to hire his own investigator and spend thousands of dollars to get information, actually to find out that his daughter had disappeared during the cruise and the cruise line had sent her belongings to storage without reporting the incident. Kendall Carver appeared before Congress when I spoke and his experience in trying to get answers as to what happened to his daughter raised eyebrows in Congress and with the media and spectators. I was an invited speaker at the hearing that spearheaded further hearings which eventually led to the passage of cruise ship legislation called the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on July 27, 2010.

Back to the question how to solve a case when a passenger does disappear aboard a cruise ship. The first thing is the prompt reporting of the incident to the authorities. Unfortunately, on a cruise ship, the proper authority to do the investigation is often a matter of uncertainty and debate, and as a result, valuable time is lost in the investigation. In addition, often times the authority that is contacted and who takes the lead may not really have the manpower, or the incentive, to conduct a thorough and appropriate investigation.

Continue reading "How to Solve a Cruise Ship Disappearance" »

Do Cruise Ship Sexual Assaults Happen More Than Sexual Assaults and Rapes On Land?

July 8, 2011,

Please read my blog about an article stating that sexual assaults on a cruise ship are 50 percent more likely than on land in Canada.

Our firm continues to be safety advocates for individuals harmed at sea.

Body Found Which Could Be Missing Cruise Ship Passenger

June 9, 2011,

The Nassau Guardian reported that a body was found from the waters off the Western New Province on June 7, 2011. This follows a short time after a passenger from a Carnival Cruise Line's ship was reported missing. The passenger, Nathaniel Wells, had rented a jet-ski on Paradise Island. Wells along with friends, rented jet-skis and agreed that they would meet up again on shore after the rental time had expired. However, Wells never showed up. The newspaper article says that there are conflicting reports regarding whether the jet-ski was returned to the vendor who rented it or whether it was simply found on the beach.

The investigation is continuing into what occurred. However, the dangers of jet-ski rentals in this area are well documented. This tragic incident again spotlights the dangers in shoreside activities and excursions cruise ship passengers participate in on a regular basis in ports that the cruise ships take them to. It emphasizes again that the cruise ship companies need to be responsible for investigating these various ports of calls to determine all of the potential dangers to their passengers, and then take actions to warn all of the passengers about these known dangers, as well as take steps to guard against them where possible. We are hearing of many incidents where passengers suffer serious accidents, including death, as a result of participation in shoreside activities that the cruise line knew, or should have known posed dangers to the participants. This includes passengers who travel into areas that have high crime rates, which is unknown to the passengers, but known to the cruise lines.

The cruise lines continue not to want to emphasize the various dangers when taking a cruise because it takes away from the image the cruise lines have worked so hard to maintain, which is that a cruise ship vacation is a fun loving, care free vacation with no dangers. While it is true a cruise is a great vacation for the family, and can be very safe, there are many potential dangerous situations associated with taking a cruise which we feel the cruise lines should be required to warn about, and take reasonable steps to protect the passengers from these dangers.

I previously testified in Congress about the need for the cruise ship companies to be more open with the public about dangerous conditions and problems onboard a cruise ship. I testified in Congress regarding issues relating to reporting of serious crimes aboard ships, as well as safety issues aboard cruise ships. The Congressional Hearings I testified at eventually led to the passage of the Cruise Vessel and Safety Act that was signed into law by President Obama on July 27, 2010.

My firm continues to be advocates for safety at sea, and to help victims of accidents and crimes at sea.

Special Maritime Criminal Jurisdiction

May 5, 2011,

Over the recent years, there has been increasing attention paid to criminal acts, including sexual assaults, that occur onboard the passenger cruise ships. Special attention was directed to the cruise ship industry after the disappearance of George Smith during his honeymoon cruise. The initial investigations suggested foul play as the cause of his disappearance, prompting an ongoing FBI investigation into the matter. The George Smith case, in which our firm represented his parents in an action against the cruise line company, involved his disappearance while the ship was in international waters. This led to some complex issues of which authorities had jurisdiction over the investigation. Initially, the Turkish authorities investigated the incident. They did a very poor job. There was a very quick and incomplete investigation.

The cruise ship company did their own internal investigation, including flying attorneys from Miami, Florida to the ship immediately to interview passengers and crewmembers. The cruise line delayed in reporting the incident to the FBI, which resulted in a delayed reaction by the FBI. Of course by the time the FBI got involved, the investigation became very difficult because critical evidence had been lost.

There were many allegations of improper handling of important evidence, and an improper investigation and cover up about the incident.

However, the incident did highlight the jurisdictional complexities involved in investigations of criminal activity that occur onboard cruise ships which travel through international waters, especially when carrying United States passengers.
Thumbnail image for us congress.jpg

Since the George Smith case, there have been Congressional hearings held which have addressed the complexities of jurisdiction, as well as the safety procedures onboard cruise ships. I was invited to speak as a maritime expert at Congressional hearings which addressed these issues. This resulted in addition, legislation which creating reporting requirements for certain crimes that occur aboard a ship.

Continue reading "Special Maritime Criminal Jurisdiction" »

ABC Nightline to Broadcast a Story On A Rape Aboard A Carnival Cruise Ship

February 21, 2011,

ABC Nightline is doing a story about a thirteen year old who was raped aboard a Carnival Cruise Lines' passenger cruise ship during a family vacation. Sadly, sexual assaults and rapes occur aboard cruise ships with a much greater frequency than one would expect. I have been handling Maritime cases involving the cruise ship industry since 1983. I have watched the cruise ship industry grow tremendously. We all read about the new cruise ships that are being built that carry thousands of passengers. In addition to the thousands of passengers that must mix aboard the ship, there are the thousand plus crewmembers from all different countries who are onboard the ship. The sexual assaults that are reported often times involve a crewmember sexually assaulting a passenger. However, there are many reported sexual assaults involving a crewmember sexually assaulting another crewmember or a passenger sexually assaulting another passenger.

The cruise lines have become floating cities, with the dangers that are present in any city. The cruise lines often defend themselves by trying to point to crime statistics in big cities and compare them to the crime rates onboard their ships. The cruise lines argue that statistically the crime rate is much lower onboard a cruise ship. The cruise ship companies argue this demonstrates how safe a cruise actually is.

While I do not disagree that generally a cruise can be a safe and enjoyable vacation for the entire family, and that criminal activity, including sexual assaults, are not rampant aboard a cruise ship, the public needs to be aware of the dangers associated with cruising aboard a passenger cruise ship with such a large population of people from all different backgrounds and countries.

In the case reported by Nightline, a fourteen year old teenager was onboard with her parents. She reportedly was having trouble sleeping and decided to go by herself to an upper deck onboard the Carnival ship. A thirty year old Carnival Cruise Line employee from Indonesia then took her to an employee only area and raped her. When the crewmember was arrested sometime later, after actually being employed on another Carnival Cruise Lines' passenger ship, he initially denied the incident. After he reportedly did not pass a lie detector test, he then claimed the sexual acts were consensual. However, a fourteen year old teenager is below the age where one can legally have consensual sexual activity. This is called statutory rape.

Since the crewmember admitted to having sexual activity with a fourteen year old teenager, he was guilty of statutory rape. He was actually sentenced to prison and was serving jail time in Orlando, Florida. This is one of the rare instances where we hear about a crewmember being convicted for the crime of rape. One major cruise line previously remarked how it had never had anybody successfully prosecuted for a sexual assault aboard one of their cruise ships in over twenty-five years. This statement was made supposedly to support the assertion that sexual assaults were not occurring aboard cruise ships. However, we have been able to obtain statistical information regarding the number of sexual assaults and rapes that the cruise lines admitted to, which demonstrated that sexual assaults and rapes were occurring at a much greater frequency than anyone knew or expected, and yet there had not been a successful prosecution of any of the perpetrators of the crime. This did not demonstrate that the cruise lines were free of the problem of sexual assaults and rapes. Instead, it demonstrated how difficult it is to prosecute an individual for such a crime. The difficulty in obtaining successful prosecutions has been linked to the failure of the cruise lines to properly report and investigate alleged sexual assaults and rapes.

Continue reading "ABC Nightline to Broadcast a Story On A Rape Aboard A Carnival Cruise Ship" »

Woman Claims a Princess Cruise Line Employee with a History of Sexual Misconduct Assaulted Her

January 13, 2011,

A California resident filed a lawsuit this week against Princess Cruise Line, which is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. The victim alleges in a lawsuit that a year ago she was vacationing aboard the Island Princess going from Acapulco to Florida when a crew member assaulted her.

texas-princess-cruise-lines.jpg
The man, whose name is unknown, grabbed the victim and then began to grope her and try to kiss her, all before forcing her to go to a deserted part of the ship. The victim then claims she tried to escape her assailant but he physically prevented her from doing so. Once he had her in a more secluded area, he allegedly trapped her against a counter top, hiked up her skirt and further touched her inappropriately. The victim then was able to push the crew member off and escape.

The passenger on the cruise ship who was assaulted claims that she was not only attacked, but that her assailant has a "prior, similar incident of misconduct" while being employed aboard one of Princess' other passenger cruise ships.

Tragically, this is not the first time someone has complained and reported being sexually assaulted aboard one of Princess Cruise Lines ships. A previous incident was reported in March of 2009 when the FBI arrested a waiter in Los Angeles. The alleged claim came when the waiter was charged with aggravated sexual abuse after the victim had wine with him and then was assaulted. In this incident the waiter was afterwards acquitted claiming that the act was consensual.

An astonishing study by professor Ross Klein from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada found that, based on statistics provided by the U.S. Congress, passengers are nearly at twice the risk of being sexually assaulted on aboard a ship then they are on land. The study also showed that nearly 70 percent of the sexual assaults reported are by crew members against passengers.


Continue reading "Woman Claims a Princess Cruise Line Employee with a History of Sexual Misconduct Assaulted Her" »

FBI Finds No Signs of Foul Play in Passenger Going Overboard

December 29, 2010,

The FBI concluded its investigation into the disappearance of a Florida woman who fell from a cruise ship on Christmas night two years ago. The investigation concluded there was no foul play involving a passenger going overboard the Norwegian cruise ship the Norwegian Pearl.

Norwegian pearl.jpgWhen the FBI began its investigation they were trying to determine whether the passenger Jennifer Ellis-Seitz, 36, from Winter Haven had actually fallen overboard by accident, possibly jumped or was pushed or thrown overboard. She and her husband Raymond Seitz Jr. were celebrating their first wedding anniversary on a seven day cruise on the Norwegian Pearl.

Ellis-Seitz was a freelance writer in Central Florida. Her family released a statement stating that she was previously having emotional problems and had probably chosen to end her life.

The cruise line was able to provide surveillance footage showing the passenger falling about 15 stories into the waters east of Cancun, Mexico.

Her husband and her mother, who was also onboard, searched the ship looking for her for more than an hour before reporting her missing to the ship's security. Before Norwegian Cruise Line security called the U.S. Coast Guard they searched the entire vessel for the missing passenger who had disappeared during her anniversary cruise.


Continue reading "FBI Finds No Signs of Foul Play in Passenger Going Overboard" »