Strange accidents have befallen the cruise industry in the past due to negligence on the part of cruise authorities. However, a recent shore excursion accident begs the question, do sometimes freak accidents happen?
A cruise passenger in her 60s was killed and three others were injured while on a shore excursion in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The accident occurred on Monday when 13 passengers onboard the Quark Sea Spirit cruise ship were on a shore excursion sightseeing through the northern portion of the Fjortende Julibukta (the 14th of July Bay) in the Krossfjord, located close to the Northwest Spitsbergen National Park. The passengers were a board an inflatable rubber raft called a Zodiac when the boat was suddenly hit by a wave and everyone onboard was thrown into the icy waters of the Arctic.
The fatal cruise accident does not appear to have been caused by any crew member’s negligence, but there are some details that are just not adding up, leading authorities in Norway to question the incident.
Charles R. Lipcon is the firm's founding attorney and has been handling injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims for over 40 years.
Jason R. Margulies is an experienced maritime lawyer and an active trial attorney handling personal injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims.
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Mr. Winkleman is an active trial and appellate attorney handling all personal injury, cruise line sexual assault and wrongful death claims, as well as complex business disputes.





