Cruise Ship Law

The Norwegian Gem Cruise Ship let a passenger off board on Saturday to obtain onshore medical attention following a fall that resulted in a potential head injury. The passenger was near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York and was removed just north of there. The injured passenger was taken to the Harbor Charlie Base, where emergency medical technicians were on hand to further transfer the patient to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton. The U.S Coast Guard and New York Police Department were all notified and involved in the transfer.

Harbor Charlie, which is a patrol boat that was on duty at the time, was operated by a crew of police officers who made the decision of using the area north of the bridge had ideal conditions for removing the passenger. The removal was deemed “high risk transfer of an injured person,” which requires the pilot of the smaller boat to “lay up” against the larger vessel to enable transfer. The passenger was then transferred on a backboard from the ship to the smaller vessel. The passenger is still admitted at the hospital and the extent of the cruise ship injury is being monitored by the facility.

In the wake of the tragic Costa Concordia cruise ship accident, the company has searched for ways to revitalize the brand and bring passengers back on board their ships. This past weekend, Costa accepted a new cruise ship that will now stand as the flagship of Costa—called the Costa Fascinosa. Weighing in at 114.500 tons, the Costa Fascinosa will hold the title of Italy’s biggest cruise ship and will be able to accommodate upwards of 3,800 passengers.

Aboard the Fascinosa, guests have thirteen bars and five restaurants, a theatrical space, a 4D movie cinema, and an array of other luxurious features. The ship will sail predominantly in the Mediterranean and include exotic stops such as Venice, Dubrovnik, Olympia, Corfu, Izmir and Haifa, among other ports.

Carnival Corporation is sister company to Costa, and they have invested around $24 billion in the last quarter century building cruise ships in Italy. Despite concerns by some that cruise ships can lose safety capabilities when they are oversized, Carnival is firm in their belief of the Italian craftsmanship. In fact, five other Carnival ships are under construction in Italy at the moment. For Costa, safety precautions are of the utmost importance, according to the cruise line’s CEO, Pier Luigi Foschi.

The ship has already been christened in Italy, and Costa is booking cruises for the Fascinosa this month. The inaugural cruise will be this week, on May 11th.

Senad Djedovic, a former assistant cruise director for the Norwegian Star cruise ship is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge of possession of child pornography. Djedovic, 29, had sexual intercourse with a 16- year-old passenger and also exchanged explicit photographs with the minor. His charges carry a potential sentence of ten years in a federal prison.

The cruise ship crime took place when a seven-day cruise from Tampa, FL to the Caribbean docked in Costa Maya, Mexico, where Djedovic and the minor had sexual intercourse in a cruise ship stairwell. Following the sexual encounter, the father of the minor stated to the FBI that he specifically advised Djedovic of his daughter’s underage status. Djedovic has confirmed that he was aware the girl was sixteen years old at the time of the sexual encounter.

As the cruise came to an end, Djedovic gave his work e-mail address to the girl as she was set to head back to Minnesota. In the following weeks, “a lot” of e-mails were exchanged between the two—some of which contained explicit photographs of themselves. The FBI has recovered 13 graphic photographs of the girl from Djedovic’s office computer. In addition, sexually explicit photographs of other girls seemingly underage were found.

Norwegian Cruise Lines has since fired the employee, stating that they have a zero-tolerance policy for employee-passenger fraternization.

On March 10, 2012, three passengers were bird watching aboard the Star Princess cruise ship when they spotted stranded fishermen at sea. One of the passengers, Judy Meredith of Oregon, described one of the fishermen, saying, "We thought he was trying to flag down the ship, vigorously waving a shirt up and down, and then switching to waving what looked like a red flag up and down and we thought he was in distress." In fact, Judy told Don Winner of Panama-Guide.com (who was the first to break the story) that "it was perfectly clear to us that those people needed help, and they were trying to get our attention."

At that point, the passengers contacted one of the ship's crew and pointed out the small fishing boat. The crewmember actually used one of their binoculars and confirmed that it looked like the fishermen were waving frantically as if they were asking for help. The crewmember then contacted the bridge of the ship and informed the ship's Captain, Captain Perrin, of what they had seen. Importantly, however, the cruise ship did not turn around. On the contrary, the ship's Captain actually changed course to avoid the fishermen's nets. He attempted to justify his action by saying that the fishermen did not look like they were waving for help but, rather, were waving to thank him for avoiding their nets. Judy, however, was rightfully convinced these fishermen needed help and sent a message to the United States Coast Guard. According to the Miami Herald, the United States Coast Guard is still checking on whether they ever received Judy's message.

Unfortunately, the oldest of the fishermen, 24-year-old Oropeces Betancourt, died the next day and 16-year-old Fernando Osario died five days later. It was not until March 24, 2012 that the last fishermen, 18-year-old Adrian "Santi" Vasquez, was rescued by an Ecuadorian fishing vessel near the Galapagos Islands.

All of this begs the question: why aren't there laws to prevent these types of incidents from happening? Well, as a matter of fact, there are… the Star Princess Captain just chose to ignore them.

Specifically, according to Miami maritime attorney, Charles Lipcon, international laws require a ship to stop and assist another vessel in trouble. "If it fails to do so, they're liable for what happens," he said. "If there's any doubt, the Captain has to make absolutely sure whether they're in distress or not. He's got to stop."

An example of such international laws includes the International Convention for the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS). Regulation 33 of Chapter V provides, in part, as follows: "The master of a ship at sea which is in a position to be able to provide assistance on receiving a signal from any source that persons are in distress at sea, is bound to proceed with all speed to their assistance…"

In addition, the law in Bermuda (which is applicable to the Star Princess because it is the flag it flies under), also requires the "master of a ship, on receiving at sea a signal of distress or information from any source that a ship or aircraft is in distress, shall proceed with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress". Merchant Shipping Act of 2002.

The United States also imposes the duty to assist upon ships. In Caminiti v. Tomlinson Fleet Corp., 1981 A.M.C. 201 (N.D. Ohio June 28, 1979), the court held that a duty to rescue strangers in peril was "implicit and inherent in general maritime law" regardless of whether or not the ship caused the peril in the first place. The court reasoned that "the law of the sea has always demanded a higher degree of care, vigilance and diligence," and anything less would be "shocking to humanitarian considerations and the commonly accepted code of social conduct".

It is hard to find the humanitarian considerations or social conduct demonstrated in this tragic incident though. To date, Princess Cruises and the Star Princess Captain maintain that neither the Captain nor the officer of the watch were notified of the stranded fishermen. But they are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Cruise Lines International Association announced last week that new standards will be mandated on cruise ships to avoid future disasters like the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident. New rules will require that cruise ships are equipped with additional life vests for adults and also ensure that there are more life jackets onboard then there are actual passengers. These jackets must also be readily available in public locations as opposed to located in individual cabins.

Passage planning procedures were also the subject of discussion, and ships will be required to submit a detailed report of the ship’s journey from departure to arrival. The voyage must be approved by the master and explained to the bridge team members by a designated officer.

The Cruise Lines International Association represents 26 companies and is a nonprofit organization dedicated to continuously serving passengers by bettering the cruise industry. The new cruise line rules aim to achieve safety for all passengers and crew in the fastest amount of time possible.

Cruise passengers aboard The Bahamas Celebration Cruise ship were in for a less than pleasant surprise when sinks and shower drains aboard the cruise ship began oozing raw sewage. The sewage was backed up and overflowing, according to passengers. One passenger who documented the incident with video and photos states that the sewage was “literally pouring out of the walls.” Another passenger was ankle deep in sewage water.

A representative for the cruise line has stated that the ship’s galley overflowed and subsequently affected ten different cabins. While no passengers have sought the legal advice of cruise ship lawyers at this point, the cruise ship is seeking to reimburse the affected passengers with free cruises and replacement of damaged items. It is still unclear how many passengers, if any, will accept the offer from the cruise line.

Last weekend, a sailboat race turned tragic as a boat was found in pieces during the Newport Beach to Ensenada race. Reportedly, the ship collided with another vessel “hundreds of times its size.” These deaths are the first in the race’s 65 year history. The destroyed boat, a 37-foot sailboat named the Aegean, was found Saturday morning.

The tragedy was certainly unexpected, especially as the team aboard the boat was comprised of veteran sailors. The skipper of the ship, who is presumed dead, has not been found at this time. Three bodies have been found thus far among the debris—Joseph Lester Stewart of Bradenton, FL, William Reed Johnson, Jr. of Torrance, and Kevin Rudolph of Manhattan Beach. A coast guard investigation is under way to hopefully solve the mysteries of this boating accident.

The deaths are the second yachting disaster this spring. On April 14, five fatalities occurred in a racing accident off the coast of San Francisco.

Washington (CNN) -- In the wake of the deadly Costa Concordia cruise ship accident off the coast of Italy in January, the cruise industry is implementing new safety standards.

Cruise Lines International Association, the world's largest cruise non-profit organization representing 26 companies, announced Tuesday it is putting in place standards it says will "achieve concrete, practical and significant safety dividends in the shortest possible time."

Officials say each ship will now be required to provide additional adult life jackets in excess of the legal requirements within a ship's most-populated zone. This will ensure the number of life jackets carried by a cruise liner will exceed the actual number of passengers on board.

At least 30 people were killed and two others are missing and presumed dead after the Costa Concordia struck rocks and turned on its side January 13 off the Italian island of Giglio.

Some survivors said they returned to their rooms to get their life jackets a half hour after the accident and struggled to climb many levels in dim emergency lighting on the listing ship to reach lifeboats.

The industry also adopted a policy to "minimize unnecessary disruptions and distractions" on the bridge. The change will limit access to the bridge "to those with operational functions during any period of restricted maneuvering or when increased vigilance is required."

The captain of the Costa Concordia faces allegations of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck, abandoning ship and failing to report the accident. Some media outlets reported that Capt. Francesco Schettino had a woman with him on the bridge just before the accident.

Schettino has previously said managers of the cruise line instructed him to sail close to Giglio. He said the ship hit a rock not indicated on charts of the area.

A third safety policy adopted involves passage planning procedures, which is the complete description of a ship's movement from departure to arrival. The new standard will change what was simply guidance for years and make it a mandatory minimum requirement. All bridge team members will be briefed on the voyage "well in advance of its implementation" by a designated officer and approved by the master.

"As the Concordia incident demonstrates, there is no such thing as perfect safety," said Manfredi Lefebvre, chairman of the European Cruise Council. "We do strive for a perfect commitment to safety."

The captain of the Princess Cruise ship that sailed past a small fishing boat in distress last month has recently stated that he was never informed of the boat that was stranded in the ocean. While several passengers claimed to have reported the boat to crew members, the word was apparently never relayed to the captain manning the cruise ship. Some passengers also claim to have reported the stranded boat to United States authorities, which also resulted in no action. An ongoing internal investigation is underway to learn what went on that day aboard the ship.

The vessel in distress was a small 10-foot fishing boat from Rio Hato, Panama. They had set sail on February 24th and the boat was disabled and stranded for 28 days at sea. Three men were initially on board, two of which died in the tragic boating accident. The survivor was found near the Galapagos Islands. When he saw the Princess Cruise ship coming towards them in the Pacific, he thought they were going to be rescued—only to watch in dismay as the ship continued to sail off into the distance.

Vile Paul Trotter, 34, was a kids’ activity supervisor on Cunard luxury liners.

He filmed himself committing the sickening crimes aboard the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria.

Cops said he preyed on youngsters over seven years in which he went on 295 voyages.

Trotter, of Pontefract, West Yorks, admitted 24 sex offenses involving victims aged between seven and 13 — mostly boys.

They included sexual assaults and making and possessing indecent images of children.

He was remanded in custody at Swindon Crown Court and will be sentenced next month.

Judge Douglas Field ordered Trotter to sign the sex offenders’ register.

After the case, police said cunning Trotter took victims to areas not covered by CCTV where he spanked and molested them. He was caught last August while he was living in Wiltshire.

Officers were tipped off that he had indecent images on his computer and found films of him abusing youngsters.

Horrified Cunard bosses are now working with the NSPCC to tighten up their child protection policies and procedures.

A spokesman said the company was “deeply shocked” by Trotter’s crimes.

Det Insp Nicki Davey, of Wiltshire Police, said a great deal of work went into identifying the children with the co-operation of Cunard.