Cruise Ship Law

The Slippery Slope of Security in the Cruise Industry

By Joseph A. Kinney, M.P.A., M.A.*

Tragic accounts of crime on cruise ships have saturated the American media. Homicide, missing person cases, sexual assaults, kidnap and other violent crimes involving U.S. victims have, according to most accounts, steadily increased in the last few years. Ironically, this growth took place during a period when similar crimes in the U.S. were declining. Until now, the cruise industry has avoided measures that would have possibly prevented some of these crimes. The cruise industry, for many reasons, has been slow to adopt crime prevention steps. Now, however, the pressure is growing from a restless public that expects change, including Federal intervention. It is time that the Congress to develop legislation that will decrease the number and severity of the crimes and help make tourism experiences as enjoyable and safe as it should be.

Tourists should not be unduly alarmed by my words. Cruising is, on the whole, safe. However, this does not mean that it is as safe as it should be. Even though air travel is safe, government works very hard through a regulatory scheme designed to manage risks to reduce excessive hazards. The same regulatory principles should be applied to the cruise industry. In fact, government already inspects and regulates cruise ships in two narrow areas. It is time to build upon this experience.

Since 1996, I have served as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defense on lawsuits involving the cruise industry. In this capacity, I became aware of the multitude of security problems afflicting cruise ships. Some are due to traditions and cultural differences between the industry and American expectations. For this and other reasons, problems regarding security adequacy, hiring, training, and supervision, as well as procedures for investigating crime once it occurs have come to exist.

Make no mistake about it, just one missing person or violent crime is one too many. Unfortunately, we do not have accurate data to measure the full scope of crime arising from the mismanagement of risk in this industry. I have read that there have been at least eight missing persons and another 300 violent crimes in recent years.

Since my first involvement, it became obvious that cruising is “American” when that is most convenient and “Foreign Flagged” when that serves the industry’s position. This dual identity provides the industry with potential cover for almost any problem. Most people traveling on cruise ships assume that these ships have implemented safeguards and protections that correspond with American standards of care. They think this because they see advertising over their local media outlets back home and board ships docked in American ports that they will be safe. No where in the advertisements do we see the words “WARNING: Enjoy at your own risk.”

I am offering these comments not only to the Congress, but also to the International Council on Cruise Lines (ICCL). The ICCL provides a great opportunity for the industry to voluntarily embrace many of the recommendations that I make in this document. The Council has been an effective force in addressing environmental and public health concerns. Former Coast Guard officers manage the Council which provides the industry with the capacity to understand and gauge American outrage at the problems that has emerged.

One issue that certainly needs more attention is the security of children on ships. In the past ten years, the cruise industry has become “family friendly” rather than the “love boat” that previously was the dominant stereotype. Many cruise lines have hastily constructed daycare facilities to meet this shift in customer demographics. Unfortunately, I am fearful that many on-board daycare facilities fail to meet the most basic safety requirements. I recently was involved in a case and went to see the daycare on the ship. Approximately 30 feet from one door was the ship’s casino! I also identified numerous places where abusive acts could be concealed, violating the principle of transparency.

The failure to achieve childcare safety is outrageous because the widely established protective measures operational in U.S. facilities. By simply applying these standards, the industry can take a huge step that will make these facilities safe for children. My view is that the cruise lines have worked to make such places “fun” rather than “safe.”

Employee Abuse:

Let me also note the issues of safety and security go beyond guests, but include employees. I have seen a number of cases involving sexual assaults by male employees upon female employees. We are more likely to hear about these cases if they involve Americans as victims. My judgment is that a small percentage of the females working on ships that have been raped have come forward to report their crimes. They obviously fear retaliation, including the forced return to their homelands.

Many employees on cruise ships work for wages that make the U.S. minimum wage look like paradise.

All employees, regardless of status, should have confidence that any crime perpetrated upon them will be professionally and independently investigated by the appropriate law enforcement agency and that appropriate action will be taken against the offender. To reach this objective, independent reporting mechanisms must be established and employees must have confidence that their complaints will be addressed in a timely fashion, and that no one will retaliate against them. I suspect that the crimes we’ve heard about in the U.S. media are only the tip of the iceberg.

Crew diversity:

One of the most disconcerting aspects to the cruise industry is the staffing of the ships. In essence, the cruise lines typically do little of their own hiring, a process that they delegate to hiring “offices” all over the world. The troubling aspect to the status quo is that there are few if any real guarantees regarding the background and orientation of the people that are employed through these offices. In general, employees have hiring books that document their employment history. While this will provide information regarding where they have worked, it tells very little about what they did before they went to work in the shipping industry and crimes that they may have committed while working.

The people employed in the cruise industry reflect the world as it is, both bad and good. It is not unusual to see individuals from dozens of nations employed on the ships, typically for two-year periods. The general practices feature hiring methods that go back generations. Like is true in military organizations, there are officers and crew with corresponding differences in pay and status. The officers tend to be Italians, Scandinavians or Europeans. These officers, mostly male, come from families and communities where sailing is a longstanding and honored tradition. It is not clear that these senior officers see security management as a priority.

Customer service crewmembers, especially those in visible positions meeting constantly with guests, tend to be from Europe and America. It is not within the job function of these employees to deal with security and safety problems, even though they may have the language skills and cultural values to carry out this responsibility.

The “below deck” crew are from numerous third world nations. Individuals from Central and Latin America and Asia fill these vacancies. The salaries paid to these individuals are very low. Crewmembers typically sign two-year contracts for modest salaries. Cruise ship management makes it virtually impossible for these people to have contact with guests. They have their own segregated elevators, stairwells, and sleeping quarters.

The “hiring offices” are centralized employment offices organized to supply seagoing ships with workers. The cruise companies contact the “hiring offices” that supply the labor with little or no involvement by the cruise lines. This approach is clearly illegal in areas such as daycare.

The notable difference between conventional hiring practices in the U.S. and those in the cruise industry is the role of the hiring offices. While I have not completed a comprehensive investigation of these offices, what I have learned gives me very little confidence about this method. The industry, I believe, should take a direct role in hiring so that the burdens of proper hiring fall on them.

Security on Cruise Ships:

It is my belief that the cruise and tourism industries do not have an approach to security that is consistent with what one would expect in the United States or Europe. I have seen numerous cases where a trusting guest has fallen prey to breaches in security. While violence is possible even in tightly controlled circumstances, the industry appears to lack simple security management principles. The dynamics that made the conditions for violence possible are set into play well before incidents took place. It wasn’t a single breakdown that leads to violence, but a host of failures in training, supervision and in patrol procedures of security.

To properly understand the problems in this discussion, we must be cognizant of three factors:

First, we must be clear that the industry can only succeed if its customers and clients have a high degree of confidence in the industry’s capacity to provide for their personal safety and security of guests. Being “out to sea” is an inherently harrowing proposition. There are no police that you can call or places where you can seek refuge. In response to this type of anxiety, “safety” is a major theme in the industry’s advertising and promotional literature. If consumers lose confidence, its viability will be open to question.

Second, we must consider the matter of free flowing alcohol. The cruise industry naturally wants its guests to have an enjoyable time, but free flowing alcohol results in a large number of problems that would take volumes to address. (I have certainly seen those issues in spades in professional sports.) Encouraging the consumption of alcohol raises risks that must be considered in both training and supervision. If employees do not know how to properly manage impaired guests, there will be problems.

It is highly questionable, in my view, which employees would be allowed to drink under any circumstance when they are on duty.

Third, we must consider the failure of the industry to conduct ongoing reviews of cases as well as generalized assessments of its security requirements. It is not enough to employ security officers if there isn’t an ongoing security program review. The American Society for Industrial Security has promulgated industry security assessment guidelines and this would be a great place for the industry to start.

Security begins with a comprehensive understanding the problems and risks that exist. A security survey is the appropriate method for assessing a facility’s vulnerabilities. Any reputable security professional would have been appalled by the shortcomings that I have seen in this industry. These failures are even more shocking when one considers this industry’s unique nature. Guests cannot check in for 15 minutes and leave when something makes them anxious or unhappy. In fact, guests make their reservations usually weeks in advance from locations thousands of miles away, trusting the industry’s advertisements and the assurances.

We must understand that this industry hosts guest for long stays (e.g., a week or more). Guests, in essence, become something of a captive audience and are compelled to look the other way when they experience conduct that would likely cause them to leave a resort or hotel in the U.S. In fact, security officers have often themselves had been the source of problems involving sexual harassment and intimidation of guests. Preventing violence by employees or others upon vulnerable victims is imperative for this industry. A management concerned with maintaining a safe environment for its guests will:

• Constantly assess the risks that its faces in terms of its policies, practices and design;

• Develop internally consistent policies and practices, especially concerning interactions between employees and guests (e.g., anti-fraternization);

• Train employees to be constantly vigilant for signs of inappropriate conduct, communications, and behavior, by fellow employees and even guests;

• Ensure that security functions are properly staffed and that, for example, security officers randomly patrol high-risk areas as identified in assessments;

• Design facilities so that it is impossible or very difficult for an employee and others to conduct themselves inappropriately; and

• Develop failsafe supervisory routines that ensure that management is constantly monitoring employee conduct, especially at high-risk locations (e.g., bars, casinos).

These steps are designed to prevent problems. Once a crime has taken place, the captain should immediately investigate it, using independent investigators in serious cases. The investigation should be conducted from the perspective of finding the truth, and not to defend management at all costs. Finally, serious crimes should be reported to the pertinent criminal law enforcement agency at the earliest possible time, certainly within 24 hours. Failure to report a serious crime within the prescribed period should be a punishable offense.

A foundation for change:

Unlike some of my colleagues, I am cautiously optimistic that we can make progress in promoting greater security on cruise ships. In fact, a foundation for change exists in spite of what we may be led to believe by industry. I get the impression that they want us to believe that we are asking them to jump through hoops. They contend that these steps are unreasonable or beyond the scope of federal authority.

In fact, two federal agencies currently have substantial inspection authority involving the cruise industry. The two agencies are the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) and the Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.). These agencies have significant authority to board and inspect conditions on cruise ships.

It is not a huge conceptual leap forward to involve the Department of Homeland Security in evaluating security measures in the industry.

Currently, the C.D.C. inspects all cruise vessels that have international itineraries and call on US ports. Inspections are unannounced and completed twice yearly. The cruise vessels may elect to not meet C.D.C. standards. If a ship does not measure up, it is reflected in the report and on their score, which is posted on a C.D.C. web-site. For a look at C.D.C. inspection reports, go to the agency’s web-site. All of the reports are on the agency’s web-site. These are not summary reports but the actual reports written by agency staff.

The C.D.C. does not fine or write citations. The agency provides the general public with the results of its inspections. There are some circumstances where the agency has the legal authority to prevent a vessel from leaving port. However, this authority has not been used.

The E.P.A. also has broad reaching authority for investigating and acting up pollution by cruise ships. While I do not know much about this practice, it is clearly present and yet another example of Federal involvement.

Zero Tolerance Policy for Violence:

The cruise industry must adopt a policy of zero tolerance for violence. This means that every violent act will be investigated and an appropriate response will be taken. This includes crew and guests alike. By setting a tone that violence will not be tolerated or condoned in any way, crew and passengers alike will be encouraged to resolve issues in a harmonious manner.

Establishing a Zero Tolerance Policy can only work if the industry takes it seriously. The biggest problem in fighting comes in association with alcohol. The cruise industry simply must drastically overhaul its alcohol policies, limiting those who drink too much.

Child Care Security:

We have heard very little in the media about child sexual assaults in the cruise industry. There are numerous children assaulted on cruise ships and special effort must be taken to address this problem. As the research clearly shows, far more children are assaulted than we know about. This is because children lack the maturity to communicate what has transpired or parents do not interpret their children’s concern in an accurate fashion.

The cruise lines increasingly provide care services for young and vulnerable children. In doing so, they have an obligation to meet essential standards of care in protecting the safety and security of children in its charge.

Recommendations:

I believe that the Congress should require the Department of Homeland Security (Coast Guard) developing a permitting system that requires the establishment and maintenance of basic security principles. If a ship has a permit and has met standards, then it can dock at U.S. ports. If it doesn’t have a permit, then it will not be allowed to take on passengers from U.S. ports.

I would prefer that the industry have taken on this burden, but they haven’t. I see no meaningful choice other than to regulate the industry. I trust that the industry will take a hard look at what it needs to do, and move quickly along the lines I have suggested.

Recommendations:

1 Create a safety and security permitting system for cruise ships entering U.S. ports. Ships without such permits would not be permitted to dock in U.S. ports.

2 Require that all employees on cruise ships have visas issued by the U.S. Department of State.

3 Require that the U.S. Department of State provide comprehensive and accurate travel advisories covering the cruise industry.

4 Require that cruise ships report violent crimes (homicide, rape, armed robbery, child sexual assault) involving U.S. citizens within 24 hours.

5 Require that crewmembers be permitted to report sexual assaults by other crewmembers without fear of retribution.

6 Require that any facility considered to care for minor children be deemed a daycare facility and that such facilities be subjected to a state inspection.