Cruise Ship Law

Original posting at 12:57 p.m. ET: Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to MSNBC and McClatchy newspapers.

As we reported last year, federal agents searched the veteran lawmaker's residence in Alaska as part of a wide-ranging public corruption investigation.

Update at 12:59 p.m. ET: CNN is now reporting on the indictment. The Justice Department has scheduled a news briefing for 1:20 p.m. ET.

Update at 1:10 p.m. ET: CBS News quotes anonymous government officials who say Stevens faces seven counts of lying to investigators, including statements he made about his association with an oil-services company called VECO.

Stevens has served in the U.S. Senate since 1968.

Update at 1:22 p.m. ET: Bloomberg News says the indictment accuses Stevens of lying on his Senate financial disclosure forms from 1999 to 2006. He "knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal'' his receipt of "hundreds of thousands of dollars'' of gifts, the indictment says, according to the wire service.

OpenSecrets posted copies of his annual disclosure forms. McClatchy has background on the investigation.

Update at 1:34 p.m. ET: USA TODAY's Donna Leinwand, quoting from a Justice Department press release, says the federal grand jury charged Stevens with seven counts of making false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms.

The Justice Department accuses him of engaging in an eight-year scheme to conceal items worth more than $250,000 that he received from Veco Corp. and one of its executives, Bill Allen.

The gifts included home improvements, vehicles and various household goods, according to the press release.

Update at 1:50 p.m. ET: Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general for the criminal division, is briefing reporters.

"The indictment charges that while he was sitting as a United States senator, between 1999 and 2006, Senator Stevens accepted gifts from a privately owned company known as Veco, its chief executive officer and others," he says.

Stevens is alleged to have received more than $250,000 worth of gifts, including: architectural designs for renovations, installation of electrical, heating and framing materials, installation of a deck and a plastic roof, gutter repair and electrical work. He also received furniture, a Viking gas range, a tool storage cabinet and a "new vehicle worth far more than what he provided in exchange."

Update at 1:55 p.m. ET: Friedrich says seven people have been convicted since this corruption probe began four years ago in Alaska. "That investigation is continuing," he says.

Update at 1:59 p.m. ET: Stevens wasn't charged with taking bribes, Friedrich says.

"Paragraph 17 of the indictment ... alleges that at the same time that Senator Stevens was receiving these things of value, over that same time period, he was also being solicited by Veco to do certain things, which he or his staff on occasion did," Friedrich says. "The indictment does not allege a quid pro quo."

Update at 2:06 p.m. ET: Here's a copy of the 28-page indictment.

This is the section of the court filing that Friedrich referred to when he discussed the possible motivations of the donors.

It was a part of the scheme that STEVENS, while during that same time period that he was concealing his continuing receipt of things of value from ALLEN and VECO from 1999 to 2006, received and accepted solicitations for multiple official actions from ALLEN and other VECO employees, and knowing that STEVENS could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of VECO during that same time period. These solicitations for official action, some of which were made directly to STEVENS, included the following topics: (a) funding requests and other assistance with certain international VECO projects and partnerships, including those in Pakistan and Russia; (b) requests for multiple federal grants and contracts to benefit VECO, its subsidiaries, and its business partners, including grants from the National Science Foundation to a VECO subsidiary; and (c) assistance on both federal and state issues in connection with the effort to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope Region.

Update at 4:54 p.m. ET: Stevens' Senate colleagues, and others, have been weighing in with reaction, compiled by the Associated Press, to the indictment.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., says he has known the Alaska senator for 28 years and "have always known him to be impeccably honest.”

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, is quoted as saying: “With this indictment, members of Congress have been put on notice that the Justice Department, on behalf of the American people, will not tolerate members abusing their positions for private personal gain.”

Update at 5:04 p.m. ET: Roll Call cites a senior GOP aide as saying that the Alaska senator has stepped down from his post atop two committees.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:28 AM | Permalink

They don’t call it the Love Boat for nothing.

But there’s another side of those carefree flings aboard cruises that no one really talks about, but are found in the steamy filings of Miami federal court.

Meghan Burtt of New York alleges in a July 17 amended complaint that she got herpes aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Victory in March 2007. She blames Anthony Nelson, an employee of a Park West subsidiary that sells pricey art aboard the ship.

Park West is a frequent flyer these days in federal court. It is the subject of a lawsuit for selling supposed investor art produced by the likes of Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and other masters at over-inflated prices to drunken passengers.

Attorney Michael Winkleman said the lawsuit is no laughing matter. His client is in her early 20s.

“It’s a real devastating thing that happened to her,” said Winkleman, a lawyer with Lipcon Margulies & Alisna in Miami. “It pretty much ruined her life.”

Park West wouldn’t comment, and Carnival wanted to examine the lawsuit before commenting. Nelson couldn’t be reached for comment.

The defense will argue Burtt — or any passenger for that matter — is responsible for his or her own sexual activity, not the cruise ship, Winkleman predicted.

Winkleman, though, is playing hardball. He said even though the sex is consensual, existing law makes it sexual battery because the defendant allegedly did not disclose his condition.

“She was consensual to someone who was STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) free,” he said. “The law is very clear. It wipes out consent. And when you have sex without consent, it’s battery.”

Winkleman said that Nelson broke the rules applying to cruise ship employees of no fraternization with passengers. It’s unknown if he still works for Park West.

Winkleman said the lawsuit will shine a light on an ongoing “epidemic” of workers aboard cruise ships targeting passengers for sex.

The case is being heard by U.S. District Court Judge Joan A. Lenard.
— John Pacenti

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:16 AM | Permalink

Joshua M. Entin

Sarasota real estate agent David Bouverat resisted buying art for most of his cruise. But he ventured out after dinner toward the end of his Baltic Sea voyage with a few drinks in him and viewed art for sale by surrealists Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.

He ended up buying two works on a two-week cruise aboard Celebrity Cruise Lines’ Constellation in June 2007. Bouverat said he was told the print and painting he purchased from Park West Gallery were worth about $15,000 apiece. He paid a total of $20,520.

Once on land, he says he learned the Miro print was almost worthless, akin to poster art. The other piece was a painting of a clown playing a guitar by Anatole Krasnyansky. Bouverat said Krasnyansky appears to work exclusively in a stable of artists for Southfield, Mich.-based Park West, which bills itself as “America’s premier art dealer.”

Now he hopes to spark a class-action lawsuit against the company. He claims Celebrity allowed him to become prey to aggressive Park West salesmen aboard the ship. The salesmen, he claims, greatly exaggerated the value of the prints he purchased.

“There was a very hard sales pitch put on to me,” Bouverat said. “I felt that they were trying to sell me the artwork, but they were also playing on the emotions to convince me these were good investments.”

Bouverat said he bought the artworks based on Park West’s representation that it had been appraised. It didn’t hurt that he was aboard a prestigious cruise line.

Bouverat felt Celebrity would never have an unscrupulous vendor aboard and noted the cruise line endorsed destination shops, guaranteeing the Royal Caribbean Cruises subsidiary would intercede if there is a problem with any of the businesses.

“I felt the same policy pretty much also applied to the art auction,” he said. “I am very disturbed about this. When I go on a cruise I entrust my well-being to the cruise line.”

Celebrity Cruise Lines said it will help passengers in any dispute with Park West, Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said.

“Should a case arise where a customer is not satisfied, we work with Park West to resolve the matter in a manner that is mutually agreeable to all parties,” Martinez said in a statement. “Their increasing use of third-party appraisals of their art should further improve customer confidence in the overall auction experience.”

Much is made of the appraisals in Bouverat’s lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in April and removed to federal court in May — calling them “false and deceptive statement of fact.” It turned out the appraisals for Bouverat’s art was conducted by Park West, not an independent assessment.

A Park West Gallery spokesman, who asked that his name not be used, issued a statement saying,“We believe this purported class action lawsuit is entirely without merit.” On the subject of appraisals, he said, “Our staff uses market-recognized tools, including reviews, by a network of accredited independent appraisers who adhere to the uniform standards of professional appraisal practices to appraise our artwork.”

Attorney Joshua M. Entin, a partner with Rosen Switkes & Entin in Miami Beach, represents Bouverat along with Shawn Khorrami and Matt Bailey of Los Angeles’ Khorrami Pollard & Abir.

Entin said Bouverat is far from the only Park West victim.

“We believe this has happened to a significant number of other people, and we believe this matter is perfect for a class action to get Park West Gallery to stop this conduct,” he said.

The lawsuit alleges Park West violated Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Other claims include breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Khorrami said he is in touch with numerous Park West clients and has filed a similar lawsuit in California.

Even though Celebrity is not named as a defendant, Khorrami said he feels the cruise company is culpable.

“Our investigation shows they get some sort of financial benefit,” he said. “They get money from Park West, and we believe they should be held responsible since they are seeing a financial benefit.”

Robert Burlington, a partner in Coffey Burlington in Miami, is one of three attorneys from his firm representing Park West. He said he had nothing to add to a June 17 dismissal motion.

“The insurmountable obstacle to plaintiff’s case — from which he cannot run — is that Park West delivered exactly what it promised him on exactly the terms agrees,” according to the motion prepared by firm attorney Paul Schwiep. “Nowhere does plaintiff allege that the appraisal Park West provided was wrong or even that the artwork he purchased is worth less than the appraisal provided.”

Park West is hardly a fly-by-night outfit. The company just celebrated its 40th anniversary, and its annual revenue is reported to be $300 million on sales of 300,000 pieces of art sold each year.

Park West doesn’t tolerate criticism well, as former paralegal Theresa Frank has found. She is the CEO of Phoenix-based Fine Art Registry, which aims to license artists’ works and was sued for defamation after posting complaints from Park West customers.

Frank said she has worked with more than 150 people trying to obtain refunds from Park West, and those who get them often have to sign confidentiality agreements. Her Web site offers tips to novice art buyers on cruise ships.

“Someone needs to open their eyes,” she said.

Frank disagrees somewhat with the strategy taken by Bouverat’s attorneys. She said it’s not appraisals they should go after but authentication standards.

Jonathan Schwartz, an attorney with Southfield, Mich., firm Kaufman Payton & Chapa, is defending Frank in Park West’s defamation suit. He said the company’s strategy is to litigate until opponents run out of money.

“These lawsuits are really SLAPP lawsuits. They are really meant to intimidate and silence legitimate criticism,” he said. “The tactics they use are very harsh. Terry has the evidence. She is a lone voice in the wilderness, and she is inspiring people to come forward about this.”

Back in Florida, Bouverat said he is more than willing to fight Park West. “I feel ripped off,” he said.

Bouverat said it’s time to put an end to inflated cruise ship art prices. He said there needs to be more disclosure of the true value of such works.

“Something needs to be done,” he said. “Passengers are a captive audience on a cruise ship. There are multiple auctions. People are drinking and having a good time. Unless they are seasoned art collectors, I don’t think the average person knows what they are being sold.”

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:04 AM | Permalink

CAIRO (AFP) — Scuffles erupted at an Egyptian court on Sunday when five of six defendants were cleared of blame for a 2006 ferry sinking in which more than 1,000 people died, Egypt's worst maritime disaster.

Hysterical relatives voiced anger as only Salaheddin Gomaa, captain of another ferry, the Saint Catherine, was jailed for six months for failing to come to the assistance of the Al-Salam Boccaccio 98.

Public prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmud issued a statement after the decision saying he would appeal the ruling, and called for a retrial.

The Al-Salam sank in the middle of the Red Sea on February 3, 2006 as it was carrying more than 1,400 people from Saudi Arabia to the Egyptian port of Safaga, where the trial was held.

"My brother, my brother," one woman screamed after the verdict, according to footage aired on Al-Jazeera television which also showed security men scuffling with relatives and another woman being manhandled.

Dozens of relatives, many carrying photographs of their dead loved ones, were crammed into the court building, although the heavy security presence prevented them from entering the courtroom itself.

Others wailed in grief on the steps outside. "God help us, 1,034 people are dead!" shouted one man.

Most of the victims were from poor families in southern Egypt, and the court scenes were reminiscent of the emotional outpourings in the days following the sinking as anxious relatives waited in vain for bodies to be recovered.

"The day of the accident everybody saw that the ship was in bad shape and two years later they say the boat was in good shape. It doesn't make sense," one man told Al-Jazeera.

"This is awful. My wife and children died and after two years everyone responsible is found to be innocent," he said, slamming some of the defendants for leaving the country pending the court's ruling.

Prosecutor Mahmud said he wanted a retrial because of "violations in documented records, corruption in investigation, shortcomings in validatings and arbitrary conclusions," Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

The court found that Gomaa had failed to show "compassion" and "did not do his duty by failing to go to the rescue of victims."

The Saint Catherine captain was also fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds (1,880 dollars).

Key defendant Mamduh Ismail, who owned the 36-year-old Al-Salam ferry and is a member of parliament's upper house which is appointed by President Hosni Mubarak, was acquitted.

In June 2006, Ismail was ordered to pay 330 million Egyptian pounds (57 million dollars) into a fund to compensate victims of the disaster and in return, a freeze on his assets was lifted.

Also accused were Ismail's son and three Al-Salam executives. Ismail, his son and one of the executives are not currently in Egypt.

In 2006, a parliamentary commission of inquiry blamed Al-Salam for the disaster, saying the firm had continued to operate the ferry "despite serious defects" in the vessel.

It also said the government "failed to manage the crisis adequately" in the days after the sinking.

Ismail had denied responsibility for the disaster, and blamed the captain of the Al-Salam, who went down with his ship, for overestimating the crew's ability to fight a fire that had broken out on board.

The passengers on the ferry were mostly Egyptian migrant workers, some of whom were bringing months', if not years', worth of savings to their families back home.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 8:55 AM | Permalink

By CARINE ASUTILLA
ABS-CBN Cebu

CEBU CITY - Widows of crewmen of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars of Sulpicio Lines Inc. (SLI) on Thursday called out to families of the other crew members to refuse at least in P20,000 death benefits being offered to them.

They said the amount is an insult to their husbands who lost their lives from the tragedy. They said that if the families of passengers got P200,000 in death benefits, they should receive the same.

Elina Edisan, whose husband Efren worked as a tool keeper in the ill-fated ship, said that the company is following the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between SLI and the Sulpicio Employees' Union.

She said that the CBA stated that both licensed and unlicensed crew of the boat only have P20,000 life insurance. The amount will be doubled if the crew met an accident.

"They read to us the CBA [that says] if my husband is still missing we get 20,000 pesos, if the victim is identified, we get 40,000 pesos," said Edisan.

She said that she will not accept the death claim of worth P40,000.

Another widow, Rosabella Cabanganan, whose husband Francisco worked as a watchman, said that she will not process the requirements for the said death claims as she thinks it is an insult to the life of her husband.

"My husband worked there, he lost his life in an accident, and we only get that amount? Why can’t we get the same insurance with the passenger victims?" said Cabanganan.

Appeal to others

Lorena Dizon, wife of 4th Engineer Librado Dizon, said that her husband used earn P20,000 per month as salary. She said she will not accept P40, 000 being offered for death claims.

She said that the amount is not enough to pay the damage. She urged the families of other crewmen not to accept the insurance.

Larry Straus Beduya, industrial relations officer of the Associated Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said that they are currently negotiating with SLI management to increase the insurance for the crew and level it with the death claims of passengers.

He said that aside from death claims, they are asking the management to give education scholarship to children of crewmen and provide jobs to the next provider for the crew’s family.

He said that SLI is open for negotiation and they are still waiting for their respond to it.

There were 121 crew in the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars, 73 of whom are members of ALU-TUCP.

Ten of the 73 members are licensed crew while the 63 are unlicensed crew or rank and file.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 8:47 AM | Permalink

Todd and I were sitting in the airport in Turks & Caicos waiting to go home, and I was talking to a couple that had been on the Aggressor with us. They had met on the Belize Aggressor III, when they both worked on the ship. They no longer worked for the Aggressor Fleet, but seemed to have a lot of respect for the company. I was mentioning to them my desire to visit Belize and I asked them about the Peter Hughes boats, specifically the Tobago itinerary, which has apparently been discontinued since I was researching it. They didn't really say anything too negative about Peter Hughes, but talked for a few minutes about the Aggressor Fleet and how they had always felt that the Aggressor Fleet was top notch in safety. Honestly, I was confused by the conversation, since I really hadn't asked about safety.

Fast forward a week or two. I was researching up coming dive trips, planning to go somewhere in late fall. We had kind of decided on Belize, but I wanted to make sure I had all of the options researched. I investigated the Peter Hughes Tobago itinerary, only to see on Scubaboard someone talking about reading No Safe Harbor before going on a Peter Hughes boat.

Ohhh kayyy...

I looked up No Safe Harbor and saw it was about the Peter Hughes boat Wave Dancer, and that it had sunk somehow. I researched the Wave Dancer, found a bunch of articles about it, and decided not to research the Tobago itinerary again. No Peter Hughes boats for us. I bought the book used off of Amazon for $3 and decided to check it out.

The Wave Dancer was a Diving live aboard boat operating out of Belize. In October 2001, the Richmond Dive Club scheduled a trip to Belize, and part of the group would stay on the Wave Dancer and the rest on the Belize Aggressor III.* As Hurricane Iris, a category 4 storm, approached Belize, both boats took refuge in Big Creek with all of their passengers aboard. As they rode out the storm, the Wave Dancer broke free of its moorings, hit the Belize Aggressor, and drifted out into the lagoon. It listed and finally capsized, killing all passengers except three and many of the crew. Peter Hughes attributed the accident to a freak occurrence. The book, and many witness accounts, say otherwise. No one has taken even partial responsibility for the accident, even though it seems clear that the Captain and to some extent Peter Hughes, were responsible.

This was a scary book for me. I'm accustomed to reading about dive accidents, it's been a hobby of mine for a while now. I read about them and analyze what the diver did wrong and could have done to prevent the accident. In turn, this makes me a better diver and more apt to know what to do when an emergency situation happens to me. This book, though, isn't truly a dive accident. I can't say that the divers on board reacted wrongly in any way. They simply trusted the crew to know what to do during a dangerous storm, and expected the captain's opinion to be correct. I, too, would have assumed that the captain knew better than me. He's a professional. Needless to say, this book really got me thinking about what sort of danger I put myself in when I'm on a live aboard, how trusting I should be with my life, and what I can do to prevent this from happening to me.

My thoughts...

* There are a lot of live aboard operators out there. Choose carefully. Find out about safety in advance, and make that a priority.
* When you're on a live aboard, you don't have access to television, newspapers, internet or phones. You are 100% cut off from the world and all information will come from the crew. In the event of a storm, go ahead and get the ship's email and contact someone at home who can give you information.
* Consider when you plan your trip and realize that planning a trip in hurricane season is a risk. Watch the weather reports before you leave and think about what you would do if you were stranded where you are going. This tragedy happened in Belize, a third world country, and for that reason, the passengers were not eager to leave the ship and go to a shelter. By the time they reached Big Creek (just a couple hours ahead of the storm), the surrounding resorts and hotels had been evacuated and all that remained was a storm shelter in a bank.
* Remember that ships flagged in countries other than the US do not have to be up to US Coast Guard standards. Inspectors post-accident found the safety of the ship lacking, and the long-range radio did not even work during the trip.
* Trust your instincts and if something feels wrong, it might be. Question your captain. There were passengers who knew a little something about boats and knew that it would be potentially unsafe to have the boat tied up as it was. When it was moored in Big Creek, it was sticking out into the channel and vulnerable to the storm surge. The Aggressor was tied up better and people noticed, but still trusted the captain.
* Usually on a live aboard, you're barefoot and casual, but if you're riding out a storm, have your life jacket and shoes on. None of the bodies recovered from the Wind Dancer were wearing life jackets or shoes.
* If you are in a storm, keep your dive light on you. In fact, keep a flashlight available in your room at all times. In the event of a fire or flood, you can find your way out easier. Divers usually have flashlights with them for night dives. Todd and I had no fewer than 5 with us on the Aggressor, but all of them were up on the dive deck.
* Listen to safety instructions. I admit, the explanation of where the escape routes were when we were in Turks & Caicos went in one ear and out the other. Although, to their credit, the crew placed a map of the escape routes on our bed after it was made up each morning.

Will I continue to go on live aboards? Of course. Just not Peter Hughes. I'll be careful to choose my ships wisely and continue reading Scubaboard and Undercurrent for my diving information.

As for a review of the book itself, it was well-written, but definitely not worth reading if you're not a diver or interested in this accident. There was far too much detail about the beginning (non-eventful) part of the trip. "And then, they went up and had a rum punch on the sun deck..." We don't need to know that much detail and I ended up skimming some. It was a short, easy read, and read better than reading the government report on the subject. So, I give it a "just ok."

*To my knowledge, my friends from Turks & Caicos were not on the Belize Aggressor III during this event.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 8:45 AM | Permalink

Written by Ken Borsuk, Greenwich-Post.com Staff Reporter

Having learned to love sailing as a child, Greenwich resident Hillary Bercovici never expected that a simple trip from Bermuda would turn into a medical emergency for him, necessitating a rescue at sea.

Mr. Bercovici, an Episcopal priest and pastoral psychotherapist, working as a scholar-in-residence at Trinity Church Greenwich, was part of a crew returning the racing boat Misty, a 40-foot sloop, to Rhode Island from Bermuda two weeks ago, after it had taken part in a race just a few days earlier. An experienced sailor, Mr. Bercovici had made the trip before, but this time bad weather and choppy waters led to his injury.

In an interview with the Post on Tuesday, Mr. Bercovici said they were two days into the trip, which usually takes four to six days depending on conditions, when they encountered some rough seas on June 30.

“It was nothing of great concern,” Mr. Bercovici said when asked about the conditions. “We weren’t in a panic or anything. But when we went to change course we were hit by a wave on the side which swung us around unexpectedly. I got knocked over by the mainsheet, which holds in the mainsail. I don’t really remember what happened, but I’m told I was knocked down and my head hit a winch. I got a concussion and it opened up a two-and-a-half-inch gash over my right eye.”

Despite the blow to the head, Mr. Bercovici never lost consciousness and in fact believed he was fine at first.

“Everyone was around me asking if I was OK, and I kept telling them, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine. What’s the big deal?’” Mr. Bercovici recalled. “They told me I was bleeding and at first I didn’t believe them but then I held my hand up to my head and saw it was covered in blood.”

Mr. Bercovici was immediately taken below deck and treated in an attempt to stop the bleeding. It was then that his condition began to worsen. Since they were more than 200 miles from land, the boat had to use the satellite phone to call the Coast Guard and make contact with a doctor.

“Apparently I got a bit on the incoherent side,” Mr. Bercovici said. “I’m told I was getting very confused and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. I started hallucinating and seeing people that weren’t there. I remember thinking there were all these people there in costume like it was a Halloween party or something. It was definitely a very weird experience for me. I had never gone through anything like that in my life.”

The Coast Guard said it would be able to get assistance to Misty, but it would take six hours. That concerned the doctor with whom the crew was in contact. While the bleeding was not a concern, the hallucinations were, and the doctor was concerned it was a symptom of a far more serious injury than a concussion, and required immediate attention. It was then that an alternate idea was put forth by the Coast Guard.

A cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn, was about 32 nautical miles away and was participating in the Amver program with the Coast Guard. That meant the ship was available for assistance if needed, and it was called upon. Despite the bad weather, with rain and wind gusts up to 33 knots and reported 20-foot swells, the ship was able to locate the Misty, lower a rescue boat with three crew members and get Mr. Bercovici on board.

The ship offered all the luxuries vacationers enjoy, but the onboard physician was what Mr. Bercovici needed most. As soon as he was safely on the ship, Mr. Bercovici was able to get the treatment he needed. The doctor stopped the bleeding and diagnosed his hallucinations. Mr. Bercovici had been wearing a scopolamine patch behind his ear to help him combat some seasickness, and the medicine combined with the blow to the head to trigger the hallucinations.

Once the patch was removed the medicine began to wear off, and after almost eight hours, the hallucinations stopped. Once he was given different medication to help him get his balance back, Mr. Bercovici was able to leave the infirmary. But he couldn’t return home just yet. The Norwegian Dawn had been headed to Bermuda when it picked him up, so he returned to where he started.

Mr. Bercovici said he didn’t mind.

“It sure beat a Coast Guard cutter,” he said. “The company was really good to me. Everyone on board was just incredible.” The Norwegian Cruise Line allowed him to stay as a guest for free. Andrew Gigla, who had suffered shock-like symptoms while taking part in a sailboat race off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass., was also given lodging.

Mr. Bercovici praised the boat’s captain, Trygve Vorren. In order to get Mr. Bercovici off the Misty and onto the Norwegian Dawn, Mr. Vorren had to maneuver the nearly 1,000-foot-long cruise ship against the considerably smaller Misty, and Mr. Bercovici said he did everything skillfully. Both Mr. Bercovici and Mr. Gigla got to know Capt. Vorren during the trip to Bermuda, as they got the rare privilege of being allowed on the bridge to meet the senior crew, including those who had done the actual rescues.

“It was wonderful to meet these guys,” Mr. Bercovici said. “It was very moving.”

Having left his wallet and passport on the Misty in all the confusion, Mr. Bercovici was able to get a loan from the crew so he could get to the airport, where his wife was waiting for him to get him back to Greenwich.

Mr. Bercovici’s injury proved to be a mild concussion, and he is nearly fuly recovered. Because of the concussion, at first he was sleeping 16 hours a day, but now he’s back to normal sleep patterns.

The accident has done nothing to cool Mr. Bercovici’s love of sailing. He and his wife are planning an August trip in their own boat for some coastal cruising.

“I’m getting stronger every day,” Mr. Bercovici said. “I feel like I’m all the way back, but I’m being told not to just rush back... and ease into it.”

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 10:00 AM | Permalink

A 637-ft. cruise ship detained by the U.S. Coast Guard has moved to the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal from Pier 92 in New York City and will continue repairs to fix hull damage and numerous discrepancies found during a recent routine inspection.

The Clipper Pacific, a cruise ship home ported in the Bahamas, will submit a complete repair proposal for the hull damage and 66 violations found during the inspection. The proposal includes sufficient temporary repairs that will allow the vessel to safely travel to their next port of call, where it will make permanent repairs.

The Coast Guard and the vessel's classification society have reviewed plans for repair from the ship's master and will conduct a final exam tomorrow morning to determine if the Captain of the Port Order to detain the Clipper Pacific will be lifted and the vessel deemed safe to sail.

A six-person examination team from Coast Guard Sector New York boarded the Clipper Pacific at 8 a.m. Sunday to conduct a routine safety inspection. Upon entering New York Harbor the ship's master reported a gash about one inch in length on the left side of the vessel sustained prior to coming to port.

Further investigation by the Coast Guard team identified the other 66 discrepancies such as fire safety, lifeboat damages and life jacket issues on the vessel. This inspection lasted from Sunday morning to Tuesday evening.

The Clipper Pacific is carrying approximately 1,200 passengers and crew members.

The cruise ship was inbound from Greenland when it was stopped by the Coast Guard.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 10:11 AM | Permalink

By Otto Smyth, LawFuel.com

According to reports by Princess Cruise Line accident lawyers at Ehline Law, a spokes person for Crown Princess, Julie Benson have released information in the latest cruise passengers to go overboard on one of their ships.

This time it was the Princess Cruise’s Grand Princess that was approximately 150 miles off of the Galveston Coast when two passengers fell from a balcony. According to the statements by Benson the pair, a 22 year old man and a 20 year old woman fell from a balcony at approximately 1:30 a.m. Their friends alerted the captain of the ship who then turned the ship to go in search of the two passengers.

The captain of the Grand Princess and crew used high powered spot lights and rescue boats to search for the man and woman. Each were found and picked up by rescue boats, one at 5:300a.m. and the other at 6:00 p.m.

These passengers are the latest passengers that have fallen overboard on cruise ships, there have also been passengers such as Mike Mankamyer a passenger on the Carnival Glory, who was rescued by the Coast Guard after falling about 60 feet from the ship and later found approximately 30 miles from the Ft. Lauderdale coast.

Then there was the case of Daniel Dipiero who went overboard for his family to find out later that after being turned away at one bar aboard ship he was then served at another. Later he found his way to a deck chair where he slept until waking feeling sick and went to the rail to be ill. The next piece of the tape this was seen on shows the young man slipping over the rail. This incident occurred on a Royal Caribbean ship Mariner of the Seas.

The list goes on with passengers who have gone overboard on cruise ships with names like Mindy Jordan and Lynsey O’Brien.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 10:06 AM | Permalink

Islander News

In his new book, Unsafe on the High Seas: Your Guide to a Safer Cruise, veteran maritime lawyer Charles Lipcon exposes the seamy underbelly of the cruise industry, calling attention to the litany of potential problems that may ruin the vacation of a lifetime— sexual assaults, shipboard disappearances, unaccredited doctors, inadequate security and noroviruses, among them.

"There are hazards when taking a cruise," the Key Biscayne resident says, "but what it boils down to is people not using commons sense. For some reason when people get on a ship they feel like they’re totally protected, like they’re in a totally safe cocoon, but that’s not always the case."

Based on his 35 years of experience, Lipcon’s book bristles with shocking true stories of cruise-ship passengers who have been injured, victimized or harmed while at sea.

"It’s sort of premised on problem areas I’ve seen," says Lipcon, who is affiliated with the law firm Lipcon, Margulies and Alsina P.A., located near the Port of Miami.

The son of a U.S. Naval officer, Lipcon traveled extensively when he was a youth. He attended the University of Miami and received his bachelors degree with a dual major in political science and philosophy. He subsequently attended UM’s School of Law and received his Juris Doctor degree.

Lipcon began to practice law in Miami, just as the cruise industry as we know it today was forming. His first case, involving a crewman who’d had an accident aboard a ship, initiated the young attorney into the intricacies of the industry. He learned that a ship may be built in Italy, based in the U.S. and fly a Liberian flag. That led the young lawyer to wonder: "So whose jurisdiction is it under? Whose laws apply?"

In order to sue for reparations for the crewman, Lipcon had to slog through "layers of laws" and international treaties to discover who was responsible and who to file suit against. He won his case for the crewman, and in the more than three decades since, he’s won awards on behalf of both crewmen and passengers while setting precedents in maritime law.

"What I found so interesting about that case is that most of these ships are part of a corporate maze— the employer of the crew is one company, the owner of the ship is a different company, the operator is another company and the shareholders are from another county. So there a lot of overlapping jurisdictions to got through. As a lawyer, you have to work your way through that maze of international laws— it’s like handling a very complex puzzle."

Unsafe on the High Seas is the result of Lipcon’s 35 years of first-hand experience in maritime law. It is an offshoot of his dedicated quest and subsequent success in exposing the secrets the cruise industry does not want passengers to know.

The book’s dedication reads: "For the victims of accidents and crimes on board cruise ships. It is my hope that this book will assist future cruise line passengers from becoming victims. If only one person is helped by this book, I will feel that it has been worth the effort."

In a chapter titled "A Pattern of Cover-ups," Lipcon showcases the variety of tricks the cruise industry uses to smooth over problems and avoid lawsuits and damaging publicity.

"They know how to take advantage of every wrinkle in the law and they are behind a very powerful lobbying group," says Lipcon.

Another chapter in Lipcon’s cruise-ship survival guide details problems involving unaccredited ship physicians. To illustrate the extent of the problem, Lipcon mentions a woman who needed medical attention after injuring her head in a fall. Due to substandard medical equipment and an erroneous diagnosis by the ship doctor, the woman wound up becoming a paraplegic.

"My advice is that if you have a serious medical problem, get off the ship as quickly as possible and get advice from your personal physician," says Lipcon.

Most disturbingly, "the cruise lines disavow any liability for the ship doctor, which I personally think is outrageous," adds Lipcon.

From easy-to-follow rules for staying safe in a cruise ship environment to sensible talk about health and sanitation issues, Lipcon’s brisk 116-page book contains helpful advice for future cruise ship passengers to avoid the risks and hazards that can spoil their experience.

"When people are in a big city, their antennas go up and they’re alert, but when they’re on a cruise ship, they let their guard down," says Lipcon. "The purpose of my book is to make people aware that there are hazards on cruise ships, just like anywhere else."

Lipcon says his book offers sensible advice to guide a passenger from the purchase of the ticket (which is a binding contract) until the end of the voyage.

"My hope is that people will leaf through this book before boarding a cruise ship," says Lipcon, "because I believe many of the horrific things that have happened on ships could’ve been avoided had people read my book."

Unsafe on the High Seas: Your Guide to a Safer Cruise is available on Amazon.com and other online book retailers.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 10:17 AM | Permalink

By Joan Delaney
Epoch Times Victoria Staff

When Merrian Carver went missing on the second day of a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska in 2004, her family members say they weren't notified by the cruise line.

In fact Kendall Carver, the father of the 40-year-old woman from Massachusetts, says after his daughter's disappearance his family had to cope with a painful "cover-up" by cruise ship officials.

The incident went unreported to the FBI until weeks after the disappearance, and was only reported then because Carver contacted Royal Caribbean.

The cruise line, which had already disposed of most of Merrian's belongings, indicated to the FBI that nothing had happened on the cruise, says Carver, and refused to permit Carver to interview the steward who had looked after his daughter's cabin.

"We determined that we wanted to speak to one person (the steward) on board that ship, and to do that we had to hire an international detective agency, two law firms, take court action in two states and spend $75,000." It was only after a court-ordered deposition, Carver says, that "we found out they were lying to us the whole time" as the steward had in fact reported Merrian's disappearance. She has never been found.

Carver has since formed the International Cruise Victims Association to support victims and help bring about change in an industry that has been accused of being arrogant and uncaring toward victims of crimes perpetrated during a cruise.

It has been said that cruise ships are the perfect place to commit a crime. This is because international cruise lines operate under foreign "flags of convenience" and are not required under U.S. law to report crimes that occur outside of U.S. territorial waters.

Although cruise lines have agreed to voluntarily report crimes committed at sea to the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard, this currently only applies to Americans.

NDP MP Denise Savoie and NDP Transport Critic Brian Masse want some protection in place for Canadians as well and are asking for a written commitment from Miami-based Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) to report all crimes committed against Canadian passengers and crew while on board international cruise ships.

"I'm asking why is the industry not reporting to Canadian authorities and why has our government not stepped up and demanded this," says Savoie, whose riding of Victoria will receive 211 international ship visits this year and an additional 10 "pocket-ship" visits.

Savoie's call coincides with a Senate hearing led by U.S. Senator John Kerry on the issue of crime on cruise ships. Last week, Kerry introduced legislation that would improve safety and accountability. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Congress.

The Senate hearing and also a series of Congressional hearings in recent years heard from victims of cruise ship crime and their families who felt abandoned and frustrated with what they said was a cavalier attitude and a lack of cooperation from the industry.

Critics and victims accuse cruise lines of attempting to conceal crimes while the only "punishment" meted out to crew members is to fire them. However, these workers are often able to get hired on another ship.

While most who take a cruise will never encounter any problems, victims of a crime may find that they're on their own.

Ross Klein, a professor of social work at Newfoundland's Memorial University, says that while the industry has agreed to report crimes to the FBI, the agreement has no teeth because it is done on a voluntary basis and there's no obligation to make the crimes public.

"Back in 1999 the cruise lines announced a zero tolerance policy but that certainly hasn't been the case in practice given the numbers of sexual assaults and other crimes," he says.

While the industry insists passengers are safer at sea than on land, Klein says his research shows that the rate for sexual assaults on cruise ships is about 57 per 100,000.

"That's about 80 to 90 per cent higher than the rate for forcible rape in the U.S. Particularly significant is that it is more than three times higher than what the industry claimed in their testimony before Congress in 2006."

Passengers as well as crew members can be both victims and perpetrators. Children have been sexually assaulted as well.

People disappear from cruise ships at the rate of about 20 per year, says Klein, some of which take place "under very mysterious circumstances."

"In some cases they are suicides, in some cases they are accidents, but certainly the majority of cases remain questionable in terms of how and why that person disappeared."

Klein, who testified at the Senate and Congressional hearings, has written extensively about the cruise industry and often appears as an expert witness on cruise ship crime. He has also joined in the call for Canadian regulations.

While requests for an interview with the CLIA were not granted, CLIA president Terry Dale told the Senate hearing that the industry's "care and compassion" in dealing with victims of crime has not always been satisfactory.

However, he said cruise lines "have made great strides in the past two years to improve our procedures to provide more support to those who have been injured or families that have been affected."

Dale also said that both the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard have testified that the voluntary reporting system is working efficiently.

Some commentators believe the high number of sexual assaults during cruises is partially due to staff being separated from their wives or girlfriends for up to six months at a time and a party atmosphere on board where alcohol flows freely.

Miami-based Charles Lipcon, a maritime lawyer for 30 years, cites an additional reason.

"I believe that the number of sexual assaults on cruise ships is increasing quite a bit. I think the word is out among sexual predators that you can go on a ship and rape someone and nothing happens to you even if you're caught. So what kind of message is that?"

Date rape drugs are increasingly used in sexual assaults on cruise ships, says Lipcon, adding that in his experience the cruise lines first and foremost scramble to safeguard themselves rather than the victim in the event of a crime.

While the U.S. government has jurisdiction over crimes involving U.S. citizens and residents, Lipcon says investigations usually lead nowhere because in many cases law enforcement cannot board the ship until a few days after a crime is committed and evidence is often not properly preserved.

In an industry worth an estimated $35.7 billion, Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines account for about 94 per cent of the North American market.

The ships are registered in countries such as Liberia, Panama and Bermuda, and pay little if any corporate tax. Some ships carry up to 4,000 passengers.

As well as testifying at the hearings, Carver says he has had "feel-good meetings" with cruise industry officials several times who, he says, agree to make improvements but never do.

He hopes Kerry's bill will be passed, but given the lobbying power of the industry, he's not holding his breath.

"Last year they spent $2,800,000 in Washington lobbying — you're talking big money. We know we're in an uphill struggle but at least we're giving them a lot of heartburn."

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:45 AM | Permalink