Cruise Ship Law

(6:45 AM) -- A massive search-and-rescue operation is under way off the west coast of Canada today for a passenger who has gone missing from a Princess cruise ship.

The 67-year-old woman, who hasn't been identified, was noticed missing Wednesday after the 2,670-passenger Sapphire Princess pulled into Vancouver at the end of a four-night cruise to Alaska.

The Princess vessel was at sea from late Monday, when it left the small port of Ketchikan, Alaska, until early Wednesday traveling down the scenic Inside Passage to Vancouver. Rescuers are searching the entire route -- an area that stretches for more than 500 miles.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the woman wasn't found during a search of the ship Wednesday, and her personal belongings were in her cabin.

The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed several aircraft and a rescue boat to search the U.S. waters from Ketchikan south to the Canadian border -- an 86-mile stretch. Canadian rescue agencies are searching the much larger, 517-mile-long area of water between the Canadian border and Vancouver.

UPDATE, 9:39 AM ET: The U.S. Coast Guard says the passenger missing from the Sapphire Princess is a U.S. citizen. The agency says her name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

UPDATE, 9:58 AM ET: Princess Cruises has issued a short statement on the missing passenger: "Yesterday morning when Sapphire Princess disembarked passengers at the conclusion of its Alaska cruise, records showed one passenger did not depart the ship," the statement reads. "Staff members subsequently went to the cabin of the passenger, a 67-year-old female U.S. citizen, and discovered her belongings, but we regret to say she is missing. We notified authorities and are offering our full cooperation in order to determine where she is or what may have happened to her."

The statement notes the ship is now heading south to begin sailings along the Mexican Riviera. This week's cruise to Alaska was its last of the season.

UPDATE, 5:45 PM ET: In an afternoon statement, Princess says the passenger remains missing, but the line cannot comment more. "We continue to work closely with various investigating authorities, and we’ve been advised not to discuss any details of the incident, including potential evidence, or to speculate on the cause of the incident," the statement reads. "In the meantime, we are providing support to her family during this difficult time."

The U.S. Coast Guard, meanwhile, says it has narrowed its search for the missing woman to an area just outside of Ketchikan after receiving new information from Princess about the time and place where it is believed she went overboard. The Coast Guard also has named the missing passenger.

"Carney Edelgard, a Sutter Creek, Calif., resident is reported to have fallen overboard from the cruise ship Sapphire Princess at around 6 p.m. Monday," the Coast Guard says in a statement.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:42 AM | Permalink

A Rochester man is at the center of a cruise ship nightmare after federal authorities say he sexually abused a young girl.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany Lee said that according to a criminal complaint on December 31, 2006, a 13-year-old female boarded a cruise ship in Florida to embark upon a cruise with her family. In the early morning hours of January 1, 2007, the teen was walking around the decks of the ship with friends when they were approached by 24-year-old Lucas George Wickes.

According to the complaint, Wickes told the teen and her friends that they should return to their cabin. The girl followed Wickes who took her to another deck where the sexual assault allegedly took place. The complaint states that she was told if she screamed, she would be thrown overboard.

Wickes has been released but he is on home detention with GPS monitoring. He is due in court on October 16.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 2:31 PM | Permalink

A man who was a passenger onboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas has died following a tragic accident while on a ship-organised catamaran excursion in Cozumel.

According to a statement from Royal Caribbean, "On Friday, September 4, a guest travelling onboard Freedom of the Seas joined a catamaran shore excursion where he was involved in an accident and was fatally injured. The guest's family and friends have remained in Cozumel, where members of our specially trained Guest Care Team met them, and have remained with them to assist."

Reports in the Mexican press say the 50-year-old American man fell from the Island Shuttle -- which is a boat owned by ferry company Ultramar -- as it was docking at the pier in Cozumel. It is believed the man sustained serious injuries from the boat's engine and died of cardiac arrest due to these injuries.

Royal Caribbean has confirmed that the shore excursion has been suspended until further notice. Earlier this summer, 49 Royal Caribbean passengers were involved in a vehicular accident on St. Thomas during a ship-sponsored shore excursion, sales of which were also suspended.

In January, a P&O passenger died on a ship-sponsored SCUBA excursion in Tortola. A tragic bus accident left 12 Celebrity Millennium passengers dead, and two injured, back in 2006.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 4:28 PM | Permalink

The search has resumed in Australia for a young Irishman feared drowned after falling overboard when kissing his girlfriend.

Shane O'Halloran (23), from West Cork, is missing and suspected drowned after he and his girlfriend (26) apparently lost their balance on the Brisbane cruise ship while kissing -- and plunged headlong into the river.

The woman was rescued by the cruise ship personnel within a minute, but frantic efforts to locate Mr O'Halloran failed in the fading light.

The woman was uninjured but was treated for shock.

A massive search of the river is now ongoing by Brisbane policy and rescue divers.

Shane, a native of Ballineen, had gone on the Brisbane River cruise on Saturday night with some friends to mark a birthday celebration.

The tragedy occurred at 10pm when the cruise boat had reached Hale Street Link.

Australian police said it is understood that Mr O'Halloran was not a strong swimmer.

"Water police have been searching all day and that will continue all evening," a Brisbane police spokeswoman said.

Brisbane Cruises official Jim Kelly said he now had grave fears for the man's safety.

"The girl came up straight away, but there was no sign of the gentleman," he said.

Onlookers said that Mr O'Halloran and the young woman had been kissing in the seconds before the accident.

His disappearance marks the fourth water-borne tragedy to hit Irish nationals overseas in the past month.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:47 AM | Permalink

ix Carnival cruise ship passengers have been detained on the island of Antigua after a dispute over a cab fare ballooned into an alleged brawl with police.

The Antigua Sun today reports the six U.S. citizens -- Dolores Lalanne, 25, Mike Pierre Paul, 24, Joshua Jackson, 25, Shoshonnah Henry, 24, Nancy Lalanne, 22, and Rachael Henry, 27 -- have been charged with assault, battery and malicious damage and will be kept in the country pending trial.

The alleged brawl took place Friday after the cruisers arrived on the island aboard the Carnival Victory for what was supposed to be a 10-hour port call. The Associated Press says the incident began after the cruisers refused to pay a cab driver who gave them a tour because they believed they were being overcharged. The wire service says the driver had quoted the group $50 for a tour ending at a beach, and the dispute arose after he later told them the fare would be double to take them back to their ship. After the cruisers disputed the charge, the driver drove them to a police station, where the alleged brawl broke out.

The six cruisers, initially jailed on Friday, were released Monday on bail of $5,000 but have had to surrender their travel documents and must check in regularly with the court, the Sun reports.

The Sun says one of the passengers, Shoshonnah Henry, walked into Monday's court hearing with a limp her attorney said was the result of Friday's scuffle. The lawyer told the court the cruisers had endured deplorable conditions over the weekend in Antigua's jail that included being subjected to repeated mosquito bites.

"The females’ faces are riddled with bumps and marks from being kept at the station," the Sun quotes the lawyer as saying.

The Sun says Shoshonnah Henry faces the majority of charges and is accused of beating four police officers -- a male and three females -- during the melee. One of the officers, Dee Dee Frederick, allegedly sustained an injury over one of her eyes, had her hair pulled out at the root and was bitten several times in the back, the news outlet reports.

The 2,758-passenger Carnival Victory was on a seven-night Southern Caribbean voyage out of Barbardos that ends Wednesday.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:44 AM | Permalink

(7:56 AM) -- A Disney cruise ship sailing off the coast of Florida has rescued a Carnival passenger who went overboard during the night.

Disney spokeswoman Rena Langley says the Disney Wonder pulled the passenger out of the water at about 12:45 am ET after responding to a call for help from the Carnival Sensation.

Langley says the Disney ship was about 17 miles south of Port Canaveral, Fla., when it made the rescue, and the ship brought the passenger into the port where he was taken to a hospital by ambulance as a precaution.

"We're incredibly proud of our crew members who were able to locate the individual in distress and bring him safely aboard the Disney Wonder," Langley tells USA TODAY.

Both the 2,056-passenger Carnival Sensation and the 2,400-passenger Disney Wonder were returning to Port Canaveral after a cruise to the Bahamas.

The entire ordeal, notably, was documented in a series of tweets from a passenger on board the Disney ship.

"I'm on a Disney Caribbean cruise, and just now, we RESCUED A MAN FROM THE OCEAN," the stream of Twitter.com postings from BigHeadDennis began early this morning.

BigHeadDennis, who describes himself as "mostly just another boring suburban dad" in his Twitter profile, tweeted that he could hear the Carnival passenger screaming from the water.

"The Captain got onto the PA system and asked everyone to keep quiet, so the lifeboat crew could pinpoint the guy from his yelling," he tweeted, followed by word the passenger was "safe and sound."

BigHeadDennis' final tweet: "Guess that Disney magic is real."

Cruise Loggers, share your thoughts below.

UPDATE, 9:55 AM ET: Carnival has issued a brief statement saying the passenger who went overboard from the Carnival Sensation overnight was seen jumping from a balcony.

"Yesterday evening, at approximately 11:15 p.m., a 34-year-old male guest was witnessed jumping overboard from a balcony stateroom on the Carnival Sensation," the statement says. "The ship immediately began search and rescue operations, including returning the vessel to the area where the man was witnessed going overboard."

In the statement, Carnival also thanked the officers and crew of the Disney Wonder, and the U.S. Coast Guard, for aiding in the search.

UPDATE, 1:02 PM ET:Orlando's local CBS television affiliate is reporting that the man who allegedly jumped off the Carnival Sensation last night was heard arguing with a woman just before the incident.

"He threatened to jump, and she said, 'Go ahead,' and he did," passenger Marie McDonald tells Orlando's Local 6 News. "Then we heard the man screaming, 'Help! Help!"'

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:39 AM | Permalink