Cruise Ship Law

AL-ARISH, Egypt — A luxury cruise liner carrying nearly 1,500 passengers slammed into the pier as it docked Friday at an Egyptian Red Sea resort in fierce winds, leaving three crew members dead, officials said.

The ship's owner, Costa Crociera, said the vessel sprung a leak on the right side after banging into the dock at about 4:45 a.m.

"We sadly have to confirm the deaths of 3 crew members," the company said in a statement. "The ship is now safely docked in port."

Other passengers were being put up in hotels and arrangements were being made to return them to their home countries, according to the company.

Witnesses said fierce winds had rocked the area overnight and the ship was slammed part way onto the pier.

Bad weather was believed to be the cause of the collision, which left a 2 meter (yard) hole in the body of the ship, according to an Egyptian security official.

The Costa Europa ship had been on an 18-day cruise from Dubai to Savona and had 1,437 guests on board, Italy.

Police and rescue officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information, said the three killed include an Indian, a Brazilian and a Honduran, but the company did not confirm nationalities.

Mohammed Fayez, head of South Sinai ambulance services, said the bodies were still being removed from the ship. The vessel had arrived in Sharm el-Sheik from another Red Sea port in Safaga, local officials said.

The 55,000-ton ship, which was built in 1986, was restored and entered into service with Costa in 2002, the company said.

It's one of 16 cruise ships belonging to the Genoa, Italy-based Costa Crociera line, the Italian subsidiary of Carnival Corp.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 9:51 AM | Permalink

Disgraced golfing ace Tiger Woods is being sued by a former deckhand whose fingers were chopped off in an accident aboard his £10 million super yacht.

A lawsuit filed in Palm Beach County, Florida, is reportedly demanding unspecified damages following the 2005 mishap, in which Alexander McKee lost two fingers while working on the luxury 155ft vessel Privacy.

At the time, Woods' Florida corporation ETW footed medical bills and gave the worker a severance package before he left.

But it seems the 25-year-old, who now lives in Washington, was not satisfied and wants the serial philanderer to pay up.

According to the Palm Beach Post, McKee claims he was cleaning the deck of the lavish boat when a hatch slammed shut on his hand.

The hatch, says McKee's lawyer Wayne Mitchell, severed two of his fingers. Surgeons managed to re-attach one of the tips but the other finger had to be partly amputated.

Mitchell told the newspaper that at first, Woods' people took care of McKee, paying for some of his medical expenses.

But, he added: 'The young man endured more medical care and expenses. And he hasn't been able to work on a ship since.'

Woods' Miami-based attorney Neil Bayer responded in court documents saying that McKee should have been aware that he risked serious injury during the course of his work.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 11:00 AM | Permalink

The U.S. Coast Guard will resume searching for a missing Japanese cruise ship member who went overboard the Pacific Venus on Saturday when it was south of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, according to officials.

The ship, on its way back to Japan, reported the 24-year-old crew member went overboard at 2 p.m. Saturday and called the U.S. Coast Guard at 5 p.m. for help, the Coast Guard said in a prepared statement.

The Coast Guard launched two C-130s to search the area today first at 5 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. The aircraft searched the crew member's last known position for five hours this afternoon before landing at Midway Atoll for the night.

Meanwhile a Japanese training sailing vessel will search through the night.

The 550-foot cruise ship was about 300 miles southwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands when it first reported the crew member missing. The Pacific Venus has notified the missing crew member's family in Japan.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 2:32 PM | Permalink

GALVESTON - The Police News learned late Saturday that an investigation is underway into the death of a woman aboard the Carnival ship Ecstasy.

According to our sources a 32-year old Brazoria County woman and her fiancee set sail earlier this week from Galveston and she was dead when the ship docked in Mexico. FBI Agents went to Mexico to conduct an investigation.

It was reported that the woman had been beaten to death and the primary suspect is the man she married aboard the ship.

Although FBI spokesmen have called the investigation routine, it is reported the woman's death was a homicide.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy and issue an official ruling in the death.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 1:50 PM | Permalink

Fire department, hazmat team look for the cause

Seven crew members aboard a cruise ship headed to Baltimore on Saturday were sickened by carbon monoxide poisoning, rescue officials said.

Fire department crews and a hazmat team met the Celebrity Mercury when it docked in Baltimore to treat the victims and search the 12-year-old ocean liner for the cause of the leak, fire department spokesman Chief Kevin Cartwright said.

The crew members were poisoned while the ship was in transit, Maryland Port Administration spokesman Richard Scher said.

"Obviously, it is being looked at carefully," Scher said.

Further details on the conditions of the crew members were not available Saturday. Representatives of Celebrity Cruise Lines could not be reached for comment.

The 866-foot Celebrity Mercury, which began sailing from Baltimore in November, was on its last cruise of its inaugural season here. It was scheduled next for what the industry calls "repositioning," which includes repairs and restocking for future trips.

The Baltimore debut of the Mercury, which marked the return of Celebrity Cruise Lines to the port after a five-year absence, and new business from Carnival Cruise lines pushed cruise departures and passengers here to new records last year.

The Mercury spent its first season in Baltimore taking passengers on nine- and 12-night cruises to the Caribbean. The ship, with a saltwater pool and champagne and cigar bars, has an occupancy of 1,886.

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 10:05 AM | Permalink

Most cruise passengers don't realize that the cruise lines provide medical care as a courtesy only, and they are not required to staff their facilities with qualified American doctors or nurses. You must carefully vet their medical training and certifications before consenting to medical treatment, your life might depend on it.

Under ancient maritime and admiralty law, the captain appoints a ship doctor. They often chose the cook, since they were good with knives.

I have many clients through the Caribbean and over the years I've learned to always ask for a M.D., when I am in need of any medical assistance. I have experienced horrendous care by "doctors" overseas, including one physician who told my wife that her joint inflammation was due to her unforgiven sins, and prescribed that she bath in the blood of Jesus Christ!

I recently had a serious injury on a cruise ship, and I knew that I was going to be in trouble when the cruise ships "doctor" reminded me of the dumb-looking guy who works at my local hippie herbal cure store.

Me: "Are you an M.D.?"

Quack: "I'm a doctor”.

Me: "So was my College History Professor", I replied.

Me: "I'll ask you again: Are you an M.D.? It's a simple question, you are either an M.D. or you aren't."

Quack: No response. . . .

In the cruise ship medical facility, my wife is trying to reach a "real doctor" while I was bombarded with a bunch of half-English babble.

Quack doctor: "Do you take Blutiners?"

Me: “What is Blutiner”? I've never heard of the word.

Quack doctor: "You speak English", he replied in an underserved arrogant tone. "You need to be cooper rahtive".

Me: "Cooper-ah-tive? What the F**k does cooper-rahtive mean"? (The idiot was trying to say cooperative)

In the cruise ship medical facility, my wife is trying to reach a "real doctor" while I was bombarded with a bunch of half-English babble.

Quack doctor: "Do you take Blutiners?"

Me: "What is Blutiner"? I've never heard of the word.

Quack doctor: "You speak English", he replied in an underserved arrogant tone. "You need to be cooper rahtive".

Me: "Cooper-ah-tive? What the F**k does cooper-rahtive mean"? (The idiot was trying to say cooperative)

Posted by Lipcon Law Firm at 11:26 AM | Permalink