Beyond Naivety or Hoodwinking Public?
One CEO's Blind Ignorance of Reality
By Mike Groves
Just days before the President of the United States signed into law the Cruise Vessel Security & Safety Act 2009, CEO Joe Ewart and member of the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Fame wrote what can only be described at best a naive article or at worst, wholly misleading? I find the continued arrogance of CLIA and its cronies as distasteful as they are shameful.
According to Ewart, he is ‘perplexed as to why more people seem to be jumping overboard’ Really? Well Mr. Ewart so are the police, family and loved ones of those ‘who apparently have’ because according to all the evidence the majority of them were happy go lucky people, they were not suffering or had suffered from depression, were looking forward to planned events when they got back, loved their families, jobs, friends and life – but according to your opening gambit – they jumped! Wake up Ewart for goodness sake. Has it not crossed your mind that maybe ‘just maybe’ some of those were either robbed or raped and in order to cover up the forensic evidence, their body was disposed of?
Time and again the evidence has pointed to UNEXPLANIED losses, and as a consequence numerous families, lawyers and often law enforcement agencies continue to demand answers. Why would they do this if the evidence was so obvious that they jumped? If it was so evident that the victims had taken their own life, then why do so many cruise operators refuse to hand over CCTV evidence, or otherwise allow their officers and crew to be interviewed or give statements?
Why do so many cruise operators fail to conduct immediate search and rescue when a loss is reported? Look at the case of Angelo Favliva for example, and why are the cruise operators so arrogant that they even go so far as to dispose of passengers personal possessions or not even bother to inform he family that a death has occurred?
Mr Ewart then goes onto say – ‘It is certainly tragic when this occurs and the news media seems to report these phenomena more frequently and with more in-depth coverage than other similar events. This probably because cruising is in and of itself more interesting and sexy than most other forms of leisure travel’ Maybe Mr Ewart it is because the media understand that something is seriously wrong and they are listening to the concerns of ALL the distraught families and law enforcement professionals, or are we all mistaken?
His ‘naivety’ continues and where he adds a few crocodile tears at the end for good measure, ‘Does this mean that cruise ship travel is any less safe than it was ten or fifteen years ago? I think not. If one takes a look at the number of incidents against 12 million travelers, it is relatively small number. That of course does not mitigate the grief and anxiety of family members and we certainly sympathize with the people left behind.’
No loss of life is ‘a relatively small number’ and from that inclusion alone it really does show your true feelings in respect of this, heartless in my opinion. As for ‘sympathizing with the people left behind’, so that’s why CLIA, spent millions of dollars trying to prevent the passage of the Cruise Vessel Security & Safety Act 2009 then? Yes that sounds very sympathetic to the loss of life by obstructing, to the bitter end I may add, the passing of legislation to -
IMPROVE cruise vessel safety
ENFORCE all cruise operators to INFORM law enforcement when an incident occurs and to have
QUALIFIED MD’s on board to deal with RAPES & SEXUAL ASSUALTS of passengers or crew, something that continues somewhere in the world almost weekly. If that is your idea of compassion I would hate to be CLIA’s enemy, but of course I rather think I am these days?
‘In virtually every case of a passenger going overboard, the action was an individual decision fueled by alcohol, carelessness or the end result of suicidal tendencies. Some passengers who go overboard have survived but most do not.’ Yet another ridiculous statement! What evidence do you have Mr Ewart that virtually every case was fueled by alcohol? Apparently according to the cruise operators and CLIA there is no body, no witnesses or available CCTV, no matter that they harp on how much security is on board to protect passengers – well until it all goes wrong that is and then suddenly there is none available? So how come you know ‘the real story?’ Are you a qualified MD, County Coroner or Law Enforcement Officer?
‘Cruise lines are making concerted efforts to reduce these occurrences but is it reasonable to hold the lines at fault for the actions of their passengers? Like a high rise hotel, or tall building, there are just too many places where someone can jump from.’ Rubbish! They have fought International Cruise Victims and everyone else for years. Furthermore, with a tall building you have a body and if all you can come up with is putting the blame on innocent victims of crime then I would suggest you stay quiet, you have no concept of the distress and insult that you are putting families through.
'As alcohol consumption seems to be a key factor in many of these tragedies, there is a increased emphasis on controlling excessive drinking on board with additional training being conducted with bar and security staff. But, just like ashore, if someone is set on getting drunk, it is hard to stop them.' You’re wrong yet again - you're not very good at this are you?
As previously highlighted on Cruise Bruise, it is certainly against the law in the United Kingdom for a bar tender to serve a person who is clearly drunk and as I understand this is the same in the United States? To further evidence Mr Ewart's lack of knowledge in this subject, there is also the matter of vicarious liability. By this I mean cruise operators are also accountable for their staff should they supply more drinks to someone clearly intoxicated or to minors. Yes Mr Ewart, the very people that you support so heartedly have already been known to supply alcohol to minors!
‘Cruise smart and you will cruise safe.’ At last something we can both agree on, but hold on a minute – didn’t CLIA try to prevent us for years trying to better this?
You can locate Mr Ewart's rather annoying article at the following link http://www.all-inclusive-family-resorts.com/cruises/why-do-people-jump-off-cruise-ships/
Joe Ewart is a 30 year cruise industry veteran and a member of the Cruise Lines International Association Hall of Fame. He is CEO and editor of http://www.CruiseJungle.com an informational cruise web site designed for consumers
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Beyond naivety or just continuing to hoodwink the public?
One CEO’s blind ignorance of reality
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
August 3, 2010
