President Obama Signs Cruise Bill
Cruise Vessel Security & Safety Act 2009
By Mike Groves
Today President Obama signed into law the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 2009, crucial legislation which will not only improve safety on board cruise ships but will also make cruise operators more accountable for their actions, or rather their consistent lack of action or care towards cruise victims or their loved ones. While on the subject of accountability, I read this article published by Christopher Elliott for the Chicago Tribune just this week
‘I asked the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) about the measure, and the trade association sent me a surprisingly supportive prepared statement. This regulation, it said, would bring "greater consistency and clarification to many industry practices and existing regulations," which include current requirements to report serious crimes to the FBI.
"The safety and security of our guests and crew is CLIA's number one priority," it added.’
Of course safety and security was ‘your number one priority’!! As previously highlighted, this important legislation was resisted and fought by the cruise industry (CLIA) since its very inception, spending millions of dollars trying to prevent it from coming into being. Not content with that, they even went so far as to submit misleading statistical crime data for their vessels to the Chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Senator Joe Similtian stating this had been provided by the FBI. This is fact and further highlights just how low these people will stoop to protect their fat cat pay cheques. They may take exception to that remark and call me bitter but hey, I am also a cruise victim and have every right to be (bitter) some days when things get on top of me...
Dismissed and humiliated for doing the right thing, left with life long injuries and massive debts by their vile and hate filled antics, my ex-employer went out of their way to ruin me in their attempts to stop me talking about the truth. If this is how low they will stoop when treating their own, imagine how far they go when you’re ‘just a passenger!’
Submitting false statistics to a U.S Senator perfectly shows where CLIA really sits when it comes to passenger welfare, as do a number of cruise operators.
I think Christopher Elliott hits the nail on the head when he wrote, ‘When I hear a trade organization that resisted this law nearly every step of the way talking like that, I can't help being a little skeptical. (The cruise industry insists it cooperated.)’
We should remain skeptical because the industry has always shown little regard for its victims (pax or crew) and I am sure one of them will soon fall foul of this new law. Now cruise lines will have implement a number of changes to the way they operate, something that will not go down well because of course – this is costing them money. All cabin doors will require peepholes, video surveillance on decks, raised guardrails (42 inches above the deck) and an emergency sound system on all new ones. The legislation also requires ships to carry rape kits and anti-retroviral medications and they will also have to invest in trained forensic (sexual assault) specialist on board.
"This will be the first time in the history of the cruise industry when a cruise ship is required to report a crime in international waters," said James Walker, a maritime lawyer based in Miami.
The Cruise Vessel Safety and Security Act of 2009 was the brainchild of Ken Carver, President of International Cruise Victims. Ken is also a victim of the cruise industry, his daughter Merrian boarding a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2004 for a one week cruise, a vessel she would never disembark from.
But International Cruise Victims is not stopping there, as well as focusing our campaign towards the Australia and the European Union to ensure ALL passengers are protected outside of the USA, the ICV team has also been heavily involved in seeing changes to Death on the High Seas Act (DOSHA). The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009, originally contained a provision to amend the Death on the High Seas Act (DOSHA) and it remains the goal of ICV to change this out-dated law.
Recently the House passed H.R. 5503, the Securing Protections for the Injured from Limitations on Liability Act (SPILL Act*). Introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Louisiana Gulf Coast Congressman Charlie Melancon (D-La.), this legislation focuses on fixing loopholes in liability statutes so that the victims who die at sea will be fairly treated.
It amends the Death on the High Seas Act and Jones Act to permit non-pecuniary damages.
It repeals the outdated Limitation on Liability Act.
It prevents parties responsible for oil spills from using the bankruptcy courts as a subterfuge to leave victims without adequate legal recourse.
It provides that these changes will apply to all cases on and after April 20th, consistent with previous liability law changes enacted by Congress.
Now that the House has approved this legislation, it moves on to the Senate. However yet again the cruise operators showed their true colors when it came to the security and safety of their passengers and crew. Didn't they recently say this though, – "The safety and security of our guests and crew is CLIA's number one priority,"
The truth is folks is that up until the bitter end, the cruise lines were trying to exclude themselves but once again, the victims stories overcame the cruise lines attempts to keep these antiquated laws in force. It still disappointing however that many have still not woken up and smelled the coffee when it comes to ‘some’ cruise operators – they are thoroughly horrible people and only want your cash.
*
The SPILL Act addresses out-of-date legislation from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s: Death on High Seas Act (1920), Jones Act (1920), and the Limitation on Liability Act (1851).
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President signs Cruise Vessel Security & Safety Act 2009
Momentous Day for International Cruise Victims Organization
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
July, 2010
