What is the Cruise Passenger Protection Act?
A Connecticut Senator has introduced the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2015 aimed at providing more protections for U.S. citizens who are traveling aboard vessels.
“Since January 2015 alone, 12 passengers have fallen overboard while on cruise ships,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is co-sponsoring the legislation, according to the Greenwich Times.
The Cruise Passenger Protection Act was introduced in the Senate in June and would call for American cruise ships to have technology to detect when people fall overboard and marshals on board vessels, to investigate injury or death accidents, as well as sexual assaults.
At a press conference announcing the legislation, the family of George Smith, a Conneticut man who disappeared from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2005, flanked Blumenthal. The Smith family has accused the cruise line of covering up the man’s death, saying he was thrown overboard following a night of gambling on the vessel.
Blumenthal noted “lapses and gaps in the evidence resulted from actions by the cruise line,” when it came to Smith’s death, in announcing the Cruise Passenger Protection Act.
In 2010, federal laws were adopted that require homicides, suspicious deaths, missing citizens involving Americans and assaults aboard cruise ships to be reported to the FBI. The Cruise Passenger Protection Act seeks to add to these requirements by placing marshals on vessels to immediately investigate foul play or suspicious incidents.
Our Maritime Injury Attorneys Represent Cruise Ship Accident and Assault Victims
It is great that federal officials are attempting to pass legislation to help American cruise ship passengers. We have read too many reports about assaults and suspicious deaths aboard large vessels, which sometimes carry more than 10,000 passengers on voyages.
Our maritime attorneys represent cruise ship accident victims, including those who have experienced sexual assaults. Cruise lines have a duty to make sure that their passengers are safe—by having our attorneys investigate your case, you may be able to seek out damages, while holding a company liable.
In the video above, attorney David Anderson discusses what you should do in the aftermath of a cruise ship accident.
You can reach us by filing out the contact form located on this page or by using the number listed above. People who are enjoying vacations should not have to suffer a tragedy, assault or catastrophic injury aboard a cruise ship.
Latti & Anderson LLP – Nationwide Maritime Attorneys