Bill Designed to Improve Cruise Ship Passenger Safety

You board the cruise ship with a lot of expectations regarding how great of a vacation you will have and all the relaxation you will experience. The last thing on your mind is that your safety could be in jeopardy or that you might become the victim of a cruise ship accident. Who would want to think such terrifying thoughts?

Cruise ship accidents do happen and range from assaults by crewmembers to falling overboard. Many times, cruise lines try to place blame elsewhere to avoid liability for these serious cruise ship injuries.

In response to the safety issues in the cruise line industry, Congress developed legislation known as the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009. It is a “bill to amend title 46, United States Code, to establish requirements to ensure the security and safety of passengers and crew on cruise vessels, and for other purposes.” This Act was created to increase ship safety, transparency in reporting and crime scene response. It was also designed to improve training matters and enforce safety and environmental standards.

Under this Act, ships would have to have guardrails that are 54 inches in height and peepholes installed on cabin doors. In addition, the owners of cruise ships would be required to establish fire safety codes and technology that would act as an alert when a passenger falls overboard. Some of the other requirements under this bill include maintaining supplies of anti-retroviral medications and medications to prevent STDs following an assault onboard the ship.

Some safety advocates feel that this bill doesn’t go far enough to protect the safety of cruise ship passengers. In the last several years, there have been reports of missing passengers, assaults, thefts and rapes on cruise ships owned by some of the most well-known cruise lines. While this proposed law has not been fully passed as of January 2010, injured cruise ship passengers currently have rights and can pursue compensation for their injuries. For more information, contact a Houston cruise ship lawyer at the Law Offices of Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C. at 877.724.7800.