How big an industry are cruise ships and are they safe?
Last year over 11 million people took cruises.
At the same time, the FBI only looked into approximately 60 reported
crimes a year. In other words, the FBI investigates less than 7% of all
reported cruise ship crimes.
Many cruises are safe, but if a crime occurs on the "high
seas" what are some of the practical problems in solving the
case?
If an American citizen is involved, U.S. authorities can take jurisdiction.
However, typically the ship is far from land when a crime occurs.
There are situations where ship security or crew members fail to preserve
critical evidence or the crime scene.
Let’s say that you are on a cruise ship and a crime occurs,
what actions should you take?
Preserve evidence. Take photos. Request that the cruise ship not
disrupt the crime scene.
Immediately get the names and addresses of any potential witnesses Finally,
insist on
authorities looking into the matter.
What are issues that are unique to a claim at sea?
Typically if you are 12 nautical miles off the coast, you are in international
waters, and different laws may apply to your case including that time
period and manner in which you bring your claim.
The fine print on your cruise ship ticket or booking agreement often
limits their standard of care and may limit the amount of their liability.
For example, their contract usually limits liability to $100.
Venue, which is where you can file suit, is typically limited, for example
to Miami Florida.
Aaron, cruises are probably safer than most neighborhoods, but do
you have a personal opinion on what we can do to be tougher on cruise
ship crime?
The cruise ship industry spends twice as much as Wal mart every
year on lobbying Congress. So we need to speak out so that Congress
will investigate the unsolved crimes at sea.
