Mystery at Sea: Who Polices the Ships? !!!

"The cruise lines go out of their way to hide crime statistics," said
Alexander Anolik, a lawyer, based in San Francisco, specializing in
travel law.



http://www.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.html


February 26, 2006


Summer Cruises | Crime

Mystery at Sea: Who Polices the Ships?

By CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

MENTION crime on cruise ships, and George Smith, the honeymooner who
vanished from Royal Caribbean's Brilliance of the Seas last year, comes
to mind — particularly if you watch cable TV.

But Connie Eagerton is reminded of another kind of disappearance: the
$32,000 worth of jewelry she found missing from her suite on a recent
Mediterranean cruise.

"I'm not sure what happened to it," said Ms. Eagerton, who publishes a
real estate magazine in Ocala, Fla. "And I can't get a straight answer
from the cruise line."

The major cruise lines don't release comprehensive crime statistics.
But it is safe to say that there are many offenses — burglaries, thefts
and assaults — that don't necessarily make for good talk-show fodder.

It is these wrongdoings, which often go unreported to law enforcement
officials, that raise two questions: How safe are you on a cruise ship?
And what happens if you're the victim of an onboard crime?

"Anything can happen on a ship," said Thomas A. Dickerson, the author
of "Travel Law" (Law Journal Press, 2006). "But how do you know what
you are getting yourself into before you go on a cruise?"

In fact, your legal rights depend on whether the vessel is in port or
within a country's territorial waters, where local law may apply, or on
the high seas, where maritime law is in force. Few passengers are aware
that the rules effectively change during their cruise, and when they
find out what their rights are — and aren't — they are often surprised.

That was what happened to Ms. Eagerton. The last time she saw her
jewelry, she was preparing to disembark from the Grand Princess in
Venice, after a 12-day cruise last fall. She noticed it was missing on
her return home the next day. After she made several attempts to
contact the cruise line, Princess asked her to fill out a report and
fax it back. To date, the cruise line has not recovered her belongings.
(Her insurance company did, however, process a claim for $26,000 after
she filed her report.)

Karen Tetherow, a spokeswoman for Princess, confirmed that Ms. Eagerton
notified the cruise line that her jewelry was missing a full day after
disembarking, but said that by this time the ship had left port. She
added that Princess has "extensive fleet regulations in place that
provide guidance to our ships as to what action should be taken if a
serious crime occurs."

The cruise industry, for its part, insists that floating vacations are
perfectly safe. J. Michael Crye, the president of the International
Council of Cruise Lines, a trade association for the cruise industry,
says a cruise is as safe as "your average community in the United
States and, I would think, safer than staying at a motel."

In recent Congressional testimony following Mr. Smith's disappearance,
Mr. Crye cited the following statistics: the national rate of violent
crimes is about 465.5 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the Federal Bureau
of Investigation reports an average of only 50 crimes a year against
U.S. citizens on cruises. According to the Bureau of Justice, 1 in
every 1,000 people is raped or sexually assaulted on land each year; on
cruise ships, there is only one alleged incident of sexual assault for
every 100,000 passengers.

While legal experts don't necessarily dispute these statistics, they
say that a closer look at the numbers suggests a deeper problem. For
example, if a serious crime is committed at sea against an American
citizen, the ship's security staff is supposed to report it to the
F.B.I. But there are at least two exemptions: crimes against
noncitizens are not included, and it is largely left up to the ship's
security officers as to what constitutes a "serious" crime. Similarly,
the statistics on assault and rape may be artificially low, according
to legal experts. Many passengers are unwilling to report an assault
because of the humiliating nature of the crime, and because they are
uncertain of their legal status at sea.

"The cruise lines go out of their way to hide crime statistics," said
Alexander Anolik, a lawyer, based in San Francisco, specializing in
travel law. "They try to minimize their statistics and minimize their
failures." Mr. Anolik says that in their efforts to make cruises appear
safer, ships try to "handle" crimes internally. "But the reports that
are taken by a ship's security officers are not always reported to the
F.B.I.," he said. "So we don't have an accurate idea of how safe a
cruise is." (Mr. Crye of the International Council of Cruise Lines
denied that the industry conceals crime statistics, saying it has
pledged "full reporting of any crime to the appropriate authorities.")

What are your chances of becoming the victim of a crime at sea? "Let's
put it this way," said Paul S. Edelman, a maritime law expert with the
New York firm Kreindler & Kreindler. "I wouldn't think that the chances
of something happening to you on a ship are greater than if you were
just staying at a hotel." The crimes can be different, though.
Altercations between guests or between guests and staff members are
more likely in the close environment of a ship.

The way in which the crimes are prosecuted can be different,
too. "Crimes at sea are controlled by admiralty law," said Jeffrey
Miller, a lawyer specializing in travel with the Columbia, Md., law
firm of Lipshultz & Miller. "If the crime is committed in the
territorial waters of a country or at port, then that country's laws
and criminal justice system are in control," he said. "Thus a crime
while in port in Cozumel or in Mexican waters would lead to Mexican
justice — or lack thereof."

While this may seem confusing in principle, it isn't in practice,
according to the cruise lines. "In port, a crime is reported to local
law enforcement," explained Tim Gallagher, a spokesman for Carnival
Cruise Lines. At sea, the ship's security officer is notified of a
crime. "The security officer would meet with the victim or the person
reporting the crime, and take statements. It's our policy to report any
crime that occurs where an American citizen is involved to the F.B.I.,"
he said.

If someone is believed to have committed a crime on the high seas, the
captain can decide whether to incarcerate a suspect until the ship
reaches home port or to remove that person at the next port of call —
even if it is in another country.

Mr. Gallagher said Carnival's standard operating procedure is to detain
a suspect in a "serious" crime and hand the passenger over to the
F.B.I. in the next port. Typically, he added, the kinds of passengers
who are removed from the ship early are those who have engaged in
unruly behavior.

He also argues, as do other cruise industry officials, that the line
dividing a serious crime from a petty crime may be different for
passengers than for security officers. "Is a missing pair of $200
sunglasses a 'serious' crime?" he asked. "It might be to a passenger,
but it probably isn't to a security officer." Ms. Tetherow, the
Princess spokeswoman, said "lesser crimes" like property theft or minor
altercations between passengers are only reported to local law
enforcement officials "if requested by one of the passengers involved."

As a matter of fact, said Mr. Gallagher, most items that are reported
lost or stolen are eventually recovered.

Passengers bear some responsibility for their own safety, too. "You
need to be as vigilant about crime aboard a ship or in port as you
would be at home," said Mr. Miller. "Don't leave valuables out, and
follow the guidelines issued by the cruise line." Legal experts say
that if you are a victim of a crime onboard, it's important to find out
if it will be reported to local or federal authorities. If it is, ask
for a copy of the paperwork. If it isn't, they say, then there is
nothing stopping you from reporting it yourself.

"steinbrenner" wrote in message
news:MTE0MDk3MDUwMy5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1140970503@nulluse r.com...


"The cruise lines go out of their way to hide crime statistics," said
Alexander Anolik, a lawyer, based in San Francisco, specializing in
travel law.


Another lawyer looking for clients. What kind of fool would take, or need,
30K worth of jewerly on a cruise? To impress the natives in Panama?

Uncle Pete

"steinbrenner" wrote in
news:MTE0MDk3MDUwMy5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1140970503@nulluse r.com:


My first imprsseion of the article was that it is a "since we don't know
the actual numbers we can speculate that they are high", or a "We know
they are lying therefore the incidences must be high."

Few passengers are aware
that the rules effectively change during their cruise, and when they
find out what their rights are — and aren't — they are often
surprised.

That was what happened to Ms. Eagerton. The last time she saw her
jewelry, she was preparing to disembark from the Grand Princess in
Venice, after a 12-day cruise last fall. She noticed it was missing on
her return home the next day. After she made several attempts to
contact the cruise line, Princess asked her to fill out a report and
fax it back. To date, the cruise line has not recovered her
belongings.
(Her insurance company did, however, process a claim for $26,000 after
she filed her report.)

Aside from the previously questioned sanity of taking so much jewelry on
a trip, she may have bought it, note that she cannot tell where or when
the jewelry became missing. She saw it when preparing to disembark
(night before? morning of?) but did not notice the loss unitl she was
home. There was ample opportunity for intermediate theft or loss. I
agonize for the loss, but fail to see how it relates to crime at sea
when the loss could have come in an airport or though her own lapse.

Most of us have lost things on trips, I lost a gold bracelet most likely
when the clasp came undone as I was depositing some trash into a bin at
a local fast food restaurnat. Was the restaurant at faoult? Are they
hiding statisitics?

My wife lost a bracelet on a trip. It was noticed first while we were
aboard a cruise ship. Is the cruise line responsible? How about the
hotel where she last saw it at 4:00 in the morning? Was it Aerolineas
Argentinas upon whose plane we flew for 3 hours? How about the cab we
took from the airport? or the the one we took on a tour while waiting to
be able to embark on the cruise? No of course not it was the cruise line
fault since we would not have had to get up so early and take the flight
or the cabs if it weren't for their unreasonable request that we
actually travel to the ship. I should have realized it earlier and made
a major scene.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Whenever i take my expensive jewelry with me on a cruise,i keep it
locked in the safe when not wearing it,and always keep it in my
possession when i travel to and from anywhere.LOst a silver bracelet on
granduer of the seas in the show lounge,but someone found it and gave it
to the purser,and when i identified it they returned it to me,there are
lots of honest people on cruises

(.a cruise lover.)

Thus spake " Uncle Peter" :


"steinbrenner" wrote in message
news:MTE0MDk3MDUwMy5wb25kZXJ0ZQ.1140970503@nullus er.com...


"The cruise lines go out of their way to hide crime statistics," said
Alexander Anolik, a lawyer, based in San Francisco, specializing in
travel law.


Another lawyer looking for clients. What kind of fool would take, or need,
30K worth of jewerly on a cruise? To impress the natives in Panama?

Uncle Pete


What kind of fool would not notice that $32K worth of jewlery was
missing immediately? And what kind of fool would (as is likely the
claim) check said jewelery instead of carrying it with her?

I personally suspect the crime was purpotrated by someone not
associated with the cruise line.
--
dillon

Could have been is in the past
Could be is in the future
There is only the now

Thus spake (Surfer E2468) :

Whenever i take my expensive jewelry with me on a cruise,i keep it
locked in the safe when not wearing it,and always keep it in my
possession when i travel to and from anywhere.LOst a silver bracelet on
granduer of the seas in the show lounge,but someone found it and gave it
to the purser,and when i identified it they returned it to me,there are
lots of honest people on cruises

(.a cruise lover.)

Yes, but I suspect in the case reported the crime victim was the
insurance company.
--
dillon

Could have been is in the past
Could be is in the future
There is only the now