Cruise Law News : Maritime Lawyer & Attorney : James M. Walker : Walker & O'Neill Law Firm : Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents & Injuries

Business Week reports that the Cruise Lines International Association ("CLIA") spent $453,444 lobbying the federal government in the second quarter this year.

CLIA is the cruise industry's trade organization which promotes the interests of the cruise industry. 

It lobbied Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard on issues such as vessel sanitation, safety and security.

Professor Ross Klein maintains a data base of the cruise industry's lobbying on his popular cruise site "Cruise Junkie."  

CLIA has spent a total of $1,644,094 so far this year (six months).  Royal Caribbean alone has spent an additional $741,000 lobbying Congress, with Holland America Lines and a Carnival / Arison family group spending $120,000 each.   The total money spent by the cruise industry so far this year is $2,505,094.

CLIA and the cruise lines have spent $36,389,955 since 1997 lobbying the U.S. Congress and federal agencies. 

Royal Caribbean spent over $6,000,000 in the last five years, during a time when most of the cruise crime hearings involved incidents which occurred on Royal Caribbean ships.

To understand how the foreign flagged cruise industry uses its tax free money to lobby U.S. Congressmen and Congresswomen, consider reading:

Cruise Industry Lobbies Congress To Kill Amendment To Death On High Seas Act

Cruise Industry Spent $400,000 Last Quarter Lobbying Against Safety & Environmental Regulations

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Forbes is reporting that the Cruise Lines International Association ("CLIA"), the trade trade group which promotes the interests of the cruise industry, spent $490,650 in the first quarter this year, lobbying the U.S. government. 

The cruise industry lobbied Congress, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs & Board Protection, State Department, Homeland Security Department, Transportation Department, Justice Department on a number of matters, including  vessel quarantine and safety issues.

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Today the Senate will debate amending the Death On The High Seas Act (DOHSA) to permit the families of the oil workers killed in the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion to recover compensation for their emotional damages for losing their husbands and fathers.  The House of Representatives previously voted to amend DOHSA.

We have discussed the inequities in this archaic law which has been denying just compensation to families for 90 years.  

Senator Rockefeller introduced the "Fairness In Admiralty and Maritime Law Act" (S 3600), which will permit recovery of compensation for the families of oil workers, cruise cruise passengers and crew members on maritime vessels killed in international waters. 

But the cruise industry has unleashed its lobbyists to work the Senators over to try and kill the amendment and exclude the families of cruise passenger and crew members from the Rockefeller amendment.  With the urging of the cruise lines, Florida Republican Senator LeMieux (left) introduced an amendment to exclude everyone except the BP widows from compensation.  The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) is once against trying to strip the rights of cruise passengers and crew members.  CLIA's Michael Crye (below right) has been working with the cruise industry's lobbyists. 

CLIA has assembled its usual cast of characters to try and kill the Senator Rockefeller's amendment to DOHSA, including the Alcalde & Fay lobbying firm.  The cruise lines have paid millions to the lobbyists at Alcalde & Fay.  

Cruise Law News (CLN) has learned that Alcalde & Fay lobbyists, including Tandy Bondi (below left) and Harold (Hal) Creed, have been been working with Senator LeMieux's staffers to grow support for the cruise industry's interests.  This means that when a cruise line's negligence kills a retired passenger or child, the surviving family is barred from receiving compensation.   

Senator LeMieux has made a deal with Alaskan Senator Begich to support LeMieux if Begich's study amendment passes.  A classic I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine.  Alaskan Senator Inouye's staff has been communicating with LeMieux's staff.

The Alcalde & Fay people have been pressuring Senator Nelson but have been unable to obtain his commitment to join forces with Senator LeMieux.  Ms. Bondi met with Senator Cantwell's Chief of Staff yesterday. 

Alcalde & Fay's consensus is that the Republicans will support LeMieux, so they are working on lobbying the Democrats.  Today they will be releasing a letter from the coalition of industries which are trying to keep the passengers and crew members from being included in DOHSA.

One of the coalition members is the American Waterways Operators (AWO), which is the trade association for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry. 

The AWO's Jennifer Campbell (Senior Vice President - National Advocacy) and Chris Coakley (Vice President - Legislative Affairs) have been lobbying on behalf of the AWO.  Ms. Campbell has been calling the Senators to try and derail the expansion of DOHSA, and Mr. Coakley has been walking the halls of Congress. 

The AWO lobbyist have been placing alot of pressure on Senator Vitter, who is in a key position being from Louisiana which is at the epicenter of the BP disaster. 

It is an amazing spectacle seeing the cruise industry using Senator LeMieux as a front man for its nefarious interests.  The cruise lines have a big industry shill in their hands.  Before he was a Senator, LeMieux lobbied heavily for offshore drilling by companies like BP off of the coast of Florida - a story which the St. Petersburg Time published last year.

So we have kindred spirit companies, the cruise lines and BP and their maritime and oil & gas industry friends, teaming up to fight against the families to deprive them of their DOHSA remedies which are desperately needed to protect innocent people killed on the high seas.  

Two dirty industries are paying millions to their lobbyists to put profits over people again.     

Consider reading:

Death On The High Seas Act Protects BP and Cruise Lines at the Grieving Family's Expense 

What Does BP, Al Qaeda and a Cruise Line Have In Common? 

Cruise Industry Joins Forces With BP to Deny Death Compensation to Grieving Families

Will BP and the Cruise Industry Join Forces to Screw Americans?

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Earlier this week, I attended the "Cruise Shipping Miami" convention here in Miami and reported on the threats against Alaska's Governor Parnell leveled by Holland American Lines' CEO Stein Kruse to pull HAL cruise ships from Alaska. (photo courtesy Travel Agent Central)

As we all know, HAL is wholly owned by Carnival and Kruse reports directly to Carnival CEO and multi-billionaire Mickey Arison.  Mickey has been threatening Alaska ever since the state's voters passed legislation to protect its waters from major polluters like HAL, Princess Cruises and other subsidiaries of Carnival who cruise to Alaska.       

But the issue is not the $50 head tax, as Carnival's lackeys argue.  Its the fact that Alaska has serious environmental regulations which the cruise industry wants to avoid. 

Did the cruise industry's tongue lashing and finger pointing work?  Newspapers like the Alaska Daily News and the Alaska Journal are now reporting that the Governor now wants to reduce the cruise head tax by 25% and make Alaska more conducive to attracting cruise ships.  

In exchange for lower taxes, the cruise industry would drop its lawsuit to repeal the tax and send more ships to Alaska. 

The fact that these huge cruise ships burn nasty bunker fuels and discharge massive amount of ammonium, phosphorus, and fecal matter into Alaskan waters was probably not a topic of conversation when Governor Parnell (right) was chatting  with the cruise line executives. 

Alaskan voters previously voted in favor of the cruise tax to protect its waters.  Who did Governor Parnell pledge his allegiance to?  The citizens of Alaska, or the Miami-based cruise lines?  

Wiggling out of Alaska's laws will be the cruise industry's next step.  Cruise lines don't like to be regulated, especially where Alaska's environmental regulations cause the cruise industry to spend money on state-of-the-art wastewater technology.

Credits:

Cruise line executives       Travel Agent Central

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Today Business Week published an article "Cruise Trade Group Spends $400K on 4Q Lobbying" which is re-printed, unedited, as follows:

"Cruise Lines International Association spent almost $400,000 in the fourth quarter to lobby on security and environmental issues along with other matters, according to a recent disclosure report.

The trade group that represents cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean and Carnival also lobbied the federal government on legislation related to seaport inspections, customs matters, sanitation and health laws, quarantine procedures, international health requirements and crime reporting.

In the October-through-December period, the trade group, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., lobbied both chambers of Congress, along with the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Justice, the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Transportation Security Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a disclosure report filed in January with the House clerk's office."

The Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) is the organization which promotes the interests of the cruise industry and lobbies Congress and federal agencies to avoid as much Federal regulation as possible. 

The $400,000 from CLIA is in addition to the millions of dollars spent in lobbying by the individual cruise lines.  For example cruise expert Dr. Ross Klein reports that Royal Caribbean alone spent over $3,000,000 for lobbyists for the last three years.  

The lawyers here at Cruise Law have attended five Congressional hearings where CLIA fought against safety laws and resisted reporting cruise crimes to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the U.S. Coast Guard.  

CLIA has a strange group of bedfellows:  

CLIA's Vice President of Communications is Eric Ruff (photograph above, far left with glasses) who was Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's spokesperson who helped sell the U.S. on the war against Iraq.  He is now responsible for CLIA's "public policy."  Mr. Ruff is using his experience gained at the Department of Defense to fight the war against cruise crime regulations and environmental restrictions which may require the cruise industry to spend some of its tax free money to protect passengers and public waters.    

CLIA's President is Terry Dale (photograph left) who had the unenviable job of appearing before Congress and testifying against cruise line rape victims.  His half-hearted and ultimately losing argument, that cruising is safe and there is no need to report crimes, failed to convince Congress and further tarnished the cruise line's already battered and dubious public image.       

Another Vice President is Michael Crye (photograph below right).  As down to earth as a Brooks-Brothers-suit-with-extra-starch, Mr. Crye's title involves "technical and regulatory affairs," but he  routinely shows up at Congressional cruise crime hearings to belittle crime victims.  He is most infamous for accusing missing Royal Caribbean passenger George Smith of being responsible for his own "disappearance" during his 2005 honeymoon cruise.   

There is a lot at stake for the cruise industry.  The CLIA cruise lines, like Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, collect around $35,000,000,000 (billion) a year from mostly U.S. tax-paying citizens yet the cruise lines pay no U.S. taxes. Because of Congressional loopholes, U.S. based cruise companies - which register their businesses and flag their cruise ships in foreign countries - can avoid all U.S. taxes and safety and labor laws.

CLIA and the cruise lines are spending millions a year to make certain that Congress doesn't touch their tax free status and they can continue to skirt U.S. laws.  

In contrast to the cruise industry's multi-million dollar lobbying machine full of Washington insiders - Americans across the U.S. volunteering for the non-profit, grass roots organization International Cruise Victims (ICV) have traveled to Washington D.C. to keep the cruise industry accountable for crimes on cruise ships.  To see what an unfunded but dedicated group of victims can accomplish, consider reading:

Congress Passes Cruise Crime Law 

Congressional All Stars Pass Cruise Crime Law By Vote of 416 to 4

Ken Carver Fights for Cruise Ship Safety  

The photograph (left) shows Ron and Sue DiPiero of Ohio, who lost their son Daniel on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship, outside their Congressman's office in Washington D.C.       

The DiPieros are fighting for a reform of the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) which provides no recovery for the emotional injuries sustained by grieving families who have lost a loved one on a cruise ship in international waters. 

The cruise industry has spent millions of dollars to make certain that families like the DiPieros are deprived of their rights:

The Death on the High Seas Act - Screwing American Passengers for 89 Years  

Cruise Industry Tries to Kill Amendment to Death on the High Seas Act    

For additional information regarding cruise industry lobbying, please read:

Lobbying Congress - Dirty Waters: The Politics of Ocean Pollution.  

Credits:

Eric Ruff     AP via politico.com

Terry Dale    cruiselaw's Flickr photostream

Michael Crye    seatrade-global.com

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