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

An Italian blogger Stefano Nazzi provides updated information regarding the "disappearance" of Italian crew member Angelo Faliva from the Coral Princess cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises.

In his article entitled "Chi Indaga Sulla Scomparsa di Angelo Faliva?" Mr. Nazzi questions whether anyone is actually investigating Mr. Faliva's disappearance.  He characterizes the situation as an "ugly story" - one "of pain" suffered by the Faliva family and "incompetence and laxity" by the police in Bermuda. 

In theory, the country of Bermuda is suppose to be investigating the case, because Princess Cruises flags its cruise ships in that country to avoid U.S. taxes and U.S. labor and wage laws.  

The fact that Bermuda has no genuine interest in investigating crimes and mysterious incidents on Princess cruise ships is becoming increasingly apparent.  Princess Cruises operates its fleet of cruise ships out of its corporate headquarters in Santa Clarita, California.  The police in Bermuda are literally and figuratively in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, apparently doing little to provide answers for the Faliva family.

The Italian blog suggests that the police in Bermuda have still not inspected Mr. Faliva's three cellular telephones or his computer and camera. Nor have they examined the records of the cruise ship's surveillance cameras.  When Mr. Faliva's younger sister, Chiara, inquired into the delay, the police in Bermuda complained that they were busy with other matters.  They wrote that they felt harassed by Ms. Faliva and preferred to be left alone!

The blog also contains a comment by Chiara Faliva that her family believes that the Princess cruise ship knows more about her brother's death than it will admit.  And the authorities in Bermuda are providing no answers as the family's search for information approaches three months.      

She writes that "frankly I believe that persons on board the ship know what happened at my brother.  Besides the sadness, pain, and anger, I experience also disgust, amazement and incredulity . . ." by the attitude of the "investigating" authorities.   

Angelo Faliva (below, in the galley of the Coral Princess) was a happy and well liked chef who enjoyed working on the cruise ship.  How can there be no explanation provided by Princess Cruises?  

Credits:

Photographs of Angelo Faliva      Chiara Faliva

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The non-profit organization International Cruise Victims ("ICV") posted a story on its website regarding Princess Cruises crew member Angelo Faliva who "disappeared" from the Coral Princess cruise ship in November 2009.   

The ICV represents victims of crime on cruise ships, their families and friends, and individuals concerned about disappearances on cruise ships and the cruise industry's lack of transparency. With several hundred members throughout the world, the organization advocates for legislative reform and provides support to victims of crimes occurring on cruise ships. For additional information about the ICV, please contact its president, Ken Carver.

Meanwhile Mr. Faliva's sister, Chiara, continues to seek information from any passengers or crew members who may have information. Ms. Faliva posted a request on a "Princess Cruise Staff" Facebook page:

PLEASE HELP ME: Hi, my name is Chiara Faliva, and I'm the sister of Angelo Faliva, the 31 year old Italian chef disappeared from the cruise "Coral Princess" the night of 25th November 2009, while the cruise was sailing between Aruba and Cartagena (Colombia). I'm looking for passengers that were in this ship that night . . . I just want to have some contacts with them. Please, please help me. My e-mail is:  chiara_faliva@msn.com. Thank you very much for your attention.

Angelo and Chiara are seen in this photograph in in happier times as loving brother and sister. 

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The Italian press continues to closely follow the story of Angelo Faliva who "disappeared" on November 25, 2009 from the Coral Princess cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, which is headquartered in Santa-Clarita, California.   

It is now two months after the unexplained loss of young Mr. Faliva.  His family continues to seek clues regarding what really happened to their son and brother.

Italy's Il Messaggero newspaper explains that the Bermuda police just notified the Faliva family via email that they have not even looked at the data on Mr. Faliva's three mobile telephones, camera or laptop because they are "very busy" with other matters.  

The cruise line apparently told the family that the hundreds of surveillance cameras "didn't show anything," which is implausible but exactly what cruise lines say unless the cameras exonerate them.  It is unknown whether Bermuda has bothered to look at the surveillance tapes.  A lot of times, the police will just parrot what the cruise lines tell them to say.    

Princess cruise ships fly the flag of Bermuda which is suppose to investigate crimes and disappearances on Bermuda flagged vessels. Unfortunately, what is happening to the Faliva family demonstrates the real attitude of Bermuda. Cruise lines like Princess register their cruise ship in Bermuda to avoid U.S. taxes and safety and labor regulations - not because Bermuda has a reputation of vigorously investigating and solving crimes.

The article mentions that Angelo's sister, Chiara Faliva, has not lost hope and continues to patiently wait for answers.  She has created a Facebook page to help the family finds answers. She is trying to involve the Italian Foreign Minister and the local prosecutors in the city of Cremona in Northern Italy where the Faliva family lives. 

Chiara Faliva has thousands of questions, such as why has no one interviewed the passengers in the Sabbatini's restaurant on the cruise ship where Mr. Faliva worked?  Was the list of passengers destroyed?  Ms. Faliva apparently had an argument with another crew member earlier and a warning had been issued and then later rescinded.  Did Mr. Faliva see something he should not have, such as drug smuggling - which we have written about: "Cruise Ships & Drug Smuggling."       

This story underscores the difficulties which families face when they lose a loved on on a foreign flagged cruise ship.  Princess' s corporate headquarters are in California.  The Faliva family is in Italy.  And the so-called investigators in Bermuda are, well, in Bermuda and waited ten days before traveling to the cruise ship. 

The cruise line's internal investigation is designed to protect the cruise line's reputation and legal interests at the expense of the truth.  And the "investigators" of the flag country?  Unmotivated.  Disinterested.  Beholden to the cruise line which pays them.  These are the conclusions which come to my mind. 

The Il Messaggero article mentions being "neither dead nor alive."  It is less than clear whether the article is referring to Mr. Faliva and the uncertainty surrounding his disappearance - or to his sister who is forced to live in a state of limbo looking for answers.  

If you wish to follow this story or other stories on this blog via email updates, please subscribe by typing your email at the left or signing up for a RSS feed,

To learn more about Angelo Faliva's "disappearance" on Princess Cruises' Coral Princess, please consider reading:   

Crew Member Missing from Princess Cruises' Coral Princess Cruise Ship

Family of Missing Crew Member Seeks Answers - Princess Cruises Claims "We Are Puzzled"

2009 Ends With Family of Missing Princess Cruises Crew Member Continuing to Seek Answers

Top Cruise Story of 2009 - Sister of Missing Princess Crew Member Angelo Faliva Speaks Out: "Vogliamo la Verità!" - "We Want the Truth!"

The Case of Missing Crew Member Angelo Faliva - Is Princess Cruises Engaged In A Cover Up?

Update: Missing Princess Crew Member Angelo Faliva - What Say You, Master Mariano Manfuso?

Angelo Faliva Case: Were You on the Coral Princess on November 25, 2009?

Credits:

Photograph                     LA7.it

Video                                Video Mediaset.it

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The family of Angelo Faliva continues to search for answers regarding the "disappearance " of Angelo Faliva from Princess Cruises' Coral Princess cruise ship on November 25, 2009.

Mr. Faliva's younger sister, Chiara Faliva, has appeared on television in Italy to plea for help, following the reported lack of cooperation from Princess Cruises and the Government of Bermuda.

Newspapers in Italy report that Ms. Faliva has complained that the cruise line did not timely send the tapes from the onboard cameras to the investigators from Bermuda.  What type of CCTV system did the cruise ship have?  What is the quality of the CCTV images?  

Why the delay sending the images to Bermuda? 

Princess Cruises has a very high tech "wedding cam" on all of its cruise ships. This is part of its "romance at sea" marketing theme.  The image below to the right is the live via satellite "wedding cam" on the Coral Princess.  The image is crystal clear.  You can sit at home thousands of miles away seeing exactly what is happening in the chapel on the cruise ship.  Certainly Princess Cruises has the same technology for its onboard security systems?  If so, then there should no doubt be images of Angelo Faliva available to explain what happened to him.

There is also a suggestion that no one interviewed the passengers in Sabatini's restaurant (photograph above), where Angelo Faliva worked as a chef. 

Has anyone other than the cruise line interviewed the other crew members who worked with Mr. Faliva in Sabatini's? 

Where is Mr. Faliva's laptop computer and cell phone?  Has a qualified expert retrieved the data on the computer and telephone?  Who knows?

The Faliva family remains in the dark.

Where you a passenger on the Coral Princess on November 25, 2009? 

We have heard from a few people, but certainly others must have some information?

Please contact me @ jwalker@cruiselaw.com 

Credits:    

Sabatini's restuarant                    CruiseWeb.com

Coral Princess wedding cam     Coral Princess, Princess Cruises 

Video                 Sky.it

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The case of the "missing" crew member from the Coral Princess cruise ship continues to dominate the press in Italy.

Angelo Faliva "disappeared" from the cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises of Santa Clarita California on November 25, 2009 during a two week cruise which left South Florida and ended in Los Angeles, California. 

Mr. Faliva's younger sister, Chiara, has taken a leadership position on behalf of the Faliva family to prod the cruise line and the authorities to release information.

So far, no one is cooperating with the Faliva family.

Ms. Faliva has gone on Italian television and explained that neither the cruise line nor the government of Bermuda (the cruise ship flies the flag of Bermuda) are cooperating.  Princess Cruises has refused to provide the family with the reports of the security officers or any basic information regarding what happened to her brother.

In a blockbuster news story in Italy available online at  vascellor.it, Ms. Faliva complains that she was treated rudely by the Master of the cruise ship after she traveled to the U.S. seeking answers.

Most shocking is that the cruise line claims to be "puzzled," but has not even sent the surveillance films to Bermuda to be examined by investigators, according to Ms. Faliva.       

Chiara Faliva has continued to fight to seek answers regarding what happened to her brother, Angelo.  She has traveled from Italy to Columbia and the U.S.  The Italian newspaper characterizes Ms. Faliva as demonstrating: 

.  .  .  di amora, dignità e coraggio  ( .  .  .  love, dignity and courage) .  .  . 

in the search for truth regarding what happened to her brother on the Princess cruise ship.

These type of stories demonstrate the difficulties families experience trying to find basic information when a family member disappears on foreign flagged cruise ships.  Although Princess Cruises is based in Santa Clarita, California, it is incorporated in Bermuda and flags its cruise ships in that country in order to avoid U.S. taxes and wage and labor laws.  Bermuda has demonstrated very little interest in conducting serious investigations into shipboard crimes on Bermuda flagged cruise ships.  Often, Bermuda defers to the "investigation" by the cruise line which, unfortunately, is designed to advance Princess Cruises' legal interest and to protect its "love boat" marketing image.

There remain many unexplained questions surrounding the story of young chef Angelo Faliva.

Will the "love boat" cooperate with the Faliva family? 

Why has Princess Cruises still not sent the surveillance films to the Investigators in Bermuda?

How can a young man disappear without a trace? 

We have written a number of articles regarding this sad story and the disturbing handling of the investigation by the cruise line:

Crew Member Missing from Princess Cruises' Coral Princess Cruise Ship

Family of Missing Crew Member Seeks Answers - Princess Cruises Claims "We Are Puzzled"

2009 Ends With Family of Missing Princess Cruises Crew Member Continuing to Seek Answers

Top Cruise Story of 2009 - Sister of Missing Princess Crew Member Angelo Faliva Speaks Out: "Vogliamo la Verità!" - "We Want the Truth!"

Were you a passenger or crew member on the Coral Princess?  Do you have information to share to help the family find answers?  Let us hear from you.

Credits:       vascellor.it 

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