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

Last week's news stories regarding Princess Cruises' passenger Ms. Edelgard Carney ended sadly with a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that she committed suicide. A Canadian newspaper wrapped up the story with an article entitled: "Cruise Ship Mystery Ends in Suicide Finding." 

By this weekend, the public's focus seems to have evolved from a discussion of cruise ship mysteries to the issues of terminal illness and suicide. The comments to the article reflected a wide debate regarding suicide.

Many readers were moved by what they considered to be a brave decision by Ms. Carney to face death and to control her destiny.  One reader said: "I admire her courage and feel for her family."  Another commented:  "one never knows the reasoning behind this woman's choice . . .  at least she was taking charge of her life and her death given her circumstances of whatever health issues faced her in the future."

But others were highly critical that Ms. Carney committed suicide: 

"There is nothing courageous about suicide. It is singularly the most selfish act anyone can do. Instead of dealing with problems . . .  killing yourself just creates a world of problems and a horrific amount of guilt for those you leave behind."

Others took a rather practical let's-move-on approach: "she did it her way."  Another pragmatist quipped: " . . . the only issue I have is that she did in fact waste other peoples' time and money. A simple note would have sufficed."

One poster felt that Ms. Carney's death reflected a greater problem with our health care and hospice systems, resulting in the inability for people to die with dignity in their own beds. "To die in a cold watery grave in the middle of no where is a sad comment on our humanity."

Certainly this is a sad way to go. One reader summed it up precisely: " . . . alone, lonely, and probably guilt-ridden, too. Did she have friends or family members who loved her? All alone by herself, thinking of dying amidst presumably-happy strangers."

When I decided to start this blog, I promised that I would not pull any punches.  My opinions would be clear and deliberate.  But in this case, I'm not sure what to think.  I can understand each reader's comments.  It is a complicated, heart-wrenching riddle with no solution.  

The last comment in the article by "Angel 333" is the only way to reflect on this tragedy:     

"May you rest in peace Edelgard Carney."

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Neighbors of Ms. Edelgard Carney who disappeared from the Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess indicate that she never intended to return home once she left California.  

Vancouverite, a newspaper in Vancouver, Canada, reports that Ms. Carney sold her $300,000 house to the Catholic Church for just $125,000, left her furniture and disposed of her personal belongings.  

If in fact this is a suicide, it seems to be very painful to the surviving family members for a loved one to choose this method to end her life.

The cruise line has been careful not to release self serving comments regarding Ms. Carney's disappearance.  In August, following the disappearance of passenger Amber Malkuch in Alaskan waters, Holland America Line (HAL) issued a PR statement labeling her death a probable suicide. There were no facts supporting this theory and the FBI had not even concluded its investigation.  HAL was roundly and rightfully criticized for such a publicity spin. In this case, Princess Cruises is going to avoid that PR debacle by waiting for an announcement by the U.S. Coast Guard or Canadian authorities.

Questions remain why Princess Cruises did not detect the passenger overboard earlier.  The newspaper indicates that the cruise line caused confusion after telling the U.S. Coast Guard that the passenger fell overboard on Monday when she actually disappeared on Tuesday.  This caused the U.S. Coast Guard to search nearer to the Alaskan Coastline rather Canadian authorities searching in Canadian waters.    

Update:

According to the Vancouver Sun, a representative of the Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police has concluded that this appears to be a suicide: “She was by herself, and the video shows her jumping off.”

The newspaper states that Ms. Carney had a life-threatening illness.

The video is reported to show Ms. Carney jumping off of the stern of the cruise ship.

A commenter to out blog previously noted that while on this cruise ship he noticed: "video cameras similar to ones used in our apartment bldg. pointing across/down on the stern of the ship ostensibly to view the rear waters area."

Although Ms. Carney is reported to have jumped Tuesday morning, it took Princess Cruises until Thursday afternoon to even find the video. Either Princess Cruises does not have a policy to monitor their exterior cameras or no one was paying attention. 

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The U.S. Coast Guard is now reporting that the missing California passenger, Ms. Edelgard Carney, went overboard at 6:08 a.m. Tuesday, 200 miles south of Ketchikan.  An announcement with such a specific time obviously means that there are closed circuit surveillance tapes which captured images which precisely document the time the passenger went overboard.

Previously, news sources reported that Ms. Carney disappeared on Monday evening.

There is technology available to the cruise industry for surveillance cameras to be triggered by motion with an alarm being immediately sent to the bridge to alert the cruise ship's officers that a passenger has gone overboard.  This system would capture the video and permit immediate notification of the emergency. Tracking devices would drop into the water so that the exact location of the passenger overboard could be determined.

Some - but certainly not all - cruise lines employ "surveillance camera operators" whose job descriptions require that the cameras be monitored 24 hours for passenger safety and security.  Are these cameras and their operators focused on the rails on the port and starboard sides of the cruise ship?  Or are they focused just on the casino or other similar locations to prevent theft of the cruise ship's money?

There are no regulations which apply to foreign flagged cruise ships regarding this issue.  They pretty much do whatever they want.  What are Princess Cruises' polices and procedures? 

Princess Cruises provides a low tech cam from the bridge of the Sapphire Princess on its web site for customers to take a look & see.  Are their crew members monitoring the surveillance cameras on the ship?  

Has Princess Cruises made a decision to utilize technology for immediate notification of passenger over boards?  If not, why not?   

Photo credit:

Sapphire Princess Bridge Cam         Princess Cruises

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The Seattle Times reports that the passenger who disappeared from Princess Cruises cruise ship Sapphire Princess is Ms. Edelgard Carney, a resident of Sutter Creek, California. 

The newspaper also reports that the U.S. Coast Guard has narrowed its search to an area approximately 15 miles south of Ketchikan.  A Coast Guard officer is quoted as saying: "Based on new information it was determined that the passenger went overboard shortly after the ship departed from Ketchikan on Monday evening."

If Ms. Carney did fall from the ship on Monday, this is a rather amazing announcement.  Princess Cruises did not report her missing until the cruise ship arrived in Vancouver on Wednesday.  Her cabin would have been cleaned on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, and the cabin attendant certainly would have noticed that no one had been in the cabin for two days. This would be similar to the case of Mirrian Carver who "disappeared" from a Celebrity cruise ship and the cabin attendant knew she was missing from the cabin but did nothing. 

This announcement probably indicates that there is surveillance video of Ms. Edelgard which pinpoints the approximate time of her disappearance.

Why did it take so long for the cruise line to report the disappearance?  Does Princess Cruises monitor the shipboard cameras?  

I can watch a ship cam from the Sapphire Princess from my desk here in Miami. Why don't the Princess Cruises security guards and CCTV operators watch the surveillance cameras on their own cruise ships?   

Photo credit:

Sapphire Princess Web Cam        Princess Cruises 

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