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

The internet has been a buzz today with the release of closed circuit television video (CCTV) of the interior of the P&O Cruises' Pacific Sun, which ran into a bout of heavy weather in June 2008.  

A number of  passenger were injured.  You can clearly see one young lady smash her face into a column at the 47 second mark in the first video of the lounge area.

The second video is of a lower deck showing a forklift narrowly miss running over a crew member.

Cruise lines are experts keeping video like this secret.  The security and risk management departments of cruise line keep these types of video away from the public's eyes. This permits the cruise lines to contest the passengers' accounts of injuries and lets the defense lawyers claim that the passengers are exaggerating. 

Would you have believed this if you did not see it?

What honest soul at the cruise line leaked these tapes?      

The marine accident report for this incident can be viewed here.  A travel website summarized the pertinent findings of the report as follows:

• The Pacific Sun was on a tight schedule and this placed the captain in a "difficult situation" to return to Auckland to ensure the following cruise left on time.
• By not heaving-to earlier, the report said, he "inadvertently placed" the ship in the worst sea conditions, 322km northeast of North Cape;
• The crew were essentially flying blind, unable to see or monitor abnormal swells of up to 7m in darkness;
• The ship's stablisers were inoperative - one was worn out and the other was rendered useless in the slow speeds that the ship was reduced to;
• Two of the four muster stations - areas where passengers are meant to congregate in an emergency - were also rendered useless because of the damage and mess caused by unsecured furnishings; and 
• The accident damaged the ship's main satellite system, reducing officers' abilities to communicate with shore.

Many passengers were concerned to see crew wearing lifejackets, while they were not.

Passengers' injuries ranged in severity from broken bones, to cuts and bruises, with seven seriously hurt and three were greeted by ambulances when the ship berthed in Auckland two days later.

One passenger had part of a finger amputated. The report said other passengers suffered anxiety attacks.

The cruise line offered the passengers a small discount off on a future cruise.

For another incredible video, watch what a cruise ship looks like in a cyclone: Cruise Ship Social Media: Everyone Loves A Disaster Movie

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A "Careflight Rescue" helicopter winched a 48 year-old passenger with a suspected case of the potentially fatal meningococcal disease from a cruise ship off the south-east  coast of Australia. 

Several news have reported the incident; however, no one disclosed the name of the cruise ship or cruise line.  The passenger was taken to a hospital in Australia.

ABC News in Australia has finally identified that the passenger was rescued from the Pacific Sun cruise ship (web cam photo left).  The news station reports that the ship is traveling from Sydney to New Caledonia. 

The Pacifc Sun is operated by P&O Cruises in Australia.  Information about P&O Cruises and the Pacific Sun can be read here.

It is not uncommon for the press to try and avoid publishing the name of the cruise line or cruise ship in cases like this.
 

Photograph Credit:  P&O Cruises Pacific Sun webcam

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The jury remains out on the trial of cruise passenger Mark Wilhelm who is accused of killing fellow passenger, Dianne Brimble, on the P & O Cruises' Pacific Sun by supplying her with the date rape drug fantasy. 

We have commented on the case, explaining the risk of date rape drugs and the "crawfishing" testimony of Wilhelm's cruise buddies Dragan Losic and Letterio Silvestri to get their buddy off of the hook for his bad conduct.

The case is now in the hands of the jurors, who have endured the technical arguments of defendant Wilhelm's lawyers that Ms. Brimble did not have the drugs forced upon her, and so forth, and so on, and etcetera and etcetera. 

The jury will return its verdict this week.  The results seem to be a crap shoot, although I predict a conviction of defendant Wilhelm for giving Ms. Brimble the GHB which killed her.  But, and there is always a but, if the jury acquits Wilhelm - he will leave the courthouse with smiles and nervous laughter of relief. 

And the injustice to the Brimble family will continue.

Whatever the verdict, there remains the disturbing images of what happened on the Pacific Sun in 2002. Lessons remain to be learned to prevent a repeat of this disaster.

Several years ago, I printed out two articles which I have kept in my home office to remind me of this sad case.

One article was in the Sydney Morning Herald by Robert Wainwright entitled "Women Fair Game for Cruise's Hunting Pack." This is a disturbing article, filled with sexual predators and "the heady cocktail of alcohol, drugs and the thought of women trapped aboard a ship . . ."

If you read this article, you will need a shower to remove the sleaze.  There is no denying the palpable depravity on the P & O Cruises' cruise ship, with no real security and an "anything goes" attitude which are as responsible for Ms. Brimble's death as the scummy men who preyed upon her. 

The other article is entitled "Dianne Brimble and Me" by author Caroline Hutchinson who wrote the book  "Is It Just Me?"

Ms. Hutchinson's self-reflective article reveals the horror of Ms. Brimble’s death on the floor of an economy-class cabin of the Pacific Sky cruise ship and the despicable men who caused her death.  Ms. Hutchinson writes:

"One of these men, Leo Silvestri, told the police that Dianne Brimble’s death in his cabin ruined his holiday. He has admitted that on the morning in question, he woke to find Mrs Brimble dead on the floor, then showered and dressed her lifeless body.

Witnesses have told the inquest Mr. Silvestri later joked with fellow passengers that he considered throwing her body overboard.

Mr Silvestri told police that the night before Mrs. Brimble died, she allegedly walked up to his table and said: 'Hi, how are you going?'

'It’s like, Hi, see you. I just brushed her off; I didn’t want to speak to her ... breath, yuck, ugly dog, just go talk to someone else. Ring the RSPCA,' Silvestri said.

Later in the interview, Mr. Silvestri repeatedly referred to Mrs. Brimble as the 'thing' and called her the 'ugly dog.' 

He prided himself on the fact he didn’t 'talk to anything over 60 kilos.'

Ms. Hutchinson's article brings home the frightful specter of an insecure women running into a pack of wolves like this, whether the setting is a cruise ship or a neighborhood bar.  What are the lessons to be learned from this terrible tale?  Ms. Hutchinson again brings the point home reflecting on the question of how we are raising our own boys: 

"I want you to take a look around today. Look at your sons, and think about what their values are.

Are your boys kind? Are they generous of spirit? Do they think about the needs of other people? Are they brave? Do you trust them to do the right thing?

Would your son stand up for a drunken girl being harassed or degraded by a group of older blokes? Would he drag Dianne Brimble out of a ship’s cabin and get her help?

Look at your son.

Ask yourself if he’s that kind of boy.

Photo Credit:

Photo of "gang of 8"      The Age newspaper

Book cover "Is It Just Me?"    Caroline Hutchinson 

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ABC News in Australia reports that police are investigating a sexual assault which occured on the cruise ship Pacific Sun operated by Princess Cruises' sister company P & O Cruises. The alleged crime took place on the P & O cruise ship during a seven day cruise of the South Pacific near Noumea. Australian police boarded the Pacific Sun when the ship returned to Brisbane today.

At this time there is little information other than the ABC News report.  The newspapers in Australia resemble, at least to me, the British press. They are aggressive in reporting stories like this.  I expect there to be numerous articles on line soon.

In a post earlier today, I commented on the risk passengers face of sexual assault on cruises, both by crew members and other passengers. I have commented extensively on the sexual assault of P & O Cruises passenger Dianne Brimble who died on the Pacific Sun. 

Cruise lines have suffered from terrible publicity due to the irresponsible way that they have responded to shipboard crimes.  For example, after Ms. Brimble died, the P & O brand (a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation which also owns sister company Princess Cruises), began running a highly sexualized marketing campaign touting an image of booze and sex. 

A commenter to a previous post commented that P & O "pimped out their female passengers, with the 'Seamen Wanted' promotional postcard, depicting a deck full of women wearing bikinis, accompanied by a tag line 'More girls, more sun, more fun. There's nothing else a guy needs to know.' "  

In a post last week, I praised the leadership of P & O's CEO Ann Sherry who inherited this mess but seems to have brought a professionalism and air of transparency to the cruise line.

In the past, P & O Cruises issued a press statement following a sexual assault on the Pacific Star. 

The last time the press reported a sexual assault on a Princess Cruises or P & O cruise was earlier this year. A Princess Cruises waiter assaulted and attempted to rape a passenger aboard Princess Cruises' Coral Princess. The Princess Cruises' employee,  identified as Jorge Manuel Teixeira, 38, of Portugal, was arraigned on three counts each of aggravated sexual assault and sexual abuse.  He is awaiting trial. 

A  P & O passenger was also raped aboard the Pacific Star earlier this year as well. A newspaper in Australia reported that the P & O ship's crew found a 46-year-old female passenger in a state of shock and suffering bruises in the early hours following a New Year's Eve party.  She alleged that a 37-year-old Australian passenger raped her while she was sleeping in her cabin.  Like the instant case, the attack happened near Noumea.

Regarding this latest report of sexual assault, I expect that we will soon hear from Ms. Sherry, probably via YouTube if her lawyers will "let her do her thing."  Otherwise, the Australian press will be the only ones commenting on yet another sexual assault on a Princess or P & O cruise ship.

October 11, 2009 Update:

P & O Cruises has not issued a press release or provided an update on their website or ship blogs yet.  An online newspaper in Australia, News.com.au, reports that the alleged victim is  believed to be a juvenile.  Queensland police are investigating and have interviewed "people allegedly involved in the incident." But a police spokesperson indicated that no one had been arrested or charged. The spokesperson also "refused to say how many people were involved in the incident, or where they were from." 

Photo credit       Jim Walker, Star Princess, Seattle, July 4, 2009

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