The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera contains an interesting update today on the mysterious disappearance of a young Italian chef from a Princess Cruises cruise ship in November 2009.
The story involves Angelo Faliva, a chef from Cremona Italy who was employed by Princess Cruises aboard the Coral Princess. Mr. Faliva was last seen working in the Sabatini’s restaurant on November 25, 2009. Although his work shift did not end until 10:00 PM, and he essentially disappeared around 8:15 PM, no one sounded an alarm until the following day.
The cruise ship was heading toward Cartagena, Columbia while some 2,000 passengers enjoyed their dinners and the entertainment during the evening of Mr. Faliva’s disappearance. What happened to this outgoing young man?
The Italian article, "The Mystery of the Chef who Disappeared on a Cruise," touches upon some of the theories which we have discussed in prior articles. Did Mr. Faliva observe something he should not have, such as drug trafficking? Certainly there is nothing about this handsome out-going man to suggest that suicide is a reasonable explanation.
The article contains some new information, such as someone logging on to Mr. Faliva’s laptop after his disappearance and downloading files, printing documents and deleting e-mails. There is also a reference to a hotel in Cartagena – Capilla del Mar – which was hand written inside of Mr. Faliva’s chef hat. This is the same hotel referenced in online research performed on Mr. Faliva’s computer on the day he disappeared.
It is now going on two years since Mr. Faliva was last seen on the Coral Princess. There are hundreds of closed circuit television cameras on this cruise ship. Indeed Princess is well known for its fleet-wide bridge cams and wedding cams where you can watch passengers get married on the cruise ships with remarkable clarity from the comfort of your home computer. But when someone goes into the water? Like other cruise lines, Princess seems to always have problems with its CCTV cameras when someone involuntarily goes over the rails.
The article mentions that Mr. Faliva’s younger sister, Chiara, is the only person genuinely motivated to search for answers. The official "investigation" is the responsibility of Bermuda where Princess flags its cruise ships to avoid U.S. taxes and labor and safety laws. As other families have learned dealing with foreign flagged cruise ships, the "investigation" by the flag state into shipboard crimes and disappearances is a low priority. The cruise line is indifferent.
As the article explains, Mr. Faliva’s story is " . . . segnata dall’incompetenza degli investigatori, l’insensibilità della compagnia di navigazione . . ."
Some crewmembers must have information about Mr. Faliva. if you know something, please leave a tip at lawinfo@cruiselaw.com.
You can read other articles about Mr. Faliva here.