Several newspapers in St. Maarten report on the death of a passenger aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship yesterday shortly after the ship left St. Thomas.
One newspaper states that the captain of the Carnival cruise ship learned "shortly after leaving the port of Saint Thomas on Tuesday July 16th," heading to Saint Maarten, he received a report a female U.S. citizen, age 40, allegedly committed suicide. The cruise ship alleges that the passenger "took her own life by hanging herself." The newspaper states that the investigation "will be done by U.S. authorities once the ships docks at the nearest U.S. port."
The newspapers mention the woman by name and state prominently that she killed herself.
Irrespective of what happened, it is disturbing to hear that a cruise line has determined the official cause of death of a passenger in such a summary manner. That’s the responsibility of highly educated, trained and experienced medical examiners. Not cruise ship employees.
Why do the cruise lines think they can act like police officers and coroners and determine the cause of death? Read: "Suicide" – One of the Cruise Lines’ Favorite Excuses When a Passenger Disappears at Sea"
And why did the Carnival cruise ship captain, who learned of the death of a guest "shortly after leaving St. Thomas," sail on to the next port?
Here’s what some of the local residents in St. Marteen are saying:
". . . Sxm has a bad reputation when it comes to murders that looks like suicide. They always take the easy way out. what a thing if it turned out to be death by poisoning or strangulation."
"The captain of the ship stated that shortly after leaving the port of Saint Thomas." Why didn’t the captain return to St. Thomas? Apparently the mighty dollar reigns supreme & the inherently trivial cruise schedule is sacrosanct. I suspect the captain of this particular vessel could be investigated for (mildly) improper conduct under international maritime law."
Photo Credit: Carnival dream – Wikipedia / Kuloskulos