Search jewel of the seas

A crew member on the Island Princess died on Wednesday  according to several crew members wishing to remain anonymous.  The crew member’s name is Candido Catambay. There are no facts publicly available regarding the precise circumstances of the crew member’s death.

It appears that the Island Princess is one of many Carnival Corporation-owned cruise ships which are in the process of finally repatriating crew members home.  This particular crew member appears to have been on the cruise ship for a minimun of at least the past 90 days.

One crew member who informed me of the death stated: “Princess says it’s ‘natural causes,’ but what is natural when you have been kept on board the ship away from home for such a long time and your physical and mental health is damaged day after day.”

The Island Princess is currently anchored off the coast of the Philippines near Manila. There are currently twenty-five  cruise ships, including eleven Carnival Corporation-owned ships which are operated by Princess Cruises, positioned near Manila with many thousands of crew members aboard. In addition to the Island Princess, there are ten other cruise ships operated by Princess Cruises near Manila at this time: the Pacific Princess, Regal Princess, Sapphire Princess, Sea Princess, Majestic Princess, Sun Princess, Diamond Princess, Golden Princess, Crown Princess, and Ruby Princess. 

The Island Princess last sailed from south Florida on April 20th and eventually reached the Philippines earlier this month. Carnival avoided the CDC’s guidelines which would have required the company to fly its crew members via charter flights home by sailing them on a dozens ships to the Philippines. Carnival saved money but subjected the crew to additional stress by keeping them on the ships away from their families.

Princess Cruises declined to respond to our request for an explanation regarding this latest crew member death.

Including this incident, there have been at least six to as many as ten other cases were it appears that crew members may have decided to end their own lives since April 30th, as well as one attempted suicide:

CMV galley cook on Vasco da Gama June 17, 2020. CMV claims that he died due to a heart attack.

Royal Caribbean waiter on Harmony of the Seas June 9, 2020.

Crystal Cruises waiter June 2, 2020.

Virgin Voyages hotel utility on Scarlet Lady May 22, 2020.

Cruise and Maritine Voyages provision manager attempted suicide on Vasco da Gama May 20, 2020 .

AIDA galley employee on AIDAblu May 18, 2020.

Royal Caribbean assistant waiter on Mariner of the Seas May 10, 2020. Royal Caribbean stated that the crew member, a young man, reportedly died of “natural causes.”

Princess Cruises waiter on Regal Princess May 10, 2020.

Carnival Cruise assistant shore manager on Carnival Breeze May 9, 2020.

Royal Caribbean electrician on Jewel of the Seas April 30, 2020.

Four days ago, the Miami Herald reported that at least 42,000 crew members remain trapped on cruise ships without paychecks, and some still are suffering from COVID-19, three months after the industry shut down.

The reasons for the failure to repatriate the crew are a combination of the following developments: (1) the cruise lines delayed repatriation efforts after the CDC initially issued its “no sail” order on May 13th for only 30 days. The companies hoped to resume sailing as soon as possible and didn’t repatriate their crew members, intending to put them back to work. Then the companies claimed surprise when the CDC extended the no sail order until July 25th; (2) the CDC required cruise lines to repatriate crew only though private charters which most companies refused to do claiming its was “too expensive,” and the cruise CEO’s, chief compliance officers and chief medical officers refused to sign acknowledgments indicating that the companies intended to comply with the CDC guidelines; and (3) countries began closing borders to limit the spread of COVID-19.

These deaths should be a shameful embarrassment for the cruise lines which continues to withold literally billions of dollars in refunds to its customers. Yesterday, Jim Cramer of CNBC announced that Carnival Corporation had a record $4.4 billion loss in the second quarter of this year with $7.6 billion in available liquidity, including $2.9 billion in refunds owed to customers.

Carnival Corporation, like all cruise companies, has struggled to remain afloat following the coronavirus pandemic. It is using its customer’s refunds to try and remain viable. All of its brands, like Princess Cruises, have tried to minimize expenses incurred in promptly repatriating their crew members. Unfortunately, there will be additional crew deaths as a result of the cruise lines devoting their depleting liquidity to re-start their operations.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) has initiated the “Enough is enough” campaign, in recognition of “thousands of seafarers worldwide remain stuck on board, unable to go ashore, seek medical attention or return home.”As of June 16th, it is no longer acceptable that seafarers are forced to continue to work on ships, according to the ITF.

The General Secretary of the IMO, Kitack Lim, has stated that the shipping industry is on the verge of “a humanitarian crisis,” with an increase in “fatigue and issues with mental health.”

The ITF states: “We are clear – if a seafarer wants off a ship, then the ITF, our affiliate unions and the ITF inspectorate will do everything we can to assist them. We know that you need to get off these ships, and we will help you to do so where can.” Crew member can contact the ITF here.

The IIF has been criticized over the years for not responding to seafarers’ complaints. Nonetheless, we recommend that crew members contact the ITF as well as bring attention to their predicaments via social media and by contacting the media.

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A Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) crew member on the Vasco da Gama cruise ship in the U.K. died early this morning, according to several crew members who wish to remain anonyous.

The crew member was identified as Krishna Kumar Balaji who was employed by CMV as a “1st cook galley.” He reportedly died in the ship’s infirmary around 3:00 a.m. today.  CMV recently transferred Mr. Balaji to the Vasco da Gama because the MV Astoria, which is one of several cruise ships CMV operates, is scheduled to sail to Portugal to go into dry dock. (The Astoria and Vasco da Gama are both in Tilbury along with other ships operated by CMV).  The exact facts and circumstances of his death are less than clear at this point.  Comments posted on social media suggest that the crew member was depressed.

https://twitter.com/Gina_pereira08/status/1273193656971923463

Indian crew members aboard the Astoria cruise ship began a hunger strike two days ago to protest being kept on the ship for more than 90 days since cruise operations were suspended. CMV arranged for transportation of some crew members but not for around 160 crew members back to India. CMV is claiming that the country of India has not granted landing permits for flights for the crew members back home. The crew members have requested that the Indian government and the Indian High Commission in London become involved. The issue, of course, is not just such governmental restrictions, which are affecting all cruise lines, but why the company has not obtained the necessary documentation to repatriate its crew members over the past 90 days.

Several images and videos of the hunger strike were posted on Twitter and Facebook this week. At least one photo of a crew member holding a sign states “Frustrated. What’s Next?!! Suicide?”

One of the most important reasons articulated for the crew’s frustration is that they are very worried about the fact that they have not been paid, many of whom have received no wages over the last five months. They have expressed concern for the inability to pay for their children’s education and medical expenses and loan obligations. The crew members have consistently stated that they appreciate what CMV is doing for them during the pandemic. One crew member stated: “we are CMV family who still support and love our company, at the same time we love our family back home.”

https://www.facebook.com/gina.pereira.96199/videos/300080314366495

CMV has responded to the issue of non-payment of wages by stating that it will remit wages with the sign-off of the crew but it has not committed to a firm sign-off date.  CEO Christian Verhounig referred to the company’s “massive cash requirements,” in an email sent to the striking crew members, which are involved in sending its crew members home while not collecting any money while cruising is suspended. The CEO further claimed that:

“… we are being hurt most, our costs for feeding all, offloading garbage, buying water for showers and toilets, offloading grey and black water, keeping the generators on for electricity and continuing to have you on employment and pay you salary would be much reduced and less of a burden for us.”

This email appears oblivious to the hardship caused by crew’s inability to send their wages back home to their families. Calling the crew a burden and comparing the payment of their wages to paying the costs of unloading garbage and sewage seems  particularly unsympathetic and callous.

The crew members’ fears and concerns come at a time when CMV is experiencing significant financial problems. Sky News reports that CMV is in emergency talks with lenders and potential investors following the eleventh-hour collapse of a potential financial rescue deal.  This newspaper in the U.K. reports that a private equity firm had been trying to structure a deal for several weeks with CMV’s existing creditors but talks were abandoned this week. A travel publication, Travel Weekly, quotes CEO Verhounig saying: “As the majority of other cruise lines have already done or are presently doing, CMV is also looking for additional financing to improve its liquidity position until sailing will resume again.”

This has been a very difficult six week period for many crew members who have remained on cruise ships during the period of cruising suspension which is now over 90 days. In addition to this incident, since May 1st there have been nine other crew members who reportedly ended their lives and one employee from this same cruise ship, Vasca da Gama, who attempted to do so.

A week ago, a Royal Caribbean waiter ended her life on the Harmony of the Seas. A newspaper in Barbados reported that she comitted suicide by hanging. A week earlier, a long term employee from the Philippines died suddenly on a Crystal Cruises ship. Three weeks ago, a Filipino crew member died on the Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady. Shortly before that, a CMV crew member on the Vasco da Gamma cruise ship reportedly jumped from deck 12 of the ship and landed on a cargo container located on the pier of the Tilbury Docks in the U.K (photo left). It was last reported that the Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) ship employee is in the hospital in London. A Filipino galley employee on the AIDAblu also died. A Chinese crew member hired as an assistant waiter on the Mariner of the Seas  was found dead by his colleagues. Royal Caribbean stated that the crew member, a young man, reportedly died of “natural causes,” although it did not release an official cause of his death or provide any explanation. On that same day, a Ukranian waiter from the Regal Princess jumped overboard while the ship was in Rotterdam. The day before, an assistant shore excursion manager died on the Carnival Breeze which was sailing to the U.K. from Bahamian waters. A post mortem report by a pathologist states the preliminary cause of death as hanging, according to a publication in the U.K.  The first suicide involved a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas jumped from the ship south of Athens around the first of last month.

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June 18, 2020 Update: 

CMV apparently claims that the crew member died due to a “heart attack” via the post below. There still is no public statement regarding CMV’s non-payment of crew wages dating back 5-8 months or the issue of finally repatriating the crew members at issue.

Photograph credits: Anonymous

 

A Filipino crew member died on the Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, according to several crew members who wish to remain anonymous. His colleagues on the ship stated that he may have intentionaly ended his life.

The cruise ship sailed into the port of Miami earlier this afternoon following this tragedy. @PTZtv live streaming cameras showed the Scarlet Lady arriving at the port shortly after noon today. The ship had been positioned off of the coast of Florida after Virgin decided to postpone its inaugural cruise of this ship from Miami until mid-October. Police detectives reportedly boarded the ship to conduct an investigation.

The crew members described the Filipino seafarer’s job as a hotel utility employee. His body was reportedly found in his cabin. It is less than clear regarding when this incident occurred.  Earlier this morning, a person Twitter posted the following tweet to Richard Branson, the CEO of the cruise line:

https://twitter.com/vintageinfrance/status/1263713765482205184

This has been a difficult month for many crew members who have remained on cruise ships during the period of cruising suspension which is now approaching 75 days. In addition to this incident, there have been at least five other crew members who reportedly ended their lives since May 1st and one who attempted to do so. In addition, Royal Caribbean stated that one crew member reportedly died of “natural causes,” although it did not release an official cause of death.

Yesterday, we reported on a crew member on the Vasco da Gamma cruise ship who reportedly jumped from deck 12 of the ship and landed on a cargo container located on the pier of the Tilbury Docks in the U.K. It was last reported that the Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) ship employee is in the hospital in London. A Filipino galley employee on the AIDAblu died two days ago. Last week, a Chinese crew member hired as an assistant waiter on the Mariner of the Seas  was found dead by his colleagues. On that same day, a Ukranian waiter from the Regal Princess jumped overboard while the ship was in Rotterdam. The day before, an assistant shore excursion manager died on the Carnival Breeze which was sailing to the U.K. from Bahamian waters. Sixteen days ago we reported that a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas jumped overboard south of Greece.

In all of these situations, crew members reported an atmosphere of isolation from their familes and confusion on the ships regarding when and how the crew members will be repatriated home. Many crew members also express feelings of frustration and depression.

The Scarlet Lady initially was scheduled to sail its first voyage with passengers from Miami in March but postponed its inaugural cruise until August 7th due the coronavirus pandemic. Virgin recently cancelled all cruises on the Scarlet Lady through mid-October.

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May 24 Update: The Miami Herald today reported on the death in an article titled Virgin Voyages crew member dies on ship, Coast Guard says. Another in cruise industry deaths. “The crew member, a 32-year-old Filipino man, died from ‘apparent self-harm’ aboard Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady, the Coast Guard said.”

Photograph credit: Anonymous crew member

A crew member on the Vasco da Gamma cruise ship was seriously injured after falling from deck 12 of the ship. He landed on a cargo container located on the pier below while the ship was moored at the Port of Tilbury. Ambulances and a helicopter arrived on the pier in response to the medical emergency. Several medical personnel administered aid to the crew member. The medical teams took the injured crew member into an ambulance which left the scene, according to several crew members who wish to remain anonymous.

A video of the response shows a dozen personnel responding to the emergency. We are not posting the video, although we are showing only images which are not close-ups of the scene.

The crew member reportedly is an Indonesian who worked in the provisions department.

The incident was  confirmed by the owner / operator of the ship, Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV), and the Port of Tilbury which stated:

“We confirm that there was an incident in the Port of Tilbury yesterday involving one of the seafarers on board a cruise vessel currently berthed at the port. The person remains in hospital and our thoughts are with their family and colleagues at this time.”

A local newspaper, the Thurrock Nub News, commented today that the crew member is being treated at a hospital in London for his injuries. “The full circumstances of the incident are yet to be established.”

The newspaper reported that there are currently 486 crew members on board Vasco da Gama at Tilbury. The ship has been docked there since May 1 after returning from repatriating passengers to Australia. The ship is one of a number of CMV vessels laid up at the port because of the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of the crew members on board the ships are foreign nationals and the cruise operators are looking at ways to repatriot them for the duration of the pandemic lockdown, according to the newspaper.

CMV claims that the “crew onboard CMV ships in the UK are cared for by CMV with comprehensive medical, catering, entertainment, complimentary internet and wellbeing provision on board.”

Crew members state privately that they are unpaid and frustrated. There reportedly is a great deal of stress on the ship due to the long period that the crew has stayed on the ship away from their loved ones and without receiving wages during the pandemic.

The Crew Center site reports that the crew member died from the fall but we have not received confirmation of this.

One ship employee confirmed that the Indonesian crew member, employed as a hotel storekeeper (provision team), is still alive and in the hospital.

We have reported that five cruise ship employees  have unexpectedly died this month.

A Filipino galley employee on the AIDAblu died two days ago. Last week, a Chinese crew member hired as an assistant waiter on the Mariner of the Seas  was found dead by his colleagues.  On that same day, a Ukranian waiter from the Regal Princess jumped overboard while the ship was in Rotterdam. The day before, an assistant shore excursion manager died on the Carnival Breeze which was sailing to the U.K. from Bahamian waters. Sixteen days ago we reported that a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas jumped overboard south of Greece.

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Photo credit: Anonymous crew members; bottom – Nub News.

According to a crew member on the AIDAblu, a Filipino galley employee by the first name of “Kennith” died earlier today. The captain made a ship-wide announcement of the seafer’s death.

The crew member who informed us of the death stated that a Filipino priest from Hamburg came onto the cruise ship and presided over a religous ceremony. (AIDAblu was one of two AIDA ships in port in Hamburg). The crew reportedly assembled and prayed in the ship’s theater.

This is the fifth crew member to die unexpectedly on a cruise ship this month.

A week ago, a Chinese crew member on the Mariner of the Seas hired as an assistant waiter was found dead by his colleagues.  On that same day, a Ukranian crew member from the Regal Princess who was employed as a waiter jumped overboard while the ship was in Rotterdam. The day before, an assistant shore excursion manager died on the Carnival Breeze which was sailing to the U.K. from Bahamian waters. Sixteen days ago we reported that a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas went overboard south of Greece.

Indian politicians has complained in the past few days that crew members were stuck on AIDA cruise ships, including the AIDAblu, and sought methods to expedite their repatriation. A week ago, 239 Filipino seafarers, including 188 crew members from the AIDAblu, were repatriated to the Philippines with the help of the Philippine Consulate in Frankfurt. It is less than clear why this crew member was not repatriated with this group of seafarers.

Crew Center published an article earlier this evening about the tragedy. Crew Center wrote that ever since this pandemic started it received many messages from Aida Cruises crew members. “All of the messages were positive experiences shared by the crew praising the company for their honesty and transparency towards the crew. Many of the crew underlined the special care of their managers on board always looking after each and every crew member’s needs and mental health . . . Still with all the care provided this tragedy struck the crew community, showing how hard this lockdown affects all the crew.”

Prayers to this crew members, his family and friends and colleagues on the ship. Rest in Peace.

Please feel free to leave your tributes here.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Memorial Donations For Kennex Bundaon. The page states that he had a daughter in the Philippines. Please consider making a donation.

Photo credit: Martin Falbisoner – CC BY-SA 4.0, commons / wikimedia.

May19. 2020 Update: The crew member has been identified as Kennex Mingas Bundaon by the CruiseMapper website.

A crew member from the Regal Princess cruise ship went overboard early this morning, according to several crew members who wish to  remain anonymous.  The crew member was a Ukranian national and worked for Princess as a waiter. She has been identified by various first names.

A lifeboat from the ship recovered her body after a brief search. Several crew members sent a video taken of the lifeboat crew bringing the young woman from the water which we are not posting here.

The Regal Princess had sailed to Rotterdam as part of Princess Cruises’ efforts to finally repatriate crew members following the suspension of cruising approximately two months ago. Princess had arranged for air transportation for Ukranian crew members to fly from Amsterdam to Kiev; approximately 150 Ukranian crew members had been successfully flown back to the Ukraine via Ukranian International Ailines.

It was explained to me that the crew member in question was part of a second group of around 120 Ukrainian crew members who were scheduled to fly on a second airplane not associated with Ukrainian International Airlines.

The second air flight to Kiev was cancelled for unclear reasons. The woman was one of over a hundred crew members not permitted to fly home to the Ukraine. She reportedly was distraught and last seen crying on the ship.

This is the third crew member to die after cruising was suspended.  Yesterday, an assistant shore excursion manager died on the Carnival Breeze which is sailing to the U.S. from Bahamian waters. Eight days ago we reported that a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas went overboard south of Greece. All of these cruise lines notified the families of these seafarers that their loved one had died.

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Photo credit:  A.Savin wikimedia commons · wikiphotospace) – FAL commons / wikimedia.

A crew member aboard the Carnival Breeze died this morning as the cruise ship was sailing from the Bahamas to England, according to several crew members who wish to remain anonymous.

József Szaller was an assistant shore excursion manager from Hungary who had worked for Carnival for the past three years. His collleagues found him dead in his cabin from what many believe was a decision to end his life.

Mr. Szaller had worked for Carnival since January 11, 2017. He had worked on the Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Miracle and Carnival Breeze for the past three years.

The Carnival Breeze is one of several Carnival cruise ships which is finally taking crew members back to their home countries after the cruise line suspended operations nearly two months ago. The Carnival Breeze is sailing to Southampton, England with around 1,300 crew members from Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and England. The Breeze is now sailing out of Bahamian waters across the Atlantic.

A Carnival employee explained to me that the Carnival Magic is repatriating crew members back to Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria whereas the Carnival Fantasy is going to India and Africa. The Carnival Glory is sailing to South America.

The Carnival crew members with whom I have communicated express their sadness on receiving news of losing one of their colleagues. One crew member who knew him was “devastated” by the news and said that he was “a good team member and an awesome human being.” His family reportedly has been informed of his death.

Crew-Center was the first web site to report of the crew member’s death. It indicated that his sail and sign in card was last used three days ago on Wednesday. The site said that “depression is striking hard to us on board after a long period of time in isolation on the ships,” according to a Carnival crew member.

A week ago today, we reported that a Polish electrician on the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas went overboard south of Greece.

The crew members on the Carnival Breeze who discussed Mr. Szaller’s death expressed experiencing long periods of monotomy as they have been on the ships and under quarantine for COVID-19 for a long period of time. They complained of boredom mixed with feeling of stress, uncertainty  and confusion due to a lack of communication by the ship’s leadership regarding their future.

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June 1, 2020 Update: The Daily Echo reported today that a post mortem by a pathologist concluded that the cause of death of this crew member was hanging.

Photo credits: Facebook; Marine Traffic; ChrisCruises CC BY 2.0, commons / wikimedia.

Istanbul TerrorTerrorism hit the Atataturk airport in Istanbul last night as three suicide bombers exploded powerful devices that killed and injured a large number of people. The rising number of victims is currently 42 dead and 239 injured. ISIS is suspected as inspiring or directing the attack. 

Cable news repeatedly showed frightening images of massive explosions in a transit lounge as well as a gunman, running into the airport shooting a AK-47 assault weapon, who then is shot by airport security and drops his weapon only to blow his suicide vest up as he lies on the floor.

This latest attack comes on the heels of previous terrorist attacks in Turkey (including two prior attacks in Istanbul this year, including a car bomb earlier this month and a suicide bomber earlier this year as well as deadly car bombs in Ankara this year) which doubtlessly will have the effect of frightening people from traveling or cruising to Turkey. 

A number of newspapers have recently reported that the two terrorists attacks last year in Tunisia (which killed 17 cruise passengers from Costa and MSC cruise ships at the Bardo Museum in Tunis and, later, several dozens of British tourists on holiday at beach resorts in Sousse Tunisia) is Istanbul Terrorcausing the country’s tourism industry to struggle. Skift reports that Tunisian tourist revenue was down 35 percent last year, at $1.5 billion, and caused the dinar currency to historic lows against the dollar and euro this month. 

This is bad news for the future of tourism in Turkey. There have been at least eight terror attacks in Turkey dating back a year.  USA TODAY today published an article today which notes that "the string of attacks have caused a big drop in tourism, a major source of revenue for Turkey. Many cruise ships that used to make port calls in Istanbul are bypassing the city."

The U.S. State Department "warns U.S. citizens of increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey and to avoid travel to southeastern Turkey" (i.e., near Syria). The June 27, 2016 warning, issued the day before the attack, said: ""foreign and U.S. tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations."

The CruiseArabia website says that "just two international cruise ships were in Turkish waters at the time of the attack Tuesday, both Wind Star and Royal Caribbean’s ‘Jewel of the Seas’ have continued with their cruise itineraries as planned.

At the time of writing Jewel of the Seas was in port in Kusudasi while Wind Star was anchored off Bodrum. Both Windstar Cruises and Royal Caribbean have refused to comment on whether any additional security has been put in place for passengers on shore excursions in the wake of the attacks."

Photo credit: Top – Fox News; Bottom AP via IndianExpress

Today, a jury here in Miami, Florida returned a verdict over $6,200,000 on behalf of a seriously injured crew member.

The crew members is from Haiti and worked as a cleaner on the Jewel of the Seas. 

He sustained a serious back injury due to the repetitive nature of his work and the long hours which crew members are required to work.

After the crew member sustained injury, Royal Caribbean sent the crew member to Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic for medical treatment. There a surgeon performed a back fusion. The Brett Rivkindcrew member’s lawyer alleged that the surgery was unnecessary and caused the crew member unnecessary and additional injuries. 

We have written about the medical facilities in Santo Dominican before. Rather than fly the injured crew members to Miami, where the cruise line in headquartered and the executives reside, the cruise line often sends their ship employees to the Dominican Republic where the medical expenses are substantially cheaper although the treatment is substantially inferior.

We have discussed the sub-standard medical facilities in Santo Domingo before. A jury in Miami previously returned a $1,000,000 verdict for a Celebrity crew member who underwent a crippling, unnecessary pacemaker surgery.   

Royal Caribbean tries to save money by keeping its ill and injured crew members out of Miami, and this is often the result. Read: Cruise Ship Medical Care – Royal Caribbean Gives Their Crew Members the Royal Shaft. 

Royal Caribbean reportedly made no settlement offer before trial.

The jury returned a verdict for the crew member finding that Royal Caribbean was negligent under the Jones Act, the vessel was unseaworthy, and the cruise line failed to provide prompt and adequate medical treatment. 

The crew member was represented by Miami maritime lawyer Brett Rivkind, photo above.

The total verdict was in the amount of $6,282,261.

The cruise lawyer was defended by defense lawyer David Horr.

The Daily Business Review released "Top Verdicts & Settlements" for last year.  You can click on the digital version here.

We obtained the highest award in an admiralty / maritime case in Florida in 2011.  The case involved an injured crew member from Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas who the cruise line sent back to Serbia and then denied her appropriate medical care and treatment.

We flew our client to Miami and arranged for her to see a board certified orthopedic surgeon who recommended surgery.  Royal Caribbean sent her to a local "litigation doctor" who never testifies that injured crewmembers need surgery.

The three arbitrators ruled that the cruise line failed to provide our client with a safe place to work and was 100% negligent for causing her accident.

The arbitrators also found that Royal Caribbean refused to provide prompt and adequate medical treatment to its injured cruise employee, and that its failure to authorize the necessary surgery "lacked any reasonable defense."

The arbitrators awarded our client $1,250,000, the highest amount in a crewmember case last year and the most ever in a cruise arbitration matter.      

As this year comes to a close, it’s time to look back at some of events of 2011.

Jewel of the Seas Crew Member InjuryLast year started out with a bang.  Our firm represented a seriously injured crewmember in a case against Royal Caribbean.  Our client sustained a debilitating back injury, underwent an unsuccessful surgery, and needed a second surgery which the cruise line refused to provide.  In January, a three member arbitration panel found that Royal Caribbean’s refusal to provide the surgery “lacked any reasonable defense” and awarded the crewmember $1,250,000.  You can read  the decision here.

The award was featured in Miami’s Daily Business Review, which you can read here.  It is the highest reported arbitration award for an injured crewmember to date.

In ten days, we will begin a trial against Royal Caribbean on behalf of another crewmember who suffered a severe back injury, underwent an unsuccessful surgery and needs a second operation which the cruise line refuses to authorize.  Sound familiar?   Check back in a couple of weeks for the results of our first trial in 2012.

Shortly after the Royal Caribbean award, we received bad news when a federal judge in Miami summarily ended one of our cases against Royal Caribbean where a young woman was severely injured while receiving private lessons on a FlowRider and underwent four surgeries.  The cruise line Royal Caribbean FlowRidertried to end the case based on a “liability waiver” which passengers are required to sign before participating in FlowRider activities as well as rock climbing, skating and other activities.  Liability waivers are illegal in maritime cases.  To our surprise the court granted the cruise line’s motion, notwithstanding a federal statute clearly stating that liability waivers on the high seas are unenforceable.

The decision sent a shock wave through the Miami maritime legal community because liability waivers in maritime matters have been unenforceable for decades.  The defense lawyers for the cruise lines were giddy.  They spoke openly of requiring cruise passengers to sign liability waivers for everything from playing shuffleboard to exercising in the gym to swimming in the cruise ship’s pool.  We appealed.  The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal overturned the lower court’s ruling and held that cruise line liability waivers are illegal and unenforceable, even if they involve ultra-hazardous or inherently dangerous activities.  The decision is a great result that will protect cruise passengers for years to come.

The past year included the usual number of stories of cruise ship drug smuggling, sexual assaults, shipboard malpractice, serious injuries and passengers and crew disappearing under suspicious circumstances – everything the cruise lines don’t want you to know about.

Jonathan Aronson - Lisa O'Neill - Jim Walker2011 was the first full year where our co-counsel Jonathan Aronson worked with us on cases.  Mr. Aronson was one of the best maritime attorneys in Florida who used to defend cases for Royal Caribbean until he switched sides to representing passengers and crewmembers.  The cruise line spent a small fortune trying to disqualify him and our firm from representing clients against it.  It lost.  We won. And most importantly, our clients benefited from having an excellent and highly experienced maritime attorney join our team.

Our blog, Cruise Law News (CLN), enjoyed another popular year, ending up the number 11 most popular law blog per the Avvo/Alexa rankings.  This month over 53,000 people read over 156,000 pages of CLN. Here are some of the cruise highlights and lowlifes CLN covered:

Mickey Mouse games by Disney Cruise Lines:  The Disappearance of Youth Counselor Rebecca Coriam  Things are not as they seem in the Magical Kingdom’s fleet of cruise ships.

The most reckless cruise passenger “rescue” I have ever seen:  Cruise Passenger Dropped into Freezing Waters During Botched Rescue  The crew should have been arrested.  And speaking of being arrested:

Best articles in the spirit of “Occupy Wallstreet:”  Royal Caribbean Executives Get Richer While Crew Members Get Poorer and Royal Caribbean Stock Fraud Lawsuits – What Did the Cruise Line Executives Know and When Did They Know It?

Royal Caribbean Executives - Richard Fain - Adam GoldsteinThe saddest article and the most facebook “likes” for a single article:  Tragedy on HAL’s Half Moon Cay: A Mother’s Perspective (366 likes)

The most likes for drugs on the world’s largest gay cruise:  Passenger Busted for Selling Drugs on Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas (299 likes)

Weirdest story:  Woman Alleges False Imprisonment on Scientology Cruise Ship “Freewinds”

Second weirdest story:  Life In Jail For Cruise Passenger Who Threw Wife Overboard

Third weirdest story:  Accused Royal Caribbean Cruises Rapist Sues Bahamas for Spending Four Nights in Jail After Acquittal

Best April Fools story:  Breaking News: Carnival Cruise Lines Incorporates in the U.S. and Subjects Itself to U.S. Labor, Wage, Safety and Environmental Regulations

Cruise Ship DisasterMost negative reaction to an article:  Gun Fight in Cabo San Lucas: Is it Safe to Cruise to Mexico?

Best series of articles:  Disappearance of George Smith IV – Six Years Later

Best article written by a guest blogger:  Top 10 Shocking Clauses In Your Cruise Contract

Best videos:  Top Five Worst Cruise Ship Disaster Videos

My favorite personal articles:  Are Cruise Ships Ruining Venice Or Just Memories From My Youth? and A View From A Fifth Grader – Gaddafi Finally Falls 42 Years Later

Thanks to our readers, friends, and supporters for making CLN a success.  Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and our Cruise Law News facebook page.

Do you have a question about cruise law?   Don’t hesitate to email me – jwalker@cruiselaw.com.

Jim Walker

An Arbitration panel in Miami, Florida has ordered Royal Caribbean Cruises to pay $1,250,000.00 to a crewmember following an injury aboard the Jewel of the Seas cruise ship.

The crewmember, who is from Serbia, sustained a serious back injury in June 2008 when a crew member violently slammed a door into her back while she was walking down a narrow hallway.  She sustained a large herniated disc.  She reported to the ship infirmary and the ship doctor found her unfit for duty.  However, her supervisor instructed her to continue working.

Jewel of the Seas - Cruise Ship Medical Care - Crew Member - ArbitrationThe ship doctor thereafter refused to take her medical condition seriously, and did not take an x-ray or order a MRI at a port of call.  After seven weeks of continuous work, her medical condition deteriorated badly.  She collapsed and had to be taken from the cruise ship on a stretcher with a IV morphine drip to manage her pain.

Royal Caribbean sent her back to Serbia and refused to arrange for medical treatment.  It paid her only $12 a day for lodging and food, which is impossible to live on.  It paid her consistently late.  It took the cruise line over five months to finally authorize back surgery in January 2009.  The doctor then performed surgery at the wrong level.  Royal Caribbean thereafter refused to arrange or pay for her rehabilitation or arrange for follow-up x-rays or a MRI.

After she retained Walker & O’Neill to represent her, the cruise line continued to refuse to meet its legal obligation to provide her with the necessary medical treatment.  When our firm complained, the cruise line terminated her living expenses. One of the in-house lawyers overseeing the cruise line’s medical department, Tony Faso, decided to abandon her.  Mr. Faso sent an email to Walker & O’Neill stating:

"I am sure any arbitrator will agree with me. I am sure that I will get some ridiculous response from you. I really don’t care . . ."

Walker & O’Neill then flew the crew member here to Miami, and arranged for her to see a U.S. board certified orthopedist who determined that the first surgery was a failure.  Royal Caribbean nonetheless refused to reinstate the crew member’s benefits or provide her with the necessary medical care.

The three member Arbitration panel found Royal Caribbean’s refusal to pay maintenance and cure benefits to be:

" . . . not reasonable.  The denial of those benefits lacked any reasonable defense . . . "

The Arbitrators awarded the crew member $1,250,000.00.

Royal Caribbean was also found responsible for $11,650.00 for the administrative costs of the International Center for Dispute Resolution ("ICDR") as well as $48,970.00 for compensation of the Arbitrators.  

This award is the highest arbitration amount awarded to an injured crewmember since cruise lines began arbitrating cases. The award demonstrates the consequences of a cruise line unlawfully abandoning an ill crewmember and spitefully terminating her medical benefits. 

The crew member was represented by James (“Jim”) Walker and Lisa O’Neill of Walker & O’Neill P.A. and Jonathan Aronson of the Aronson Law Firm.

Royal Caribbean was represented by Curtis Mase of the Mase, Lara & Ebersole law firm.

Cayman News Service reports that three crew members were arrested for possession of two kilos of cocaine.  The cruise employees were from St. Vincent and Jamaica. 

As is often the case, the local police did not identify the name of the cruise ship or cruise line. 

The three cruise ships in port at the time of the arrest were Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, the German AIDAluna, and Oceana.

I’m taking bets.  2 to 1 its Royal Caribbean – the cruise line drug dealers prefer .  .  . 

 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=c6yFw_dpVdY%3Frel%3D0

 

Video credit:  Cayman 27 

 

Rockland Maine - Royal CaribbeanIn an article last month, we reported that Royal Caribbean is threatening Rockland Maine after the quaint town increased its port call fee to $6 per passenger.

Rockland is proposing a modest $2 port development fee and a dockage fee of $4 which reflect the actual costs to the city associated with accommodating large cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean wants the fee to stay at $1. The cruise line complains that increase was “excessive;” however, there is no port town or city anywhere in the world which has a fee of only $1. There are a few impoverished countries in the Caribbean and Central America, like Honduras, which collect a fee of only $4. But this is more of a reflection of the cruise line’s historical exploitation of third world governments rather than a fair assessment of the actual impact of the cruise industry on the port’s infrastructure.

Ports in the U.S. charge passenger fees ranging between $6 to $34.50 (Alaska).

Portland Maine, for example, charges $9 per passenger.

Royal Caribbean complains that it did not have adequate notice of the fee increase, but in truth it was notified earlier this year of the tax increase. It waited months before complaining and then sent an undated letter to the city manager of Rockland in June.

Good relationships are based on mutual respect. What is good for you is good for me. But when strong arm tactics dominate the debate, the result is one sided and unfair. A $1 fee is unreasonable. It is unfair.  Royal Caribbean collects over $6 billion a year and pays no federal income tax by incorporating its business in Liberia and flagging its cruise ships in the Bahamas. Royal Caribbean - Jewel of the Seas - Rockland MaineThe threats by the cruise line reflect an insight into Royal Caribbean’s view of  tiny Rockland.  It is a signal of threats to come in the future.

Why would Rockland want to spend the money from its tax paying citizens to subsidize a non-tax paying billion dollar foreign corporation?

The cruise line has assembled a lobby group and has taken its scare tactics to Rockland’s city council.  Royal Caribbean is threatening to pull its huge cruise ship, Jewel of the Seas, from a stop in Rockland unless the $5 increase is repealed. But there is nowhere in the U.S. with a lower head tax than Rockland even at the proposed $6.  Will Royal Caribbean really go to a port with a more expensive tax to prove a point to Rockland?

I don’t think so.  This is a cruise line which acts based on the bottom line dollar, not principles.

There will be a vote today in Rockland at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

The decision that the people of Rockland will make today will be a reflection of the town’s self respect.  Will it stand up for a fair tax that reflects the reality of how a huge cruise ship like the Jewel of the Seas impacts its infrastructure?  Or will Rockland let the cruise line treat it like a $1 store?

 

Rockland Maine - Royal Caribbean

July 20, 2010 Update:

The Rockland City Council voted 3 -2 last night to provide a waiver to Royal Caribbean from the $6 fee.  The fee will be just $1 this October when the Jewel of the Seas arrives. “Rockland Reverses Cruise Ship Fee Increase”

For a similar story, consider reading Carnival Drops Antigua Like A Hot Potato.

Credits:

Rockland Maine harbor         Peter Greenberg The Historic Inns of Rockand Maine

This has been another exciting week in the strange world of the cruise industry.  I thought that I would spend this Friday recapping some of the interesting cruise stories this week.   

Cruise Shills?

CLIA - Cruise Line International Association - Cruise Shill The week started with the travel site Tnooz picking up our article Cruise Crime and the Indifference of Travel Writers and asking Are Travel Writers Shills For The Cruise Lines? 

A number of prominent travel writers, including Pauline Frommer of the Frommer Travel fame, left comments.  Ms. Frommer was right on point in discussing the provisions of the new cruise safety law, which will be signed by President Obama next week.  And she was gracious in thanking the International Cruise Victims for pushing the new cruise law forward over intense opposition by the cruise industry and its shill organization, the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA).  Other travel writers joined the debate, including a few cruise travel writers who could not help taking a cheap shot against our blog.

Royal Caribbean Norovirus

Readers of Cruise Law News continue to comment that Royal Caribbean is struggling with norovirus aboard its cruise ships.  There are 50 comments to our article Norovirus On Royal Caribbean’s Jewel Of The Seas?  The last comment today reports that the Celebrity Constellation continues to have Cruise Ship Norovirus - Passenger Sicknessnorovirus on board, following the usual ill-fated last minute "additional sanitizing."

Stay tuned.  You will continue to hear stories of sick passengers – followed by "enhanced cleaning" – and then more sick passengers.  When will this cruise line release the test results of the potable water on its ships?  Tired of this cruise line always blaming passengers for not washing their hands?  Consider reading Cruise Ship Norovirus – Something in the Water?   

Murder on NCL’s Jade? 

Several sources are reporting that a passenger was murdered aboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s Jade cruise ship earlier this week.

Canadian sociologist and cruise crime expert Dr. Ross Klein and the ever gossipy Cruise Critic community published passenger accounts that a passenger murdered his wife on the Jade.   

Did it happen?  I don’t know.  I hope not.  But NCL will never say.

NCL Jade - Norwegian Cruise Ship JadeThis is one of the classic problems with the cruise lines.  They are terrified of bad press so they sweep the bad news under the rug.  But when the truth comes out, they look like they are hiding the ball.  The new cruise law will address this issue.  Cruise lines will be required to report crimes at sea and also provide a link on their web sites to the crime data. 

When the new cruise law takes effect, the public can cut through the gossip and finally take an an accurate account of cruise ship crime.   

 

Were you aboard the NCL Jade?  Do you have information to share about the alleged murder? 

Were you aboard the Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Seas or the Celebrity Constellation?  How is the cruise line handling the latest bouts of norovirus? 

If you have some information to wish to share, please leave a comment below.

OK time to brag a bit.  Today my blog was added to Avvo’s "Top Legal Blogs."  Cruise Law News is currently the 55th most popular law blog in the United States.  The blog has been the highest climbing law blog this year.  

For bloggers like me, that’s exciting news.  Blogs are vehicles for education and ultimately social and political change.  The higher ranked a blog becomes, the greater the opportunity for it to be read.

Cruise Law News was launched just over 9 months ago.  So in the blog world, it’s still a baby.  My  readers and subscribers have increased every month.  It is by far the the highest ranked blog, or Cruise Law News - Maritime Law Blog website for that matter, which covers maritime law.  I expect it to become a top 25 law blog by the end of the year.

My blog has been instrumental in educating the public about what really happens during cruises.  We publish the type of information that the cruise lines don’t want you to know about. 

There are a number of blogs published by the cruise lines.  Royal Caribbean’s president, Adam Goldstein, has a pretty popular blog called Why Not?  But it is 90% marketing PR.  Not surprisingly, it’s also less popular than Cruise Law News.  Many more readers are coming to this blog to read articles about Royal Caribbean than to the cruise president’s own site.    

An integral part of the blog are comments from passengers and crew members who are on the cruise ships.  For example, read the incredible comments about novovirus on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, and a crew member lost overboard from the Oasis of the Seas.      

You won’t find this type of information on any of the official cruise line blogs or websites. 

If you want happy talk and gobbledygook, subscribe to the "Why Not" blog.  But if you’re interested in the inside word on what’s really happening in the cruise industry – keep reading Cruise Law News.

 

Don’t forget to subscribe by typing your email address in the box at the bottom left.  Or sign up for a RSS feed.  Thanks for your support!

For those of you who read Cruise Law News know that I report regularly on the numerous norovirus cases which plague the cruise industry.  I am rather fascinated by the cruise lines’ PR departments which always blame norovirus outbreaks on the passengers for bringing the virus aboard, rather than contaminated food and water which infect the passengers.

Norovirus - Cruise Ship - Contaminated Water - Pig - VeraAccording to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whereas "person to person" transmission of norovirus has been documented, "norwalk gastroenteritis is transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated water and foods."  The FDA indicates that contaminated water is one of the most likely causes of norovirus.  The FDA reports that "water is the most common source of outbreaks and may include water from municipal supplies, well, recreational lakes, swimming pools, and water stored aboard cruise ships.

The question I have always wondered is how does the water become infected with norovirus?

So I was rather exciting after receiving an email yesterday from a kindred spirit from Britain, Mr. Pat Gardiner, who combines a maritime background with a keen interest in zoonotic disease.  Mr. Gardiner referred me to a recent study from Swedish researchers finding a direct correlation between pig effluent and water sources contaminated with norovirus.  Mr. Gardiner agreed to be a guest blogger, and for that my little blog is richer. 

Be sure to read Mr. Gardiner’s rather fascinating background at the end of the article.    

Norovirus – Something in the Water – By Pat Gardiner:  

The constant outbreaks of Norovirus on cruise ships are bringing a powerful industry to its knees, quite aside from the distress and risk to the passengers.  Yet, new evidence yesterday suggests the problem may be ashore and entering the ship with the water supply.

Eureka moments do not come from thin air.  They come from relevant, sometimes diverse experience in the right place at the right time.  Few people can have had the delights of a career in Britain’s most successful seaports, retiring early to raise livestock in an area plagued by constant animal epidemics.

The writer has had a ten-year battle with the British authorities over the appalling handling of Pig - Water - Cruise Ship Norovirusanimal disease spreading to the human population.  Years ago, he noticed an apparent link between the locations of severe animal disease and the schedules of cruise ships. The ships were calling at ports worldwide in areas where pig disease was rife.

Norovirus is a disease shared between humans and pigs.

Few passengers, once on board, give a thought to the source of the water they use to wash and brush their teeth.  Every cruise ship fills with water, before, during and after every voyage at pretty well every port of call. That water comes from the public supply.

So a ship leaving the UK for a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords would take water from the same country as the passengers embarking – Harwich for example. Vessels calling at Harwich were some of the first to encounter norovirus at the same time as the pigs in the area were getting ill. Now, even ferries from the Scottish mainland to the Scottish islands are becoming infected.

For years, the mechanism by which the norovirus reached the ship baffled the writer.

Smuggling of live pigs and bacon sandwiches on board seemed unlikely for passengers bent on a holiday of glamour and luxury.

Then yesterday the ultra clean Swedes provided the missing link. They found norovirus in the sludge intrinsic to their public water system.

Pat Gardiner - Pigs - Pathogens - Water - Cruise ShipsWe know that pig effluent can contaminate the surface water and the water supply. Incidents are frequent despite the best efforts of everyone. We know that pigs can carry norovirus.  

We also know that, like everyone else, the Swedes have had outbreaks of various pig diseases.

If the water authority do not look for norovirus or do not detect it, the pathogen will be pumped straight into the cruise ship: directly into the ideal environment for spread to a usually elderly population in an enclosed area.

Any vessel calling at, or sailing via, ports in pig farming country is at risk.

It would be grand to think that the writer has repaid the debt of a satisfying career in shipping by helping to solve one of the most damaging problems imaginable, both to shipping and their customers.

Testing the water is cheap and easy, and the ship owners can do it tomorrow.

 

About Pat Gardiner:

Mr. Gardiner was too modest to provide me with a biography, but I managed to piece together his background from newspapers and information on line. 

Mr Gardiner started out in the maritime shipping business in the 1960’s, working for Blue Star Line in Britain.  He rose to the top of the ship and line agencies in Britain’s premier port of Felixstowe.  Pat Gardiner - Maritime Shipping He has enjoyed a long standing relationship with the U.S., which includes working with what is now the U.S. Sealift Command. He managed his own companies (which acted as agent for U.S. Line among others).  He is a well known figure in the U.K. port and shipping business, and also wrote for newspapers about the shipping and port business.  He twice sold his group of successful shipping and freight businesses, and retired from the maritime freight business while he was still in his forties.   

After his retirement, Mr. Gardiner developed an interest in animal health and zoonotic disease.  In the process, he developed an appropriate distrust of the U.K. veterinary services.

He is the author of two blogs – Animal-Epidemics and  Go Self Sufficient.

Mr. Gardiner is a pancreatic cancer survivor.  He also survived a unsuccessful campaign to ruin his reputation by members of the pig farming and vet industries. 

In 2005, Mr. Gardiner drove across the U.S. in 2005 with his wife.  They are pictured above at my favorite vacation destination, a U.S. national park (Grand Canyon).  Mr. Gardiner can be reached at: patgardiner@btinternet.com 

 

Additional information:

The "Gardiner Hypothesis:"  Mutated Circovirus in pigs, the consequences of being treated with heavy use of antibiotics, is followed by MRSA in pigs and then MRSA and C.Diff epidemics take off in humans. A circovirus mutation in Britain in 1999 was covered up. The resulting epidemics spread first around the UK, then to Canada and from there, most recently, to the United States.

Learn a new word:

"Zoonotic diseases" – diseases caused by infectious agents that can be transmitted between, or are shared by, animals and humans.

Read Other Cruise Law News Blogs About Cruise Ship Norovirus:

Norovirus On Royal Caribbean’s Jewel Of The Seas?   

Centers for Disease Control: "Shut Mercury Cruise Ship Down!"

"Cruise Ship Sickness" – Is Norovirus In The Food and Water?

U.S. to Block Arrival of Queen Victoria After Norovirus Outbreak?

Cruise Ship Norovirus – Clean the Damn Toilets!

Best in Law Blogs: 

Mr. Gardiner’s article won a top 10 award for Best in Law Blogs today as part of Lexblog’s 3,000 blogs.

Thanks Pat!  

 

 Credits:

Photographs          Pat Gardiner

Diagram            Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, Virginia Tech