A reporter for the Marketplace interviewed me yesterday regarding the state of the cruise industry.
I explained that compared to a year or two ago, the general perception of cruise lines is up. More than 23,000,000 passengers will cruise this year. Bigger and bigger cruise ships are being constructed. Travel agents seem more energized than
I have received a dozen inquiries in the last few days about the chances of contracting Ebola during a cruise. My thought is that the chance is slim that anyone is going to go on a cruise and return home infected with the virus. But there are some issues that concern me.
For U.S. Travelers,
A reader of Cruise Law News (CLN) brought an excellent opinion piece from the New York Times regarding the shipping industry’s use of "flags of convenience" to my attention. Entitled "Flying the Flag, Fleeing the State" and written by Rose George, the article explains how unscrupulous ship owners evade responsibility for environmental damage, exploitative labor and unsafe work conditions, and criminal
One of the little know facts about the cruise industry is that it pays virtually no U.S. taxes.
The cruise lines take advantage of an obscure provision in the U.S. tax code which permits shipping companies to evade taxes by incorporating overseas and flying the flags of foreign countries. That’s why Carnival is incorporated in
The LA Times has an interesting article this morning revealing how drilling companies skirt U.S. laws by registering their oil rigs in countries like the Marshall Islands, described by the Times as a "tiny, impoverished nation in the Pacific Ocean."
Drilling rigs are considered to be "vessels" under maritime law. This permits their owners and operators to register them wherever
Earlier this month, I announced that I will be awarding the "Worst Cruise Line in the World" award to the cruise line demonstrating the worst in gross negligence and indifference towards passenger and crew member health and safety. This will be a monthly award.
Over the past month, we have received many e-mails nominating a variety of cruise lines and a
Over the course of 26 years practicing maritime law, I have seen some remarkably bad conduct by cruise lines. Covering up crimes, abandoning injured passengers in foreign ports, or quickly concluding that "missing passengers" committed "suicide" are just a few examples. I have kept a list of what I consider the most outrageous moments in cruise line history.