Fort Lauderdale Maritime & Personal Injury Lawyer

Cruise Ship Companies Getting Strict About Safety Drill After Costa Concordia Disaster

Brett Rivkind — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:14:39 GMT

Cruise ships are finally showing improvements in their safety measures since the Costa Concordia disaster, as can be seen in an article published earlier today in USA today titled “Elderly cruiser kicked off Seabourn ship for skipping drill.”

An 84-year- old woman, along with her 90-year-old husband, was kicked off the Seabourn Sojourn this week. The woman refused to attend the mandatory safety drill that begins at the start of each cruise. According to the article, this was the second leg of a three-part trip for the couple, who had already attended a safety drill on the earlier part of the trip. The husband attended the drill but the wife claimed she was not feeling well.

This was not the first incident reflecting stricter cruise ship policies. At the end of January, Holland America kicked a passenger off its ship for the same reason. The stricter policies follow the Costa Concordia disaster. On that ship, there were almost 700 passengers who had not attended a safety drill practice. Thirty two deaths occurred as result of the capsizing of the cruise ship.

As stated in the USA today article , “under rules established by the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, passenger ships must hold passenger safety drills within 24 hours of embarkation. After the accident, major cruise lines around the world announced they always will hold safety drills immediately after embarkation before ships set sail.” Before the Costa Concordia, some companies waited until after the ship already starting the cruise, as was the case with Costa cruises and the Concordia.

Our Miami based maritime lawyers assist crew and passengers who have been harmed at sea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Cruise Ship Law News Update

Brett Rivkind — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:17:00 GMT

Some recently interesting developments in the maritime law field.

It was reported that there was a large settlement reached in the case involving a Philadelphia duck boat that was involved in a collision in the Delaware River. The collision caused the boat to sink in the year 2010, killing two Hungarian students who drowned when the amphibious watercraft sank after being struck by a 250-foot barge that was being pushed by a tugboat. The case was pending in a federal court where the owners of the vessels were seeking to take advantage of an outdated and harsh maritime law called Limitation of Liability. The owners of the vessels were seeking to limit their exposure to the value of the vessels after the collision, which was reported to be approximately $1.8 million. However, the settlement is reported to have been $17 million.

The Limitation of Liability law was enacted more than 150 years ago, and remains part of the maritime law of the United States. This federal statute simply has no place in today’s maritime world. The Limitation of Liability Act (LOLA) was brought into focus after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion incident that killed nine maritime workers. This ancient and archaic law allows the vessels to limit their liability to the post-voyage value of their vessel. Transocean was relying on LOLA to limits its liability for the Deepwater disaster to $27 million.

In the case involving the duck boat, the amphibious vessel was plowed over by a 250-foot barge being pushed by a tugboat in Philadelphia, and the owners were trying to limit their liability to $1.7 million.

The application of the Limitation of Liability Act results in harsh consequences, and hopefully our Congress will recognize this at some point in time.

In other news, a lawsuit was filed in New York on behalf of the families of Hungarian crewmembers who had died aboard the Costa Concordia. A $200 million lawsuit was filed in a New York federal court on behalf of four Hungarian musicians and dancers. The lawsuit was filed on May 3^rd, and states that violinist Sandor Feher drowned after he tried to help children put on life jackets. He was one of the 32 people reported to have died when the ship capsized off the coast of Italy.

The lawsuit in New York names Carnival Corporation as one of the defendants in the case. Much has been reported about the Costa Concordia disaster, and who the proper defendants will be in this lawsuit. The Costa Concordia was owned and operated by Costa Cruises, an Italian corporation. Carnival Corporation is the parent company of Costa Cruises. However, the parent company is typically not liable for the actions of its subsidiary unless one can prove that the corporations were not operated as separate entities, and that the parent company was so intertwined with the operations of the subsidiary company that it should be treated as one and the same. This appears unlikely to be the case with Carnival Corporation and Costa Cruises. Is there an independent basis for liability against Carnival Corporation? Some lawsuits have been filed, already claiming Carnival Corporation has independent liability for failure to adopt and implement appropriate policies and procedures aboard the cruise ships in their fleet, including within the fleet of their subsidiaries. Again, whether this is a viable legal theory against Carnival Corporation remains to be seen.

In addition, many cases against Costa Concordia face the passenger ticket provision requiring all lawsuits to be filed in Italy. These forum selection clauses in passenger contracts are routinely enforced. In addition, there are defenses to the lawsuit being pursued in the United States, including forum non-conveniens, claiming that Italy is the appropriate forum because that is where the incident occurred, the investigations, and all of the material witnesses are located.

A previous lawsuit was filed in Miami seeking more than $500 million in damages on behalf of dozens of passengers from the Costa Concordia. It’s interesting to note that the lawsuit that was filed in Miami does not appear to have progressed very far in the court at this time. At last check, the lawsuit was not responded to by the defendants. It is not clear whether lawsuit was actually served on the defendants or simply filed. However, no motion or other responses to the complaint were found when checking the index to the court file.

In other cruise ship news, a lawsuit was filed against Princess Cruise Lines based on the story we previously reported on, where a Princess cruise ship sailed by a disabled Panamanian fishing boat and failed to provide any assistance to the boaters who were in distress. Two fishermen died. The sole survivor who watched the Star Princess plow on without providing any assistance has filed a lawsuit against Princess, alleging that Princess was negligent and/or reckless in failing to provide assistance to the three boaters who were in distress. One of the boaters, age 16, died as the Star Princess sailed away, hours after the Star Princess could have provided assistance. Another boater lingered on and suffered for another five days before dying. The survivor, Adrian Vasquez, 18-years-old, suffered not only the physical ailments and torture of the remaining days he was clinging to his own life, watching a large cruise ship sail by without providing assistance, but also had to endure watching his friends suffering and dying in front of his eyes.

In another case that was filed in Houston against Carnival Cruise Line, a passenger is reported to have bled to death onboard a Carnival cruise ship after cutting herself on a piece of glass that severed an artery. The family has filed a wrongful death action against the cruise line, alleging that the cruise ship personnel unduly delayed appropriate medical care and attention, causing the death.

One must know when going onboard a cruise ship that the cruise ship medical personnel may not be able to appropriately respond to an emergency. Although the cruise ship companies have stated that they are following emergency standards and guidelines of the American College of Emergency Physicians, my office handles cases regarding the failure of a passenger to receive appropriate medical care and attention, and many times the medical personnel are not competent to follow these standards. We are currently representing a family who had their infant onboard a cruise ship who became severely ill, and did not receive appropriate medical care and attention onboard the ship. As a result, the infant died in front of her parents’ eyes. The lawsuit against the cruise ship company alleges that the doctors were incompetent to provide the necessary medical care and treatment to the infant. The parents believed the doctors, and relied on the representations that the doctors were in fact qualified to provide the necessary medical care and treatment.

This is not an uncommon experience, that is, hearing about a passenger who did not receive appropriate emergency medical care and attention onboard a cruise ship. One must be aware of this potential problem. If one has any medical issues that may present a problem during a cruise that could require any type of specialized medical care and treatment, one should avoid going on a cruise. One should inquire within the cruise line company as to the qualifications of the medical personnel that will be onboard the ship. Also keep in mind that the cruise ship medical personnel onboard ships do have access to shore side medical personnel to provide guidance and advice when treating an emergency medical care situation. However, the medical personnel do not always promptly take advantage of this service. If one is in need of emergency medical care and treatment, they should insist that contact be immediately made to the shore side medical personnel so that emergency medical services can immediately get involved in providing assisting for adequately diagnosing and treating the condition.

Finally, it was reported that French survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster received a settlement from Costa Cruises. It was reported that the owner of the Costa Concordia has paid more than 2 million Euros to the French survivors in a settlement that was reached, as announced by their lawyer. The amount reported is the equivalent of $11,700.00 U.S. dollars each to 235 survivors. As we reported, 32 people are reported to have been killed when the Costa Concordia capsized on January 13, 2012. The recent settlement agreed to by the 235 remaining French survivors was paid on May 4^th according to reports. In the meantime, the criminal prosecution in Italy is still going forward, and includes the captain and three executives.

Our Miami maritime law firm will continue to report on developments in the cruise ship and maritime industry. Our maritime lawyers here in Miami, Florida continue to act as safety advocates for all those harmed at sea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Cruise Ship Industry Continues to Thrive

Brett Rivkind — Fri, 11 May 2012 14:08:08 GMT

Despite the recent disasters involving cruise ships such as the tragic Costa Concordia incident, and memories of the Titanic coming back with the 100 year anniversary of the sinking, as well as reports of sexual predators on cruise ships, fires, and disappearances, the cruise ship industry sails on.

On April 27, MARAD, which is the Maritime Administration, reported its North American Cruise statistics for 2011. “There were 10.9 million passengers with 4,222 cruises, with a total of 71.8 million passenger nights. This was an increase of 2.8% over 2010.” More interesting cruise ship statistics can be accessed by to the website link provided.

In addition, USA today published an interesting article earlier yesterday afternoon titled “Cruise boss: Bookings, pricing on the rise.” According to the article, “strong demand for voyages across much of the globe is boosting bookings and driving up pricing.” It states that almost every destination is dealing with record demand.

Despite the serious problems facing the industry, the cruise ship companies seem to be doing very well. It is too bad they don’t want to let go of any of their precious profit to adequately compensate family members who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of the cruise ship company. The cruise ship companies continue to use the death on the high seas act to deny family members just and fair compensation for loss of a love one due to the negligence of a cruise line. In addition, the cruise ship companies continue to assert defenses to liability, and limitations on the rights of people to sue them, that are put into passenger tickets. The passenger ticket is nothing but a contract of adhesion. Take it or leave it agreements with a bunch of disclaimers and limitations of liability. The passenger ticket is a great shield against the sword of passengers trying to receive compensation for loss caused by the negligence of the cruise ship company.

Costa is currently boasting about newer and bigger ships, and how they are back on track regarding bookings. In the meantime there are still unaccounted for bodies from the Costa Concordia disaster and many family members who lost loved ones who were killed in the disaster. These family members are facing the many legal hurdles one must navigate in a claim against a cruise ship company.

The lawyers at the Miami based maritime firm of Rivkind and Margulies continue to act as safety advocates for those harmed at sea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Are Terrorist Attacks Another Fear for Passengers of Cruise Ships?

Brett Rivkind — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:05:57 GMT

CNN has reported a very disturbing story which revealed that investigators had obtained more than 100 al Qaeda documents outlining plots for the terrorist group. Among their plans, seizing cruise ships and killing passengers! The investigative journalist who reported on the documents is named Yassin Musharbash, a reporter with a German newspaper Die Zeit. According to this journalist, the writer of the document “says that we could hijack a passenger ship and use it to pressurize the public.”

This has been interpreted to mean that the terrorists would then start executing passengers on the cruise ship until their demands to release prisoners were met.

The terrorist plan is also reported to have included dressing up passengers in orange jumpsuits, to make them look like al Qaeda prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, and to then videotape their execution.

I previously testified in Congress during Congressional Hearings addressing security and safety aboard passenger cruise ships. The Congressmen at the hearing were very concerned about what security measures the cruise ship had in effect to deal not only with shipboard criminal activity that was being investigated, but also inquiries were made regarding addressing potential terrorist attacks. At the hearing, the representatives from cruise line industry indicated that they had well established security measures in effect to address potential terrorist attacks, but requested that they not be required to divulge those measures during a public hearing. This request was granted. Accordingly, I was not privy to any revelation by the cruise line as to the specific security measures in effect to deal with a potential terrorist attack.

It is apparent that a terrorist attack on a cruise ship is very much a concern, and has been recognized by Homeland Security and the cruise ship industry to be a real concern that must be guarded against. Exactly what measures are in effect to deal with a potential terrorist attack are unknown. However, as the cruise ships become known as mega cruise ships, with thousands of passengers onboard the cruise ship, they become a more attractive target of a terrorist group such as al Qaeda.

We have been reading a lot about the risk of cruising, including the fact that there are criminal acts occurring onboard cruise ships, including sexual assaults and rapes, as well as people going overboard and disappearing on cruise ships. We also read a lot about the norovirus, which seems to attack the cruise ships on a somewhat frequent occurrence. The public is also been focusing on the recent Costa Concordia disaster, and the concerns arising from the disaster, including whether thousands of passengers and crews can be safely evacuated from a cruise ship during an emergency.

Again, cruise ships are touted as being extremely safe for vacations and travel. Although I’m a safety advocate for passengers and crewmembers who are harmed at sea, and have been handling maritime, personal injury and wrongful death claims for almost 30 years, I too feel that a vacation on a cruise ship is a wonderful way to spend a vacation. We must trust that our Homeland Security, and the cruise ship industry, have stepped up to the plate and made sure that there are appropriate safety measures in effect to address potential terrorist attacks of a cruise ship.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Whistleblower Captain Receives $250,000.00 for Wrongful Termination

Brett Rivkind — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:21:04 GMT

The United States Department of Labor announced a settlement agreement with St. James Stevedoring Partners LLC New Orleans to pay a river barge captain $250,000.00 after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that the employer illegally terminated the captain for making safety complaints. The actions of the employer were found to be a violation of what is called the Seaman’s Protection Act.

OSHA had a whistleblower investigator assigned to the case. The investigator found that the St. James Stevedoring company fired the captain because he had complained to the United States Coast Guard about an inoperable starboard vessel engine. The captain, according to applicable regulations, was mandated to report lost engines to the Coast Guard. The failure to do so would have jeopardized his license.

The captain was then suspended by the company and told he was not permitted to report anomalies to the Coast Guard unless the company gave him permission. He was put on probation pending the decision regarding his termination. The captain then was involved in an identical second incident, where he advised the company and also contacted the Coast Guard. At this point his employer terminated him with the allegation of poor performance. OSHA determined that the employer violated the Seaman’s Protection Act. This act protects a seaman from such actions when a complaint is made to the United States Coast Guard.

The parties then reached a settlement agreement of $245,000.00. Of interest is that this whistleblowing law was passed into law in October of 2010, and this is the most significant reported payment made pursuant to this law since OSHA assumed jurisdiction to enforce the law.

A whistleblowing statute like this is essential, as stated by OSHA’s regional administrator in Dallas, John M. Hermanson. As he stated: “Employees must feel free to exercise their rights under the law without fear of termination or retaliation by their employers.”

The whistleblower provisions of the Seaman’s Protection Act are enforced by OSHA. If a seaman feels they have been retaliated against for engaging in conduct protected by the statute, he or she can file a complaint with the secretary of labor which triggers an investigation by OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Also, more information regarding whistleblower rights can be found online at The Whistleblower's Protection Program.

Our Miami based maritime law firm assists crewmembers, as well as passengers, who have had their legal rights violated by a boat operator, cruise ship operator, or employer.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Parents Should Be Aware That Child Sexual Predators Can Be Aboard a Cruise Ship

Brett Rivkind — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:21:58 GMT

I’ve been handling maritime cases, a substantial number of which involve incidents aboard passenger cruise ships, for approximately thirty years. Over time, I myself became shocked at the number of criminal activities that occur onboard a cruise ship, including sexual assaults and rapes.

More alarming, over the years, I’ve seen way too many incidents involving minor children aboard a cruise ship being sexually assaulted or molested. The incidents have involved both where the perpetrator was a passenger on the ship, as well a situation where the predator was a crewmember.

Most recently, a former child supervisor that worked for Cunard Cruise Lines admitted to police that he sexually abused children onboard the cruise ships he worked on.

Paul Trotter was arrested some months ago for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor child onboard a Cunard passenger cruise ship. Of course, this is particularly alarming cruise ship news because this gentleman was assigned the job of a child supervisor aboard the Cunard cruise ship. The question becomes how many other minor children did this sick individual that was working onboard the cruise ship molest?

It has been reported that this sexual predator has admitted to sexual abuse of no less 13 children over a four year period of time. The newspaper in London reported: “A former Cunard Cruise ship worker has admitted carrying out sex attacks on 13 boys while working as a supervisor for a children’s activity area.”

Cunard remains part of the Carnival Corporation cruise line empire. Remember that Carnival also is the owner of Costa Cruise Lines, the operators of the Costa Concordia which nearly sank after striking rocks close to shore off the coast of a small island in Italy.

This latest cruise ship news regarding sexual assaults onboard a cruise ship must be brought to the attention of the public so that parents are aware of the potential dangers when taking a family cruise. Most parents I have spoken to over the years are shocked to hear that any type of activity like this can happen onboard a cruise ship. When they go onboard a cruise ship with their family they let their guard down, and let their children freely roam around the cruise ship because they do not believe there are any potential dangers lurking onboard the cruise ship.

Since the cruise ship is a confined environment, one would expect that an adequate police force, with an adequate presence, will deter and prevent criminal activity from occurring. However, as we have reported, and as has been discussed a lot in the news, the number of criminal acts that have occurred onboard cruise ships is greater than one ever expected or knew. New laws have passed to increase the reporting requirements on the part of the cruise ship companies with respect to crimes that happen onboard a cruise ship. The goal is to make the cruise lines report these incidents so that there are adequate statistics for the public to view. Only through adequate information will passengers know the true dangers that lurk onboard a cruise ship.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Australian Couple Discusses Titanic Experience on Costa Concordia

Brett Rivkind — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:24:15 GMT

PerthNow, from Australia, featured a story about two of our clients who were passengers onboard the Costa Concordia, Tracy Gunn and Rob Elcombe. Our clients from Perth decided to cruise aboard the Costa Concordia as a last ditch effort to save a troubled relationship. What they didn’t expect was that the cruise was going to turn into a re-enactment of the TITANTIC.

The article describes how my clients were among the last of the passengers to get off the vessel. Mr. Elcombe suffered a physical injury to his lower leg when he was crushed against the side of the boat as passengers were scrambling to lifeboats. He described the situation as utter chaos. Both of my clients are currently being treated for post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the Costa Concordia disaster.

In the article, my clients are quoted as stating that they are pushing hard for change in the industry to make sure that better safety procedures and training are implemented with respect to a mass evacuation of a cruise ship in case of a disaster. I have reported several times about the serious concerns with evacuation of all of the passengers and crewmembers on these new mega cruise ships in the case of a disaster. There appears to have been no real preparation for such a situation. The Costa Concordia shed light on this deficiency in the safety procedures, especially the fact that mandatory safety drills were not being conducted prior to the sailing of the cruise ship. Most of those onboard the Costa Concordia described the evacuation procedures as hap-hazard, and there was utter chaos in getting the passengers and crewmembers off the ship. We even had an unbelievable twist with the fact that the captain was one of the first to get off the ship instead of being the last. The deaths are being attributed to the lack of a faster and more efficient evacuation from the vessel once the vessel struck the reefs off the coast of Giglio, Italy.

As we know, the captain steered this massive cruise ship very close to land in effort to “salute” the islanders and please the mayor of the small town. According to the captain, this was a known procedure involving this cruise ship and the owners/operators were aware of this tradition of sailing close to land to salute the islanders. The cruise ship company initially came out and denied any liability and blamed the captain for not following the company’s procedures. The captain has fought back saying that the company was well aware of this maneuvering of this cruise ship close to land for “showboat” purposes.

The captain is currently under house arrest in Italy, and it will soon be determined whether he will go to trial for criminal charges, including manslaughter. The death toll has increased since the initial reports as more bodies have been located, with the current death toll being cited at 25.

This disaster has been the focus of documentaries, and much media attention. It has also resulted in Congressional Hearings that I have reported about addressing cruise ship safety. I am hopeful that all of the attention given to this disaster will result in some good, and that there will be positive changes in the laws regulating cruise ship companies. In the meantime, it is hopeful that the cruise ship companies will voluntarily study their safety procedures regarding evacuation of passengers, and make voluntary changes of these procedures so that s similar disaster does not occur again in the future.

These mega ships continue to ply the waters of the world with more than 6,000 passengers and crewmembers onboard. These mega ships have been described as floating cities and towns, floating hotels and casinos, serving alcoholic beverages and operating all types of entertainment rides and games onboard the ship. The potential for disaster in the event of a fire or sinking cannot be over-emphasized. Even though we all expect and hope for the best, we must plan for the worst. This is what safety is about. We must make sure that the cruise ship companies put safety ahead of profits.

I applaud my clients from Australia for speaking out and continuing to fight for positive changes in the industry to avoid another Costa Concordia disaster.

Our Miami based maritime law firm is assisting passengers and crewmembers involved in the Costa Concordia disaster. We handle all types of cases which fall in the area of maritime and admiralty law, involving personal injuries and wrongful deaths. These include incidents that occur onboard a cruise ship, or any type of seagoing watercraft, including recreational watercraft. Maritime law will most likely apply to any type of accident or event that occurs on a navigable waterway, and involves some type of seagoing watercraft. The maritime law governs claims by guests onboard a cruise ship or pleasure boat, and will also apply to crewmembers, longshoremen, oil workers, divers, and any other individuals working in the maritime field that are associated to some type of seagoing watercraft.

Maritime law can be complicated regarding jurisdictional issues and other laws specific to a maritime claim. Anyone who believes they may have a maritime law claim should consult an experienced maritime attorney for advice. Maritime law consists of its own body of judge made law, as well as various statutory laws.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

97-Yr-Old Cruise Ship Passenger Transported by U.S. Coast Guard for Immediate Medical Attention

Brett Rivkind — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:47:37 GMT

A 97-year-old woman fell on board the cruise ship the Celebrity Silhouette and suffered a head injury which necessitated emergency medical care and treatment. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and determined the woman required immediate medical attention. Accordingly, an 87-foot Coast Guard patrol boat, named the Sailfish, which has its homeport at Sandy Hook, N.J., was summoned and transferred the injured passenger to shore, where she was then transported by ambulance to a New York hospital.

The passenger cruise ship is owned by Celebrity Cruises. It is 1,033-feet long, and has a capacity to carry 2,886 passengers and 1,500 crewmembers.

The details of the reason for the fall were not available at this time.

The communication with the Coast Guard flight surgeon, who determined that the passenger needed emergency medical attention, shows that the medical staff on passenger cruise ships should consult with shoreside medical experts whenever there is a potential emergency situation. Although the cruise line disclaims any liability for any negligence on the part of the medical staff of the cruise ship, there is an obligation on the part of the medical staff to recognize a true emergency situation and take advantage of the shoreside services which will assist in making sure that a passenger receives appropriate medical care and treatment. Often times, the medical staff fails to make contact with the shoreside experts and therefore an injured passenger does not receive appropriate medical care and treatment. This can be a basis for liability on the part of the cruise ship company if they do not have the medical staff appropriately trained on the procedures for dealing with emergency situations.

The modern day mega cruise ships typically carry more than one doctor on board the ship, and the cruise ship companies are representing that they are following guidelines established by the Emergency Room Physicians Association. However, the ability for a cruise ship company to deal with true medical emergencies has been brought into question many times. It is critical that the cruise ship company be equipped for medical emergencies, and the medical staff trained on how to handle such. While the vessel is at sea, a passenger often times suffers an accident that requires emergency medical attention. Strokes on board a cruise ship are not uncommon. The medical staff must recognize a true emergency, and when to contact the shoreside medical experts. Most cruise ship companies have a shoreside medical department which is available for consultation. The United States Coast Guard, and other companies offer medical guidance to shipboard medical staff to help reach an appropriate diagnosis and appropriate treatment. This would include a decision whether a passenger should be evacuated from the ship instead of waiting until the vessel arrives in port.

Our Miami based maritime and admiralty law firm has handled many cases involving situations where the shipboard medical staff has failed to appropriately diagnosis and treat an emergency medical condition, including a failure to promptly evacuate a passenger who needed emergency specialized medical care and treatment.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Cruise Ship to Re-enact Titanic Voyage

Brett Rivkind — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:34:50 GMT

ABC News reported on a cruise ship which is tracing the famous Titanic voyage that ended with a crash into an iceberg and the sinking of the ship in 1912.

The cruise ship, the M/S Balmoral, is a luxury cruise ship operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. The ship left England on Sunday and was set to pick up passengers in France and Ireland before continuing the voyage to America. However, strong winds delayed the cruise ship from arriving in Ireland. The winds were reported as being 45 miles per hour, and there were extremely rough seas. This kept the cruise ship from docking until the early evening.

The interesting cruise involving the Balmoral has the exact same number of passengers that were onboard the Titanic 100 years ago, and actually has the passengers dressed in early 1900s-era costumes, and the cruise will offer some of the exact meals that were eaten by the passengers onboard the Titanic. There will also be memorial services for those who died on the Titanic.

Some of the passengers on this cruise have been reported to be actual descendents of some of the passengers who died on the Titanic in 1912.

The Balmoral is scheduled to reach New York in approximately 10 days.

The timing of this cruise is interesting in light of the recent Costa Concordia disaster. It is also an interesting concept in my opinion, to try and recreate a cruise that resulted in such a tragedy. Of course, the intent of the cruise is to be a memorial cruise for the Titanic victims.

I personally feel it would be somewhat of an eerie feeling to be on a cruise trying to trace the voyage of a vessel that ended up sinking. However, a passenger has defended the voyage. Passenger Carmel Bradburn, 55, who lives in Australia, described herself as "fanatical" about the Titanic and struck back at accusations that retracing the doomed voyage is in poor taste. "I don't think the cruise is morbid. It's like saying Gallipoli is morbid or commemorating the (Crimean) war," she said. "Remembering those who died is not morbid."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind

Carnival Cruise Line has its Passenger Cruise Ship Arrested in Texas

Brett Rivkind — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:17:00 GMT

Attempting to “triumph” in their quest to hold Miami based Carnival Corporation liable for the Costa Concordia disaster, lawyers in Texas have used a special maritime procedure available under the supplemental admiralty and maritime rules of the Federal court, to arrest and seize the passenger cruise ship the Triumph, which was visiting a Texas port. The complaint makes for interesting reading. It sets forth public information that the lawyers obtained from SEC filings by Carnival.

The lawyers have pled that the two (2) Defendants named in the action, Carnival plc, and Utopia Cruises, Inc., were the alter ego of each other. The reason these allegations were made was because the technical owner of the cruise ship, the Triumph, is Utopia Cruises, Inc. However, the real owner in fact is Carnival as Utopia was a corporation formed solely to hold paper ownership of the vessel, and is not really an active corporation at all. I would note that I’ve been handling maritime cases for thirty years, and Carnival has never argued that the technical owner of the ship is the correct Defendant and tried to escape liability on that basis. Carnival has always admitted to being the true owner/operator of the Carnival passenger cruise ships.

This particular lawsuit also alleges specific acts of negligence on the part of Carnival relating to the Costa Concordia. As has previously been discussed, the Costa Concordia was owned and operated by Costa Cruise Lines, which is an Italian corporation. Carnival does own Costa Cruise Lines. Costa is a subsidiary of Carnival. However, there are no allegations in this lawsuit that Costa Cruises and Carnival are the alter ego of each other. Instead, this particular lawsuit alleges specific acts of negligence on the part of Carnival relating to the Costa Concordia. The allegations focus on the development and enforcement of safety programs on all of the fleet of vessels under the Carnival umbrella, meaning any of the vessels owned by corporations that Carnival has purchased.

In the complaint there is a list of the portfolio of cruise ship companies that Carnival has purchased, and they include Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).

The specific acts of negligence against Carnival allege that Carnival is responsible for the safety programs, including training programs, involving the Costa Concordia. The lawsuit alleges that Carnival allowed “deplorable safety practices, poor training and lack of efficient evacuation procedures onboard the M/S Costa Concordia” to exist.

Whether the lawyers in this case will “triumph” in this case will depend on how the Federal District judge views the relationship of Carnival to the incident in question, and whether the Defendant moves to dismiss the case also on grounds of forum non conveniens. The primary Defendant in this case is clearly Costa as the owner and operator of the Costa Concordia, as well as the captain of the Costa Concordia. These Defendants are Italian, and the passenger tickets issued to all the passengers on the Costa Concordia identify Costa as the operator, and require lawsuits to be filed in Genoa, Italy. In addition, Carnival’s primary place of business is Miami, Florida.

In addition, the lawsuit makes reference to the applicability of the Death on the High Seas Act, which is a United States Federal statute governing deaths that occur on the high seas. This particular Federal legislation has been held to apply to incidents occurring in the territorial waters of a foreign country. The problem with the applicability of the Death on the High Seas Act is its harsh and archaic limitation on the amount of damages, limiting the survivors to a claim for their pecuniary losses only. Many times this amount is negligible. In other words, the amount of money the cruise ship company is responsible for is minimal compared to the harms and losses it has caused. There are attempts to amend the Death on the High Seas Act because of this harshness and unfairness. So far, the legislature has not amended the Death on the High Seas Act as the cruise ship industry has lobbied hard to prevent that. Even the BP oil spill disaster, which involved the Death on the High Seas Act, did not result in an amendment to the Death on the High Seas Act.

While this particular lawsuit in Texas alleges the Death on the High Seas Act, it also attempts to supplement the Death on the High Seas Act with Italian law. There is case law that states if the Death on the High Seas Act is applicable, it cannot be supplemented. One must either choose to pursue the case for a cause of action based on foreign law, which the Death on the High Seas Act will permit, but if the Death on the High Seas Act is applicable, the limitation on the amount of damages applies. This is a complicated issue of maritime law, one that we have previously faced. There are several reported decisions dealing with this issue out of the Southern District of Florida.

We will continue to keep an eye on this particular lawsuit and what the judge decides to do with the case. In the meantime, Carnival worked out a confidential agreement with the lawyers so that the vessel, which was full of passengers, could sail on its scheduled cruise.

My Miami based law firm is currently assisting passengers and crewmembers who are involved in the Costa Concordia incident, and we continue to be safety advocates for all those injured or killed at sea.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brett Rivkind