Homeland Security Committee Approves Cruise Ship Bill

By Daniel Hawn

Published on October 29, 2007

As part of the law, the Department of Homeland Security must be notified of any incident resulting in death, serious injury, sexual assault, or a missing passenger. The law also requires cruise lines to report significant threats to the safety of cruise ships, passengers, port facilities, or anyone in port areas.

Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut, called the notification requirement an important first step in the effort to improve passenger safety and increase the accuracy of cruise ship crime statistics.

Last month, Rep. Doris Matsui, D-California, introduced a resolution to the House of Representatives designed to draw attention to the increase in crime aboard cruise liners. The resolution, entitled Protect Americans from Crimes on Cruise Ships, is also intended to highlight the absence of federal oversight of the cruise industry. Matsui said she learned of gross inaccuracies in cruise ship crime statistics when she chaired congressional hearings on cruise liner safety.

Matsui's resolution noted that cruise ships lack police officers as well as established protocol for dealing with passenger threats and injuries. It also said that consumers should be able to access information on cruise ship risks.

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