If anyone doubts the safety of cruise ships, consider this: Not one passenger death due to a cruise ship accident has been reported during the last 10 years, according to a U.S. Coast Guard study released last month.
Last year alone, some 4.5 million passengers cruised out of U.S. ports. Yet, in spite of the cruise industry’s sterling record, ships are not immune from disasters.
After four cruise ship mishaps between last June 10 and July 22, which resulted in seven injuries aboard one of the ships, the Coast Guard assigned a task force to examine the safety records of foreign-flagged ships operating out of U.S. ports. Less than two percent of cruise ships are U.S. flagged.
“Although there was no apparent link between the incidents, the Coast Guard deemed it prudent to conduct a safety review to assess the myriad factors that impact the overall safety of cruise ships operating from U.S. ports,” the Coast Guard said in its 1 1/2-inch-thick document “Report of the Cruise Ship Safety Review Task Force.”
The U.S. Coast Guard administers a program that monitors the safety of all passenger vessels that sail from U.S. ports, a process that involves quarterly inspections.
The task force found the cruise ship industry “a safe industry,” and said that “current initiatives should further improve its safety record.”
“Passenger vessels operating from U.S. ports are among the safest modes of transportation available,” Vice Adm. Gene Henn, Coast Guard vice commandant, told a Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention in Miami.
The incidents that spurred the study involved the following ships:
– Dolphin/Majesty Cruise Lines’ Royal Majesty, which ran aground off Massachusetts near Nantucket Island, 17 miles off course. The Coast Guard reported that the ship was on autopilot, using only one source for navigational information, which was faulty. The ship should have used its other sources of navigational data, the Coast Guard said.
– Carnival Cruise’s Celebration, which sustained an engine room electrical fire in a circuit breaker. The fire left the ship adrift off the Bahamas with only emergency power for nearly two days. Besides the inconveniences of no sanitary system, air-conditioning and hot water, passengers also complained about inadequate emergency drills and language barriers between the crew and passengers.
– Princess Cruises’ Star Princess, which ran aground north of Juneau, Alaska. An error in navigation caused the ship to hit Poundstone Rock, which caused extensive hull damage. Poor communication among the State of Alaska pilot and bridge-watch officers contributed to the incident, the Coast Guard said.
– Currently bankrupt Regency Cruises’ Regent Star, which experienced an engine room fire started by a ruptured fuel line when the ship was about 65 miles southwest of Valdez, Alaska. The fire spread into a dining room above the engine room. Passengers were successfully evacuated to the cruise ship Rotterdam. Seven crew members sustained minor injuries. The Coast Guard reported the need for emergency drills, a written firefighting plan and better communications between crew and passengers.
Complete reports on the ship mishaps are still pending. While noting that cruise ships are safe, the Coast Guard said that its review of the industry shows that some cruise lines must improve. The task force report also noted that 80 percent of the incidents at sea are caused by human, not mechanical, factors.
The Coast Guard is pushing a Prevention Through People program, an initiative that will be used by the International Maritime Organization, cruise ship trade organizations and cruise companies.
The Prevention Through People program stresses the need for more specialized training for passenger ship crews, new regulations on cruise ship company responsibilities and mandatory standards of competence for all masters and officers on navigational watch.
Overall, 31 recommendations have been made to further improve cruise ship safety. Noteworthy is one that would have Coast Guard inspectors observe at least one passenger emergency drill on each ship during annual inspections. The Coast Guard noted that it “has significantly improved its marine inspector training by establishing a Marine Safety Office in Miami and has graduated 181 inspectors from a new, intensive Passenger Vessel Control Verification course.”
During the last five years, an average of 113 ships a year cruised out of U.S. ports. In the last 10 years, 225 different foreign flag cruise ships have visited the U.S.
Cruising is big business and cruise lines know they can’t afford a disaster at sea. Through 1998, 21 new ships are scheduled to join the ever-growing cruise fleet. At some $300 million a ship, cruise lines have tremendous investments at stake.
As the report points out, passengers do suffer mishaps at sea, mainly resulting from “slips, trips or falls.”
In discussing passenger and crew casualties, the Coast Guard also reported on disease outbreaks aboard cruise ships. In 1994, for example, there were five major outbreaks of disease, mainly gastrointestinal ailments. Shipboard health problems are monitored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through its Vessel Sanitation Program. CDC inspectors regularly monitor water, food preparation and holding, potential contamination of food and general cleanliness, storage and repair. A recent summary of inspections shows that of 69 ships that regularly sail from U.S. ports, only one failed to pass its most recent review. Of an additional nine ships inspected this year, one failed.
Cruise lines must pay attention to safety and health issues. According to a 1993 study by Price Waterhouse, sponsored by the International Council of Cruise Lines, the cruise industry creates more than 450,000 jobs for U.S. citizens, generates a payroll in excess of $6.3 billion and contributes $6.3 billion in tax revenue.
If there’s one thing that cruise industry executives understand, it’s profit and loss statements. The cruise lines need to do everything possible to keep their passengers safe, healthy and, especially, happy.
