Royal Caribbean Treats Death of George Smith as a Non-Event

"Parochial, Jingoistic, false, and frivolous" are the kind words offered by Royal Caribbean to the Family of George Smith. In the style of Carnival's President's words at the Cruise Shipping convention in March, Royal Caribbean probably views all 60 people who have vanished from cruise ships since the year 2000 as Non-Events. Adding insult to tragedy is the type of corporate behavior that can only be viewed as irresponsible, uncaring, and unprofessional. Royal Caribbean uses the same tactics as militants who hide behind the civilian population. They hide behind the confusion of multiple jurisdictions and vague or non-existent enforcement of law on the open sea. This affront is exacerbated by the fact that the cruise lines have spent millions of dollars of their lobbying money and campaign donations to make sure they have little or no regulation or liability. They incorporate and flag their ships in countries like Liberia and Panama to further avoid responsibility.
Dead or missing customers are merely an inconvenience.

http://www.wnbc.com/news/9628943/detail.html
The Smith family's lawsuit accuses the cruise line of deliberately portraying the incident as an accident and contaminating the crime scene. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Miami, where Royal Caribbean is based, also alleged the company delayed reporting the incident to the FBI, deciding instead to report the case to Turkish authorities knowing they would be unable to conduct a prompt and thorough investigation.
Royal Caribbean called that argument "parochial and jingoistic," saying that the ship was in Turkish waters and there was no evidence that Turkish authorities failed to conduct a thorough investigation.
In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed Thursday, Royal Caribbean says the FBI has thanked the company for its help in the investigation into Smith's disappearance.

www.greenwichtime.com/news

"Despite the tragedy which plaintiffs have suffered, it is abundantly clear under the applicable law that the defendants are not legally responsible for either Mr. Smith's disappearance or the status of the FBI's investigation," Royal Caribbean said.[Someone please ask Royal Caribbean who is responsible. the FBI or Turkey. You can't have it both ways.]

The company also contends Smith's parents and sister do not have legal standing to assert their claims. [thanks to lobbying money and campaign donations well spent by all cruise lines.]