Hartford Courant Editor not impressed by CNBC Coverage of Cruise Ship Safety and Security
courant.com/travel
Jeanne Leblanc Coach Class
Travel For Real People
"There was an interesting piece on CNBC, one of those orchestrated debates that pass for news coverage these days, about cruise ship safety. It was interesting mainly for how thoroughly it missed the point...Strangely enough, the piece didn't mention the sinking last month of the Greek ship Sea Diamond, which, though smaller and older than most modern cruise ships, is at least closer to the kind that most American tourists might sail on. [Or that two people died or the fact that over 70 indviduals have died by falling overboard since the year 2000 and most cases go unsolved; no thanks to the incomplete security provided by the cruise lines]
Of course there wasn't any actual reporting on whether a cruise is more dangerous than say, a vacation at a resort on land. And clearly the script didn't call for any meaningful analysis of cruise ship safety, because the host sneered down the travel columnist guest who tried to explain that cruise ships are subject mainly to the laws of the country whose flag they carry. This makes U.S. regulations a little touchy, and an attempt to deal with the way foreign-flagged ships operate may require a closer look at the whole, complicated enchilada.
I think there probably is a good hard look coming at the way that ships carrying U.S. citizens from U.S. ports deal with crime and safety. And I think there ought to be. But it's not an issue that's going to be solved by oversimplification or exaggeration.
Jeanne Leblanc Coach Class
Travel For Real People
"There was an interesting piece on CNBC, one of those orchestrated debates that pass for news coverage these days, about cruise ship safety. It was interesting mainly for how thoroughly it missed the point...Strangely enough, the piece didn't mention the sinking last month of the Greek ship Sea Diamond, which, though smaller and older than most modern cruise ships, is at least closer to the kind that most American tourists might sail on. [Or that two people died or the fact that over 70 indviduals have died by falling overboard since the year 2000 and most cases go unsolved; no thanks to the incomplete security provided by the cruise lines]
Of course there wasn't any actual reporting on whether a cruise is more dangerous than say, a vacation at a resort on land. And clearly the script didn't call for any meaningful analysis of cruise ship safety, because the host sneered down the travel columnist guest who tried to explain that cruise ships are subject mainly to the laws of the country whose flag they carry. This makes U.S. regulations a little touchy, and an attempt to deal with the way foreign-flagged ships operate may require a closer look at the whole, complicated enchilada.
I think there probably is a good hard look coming at the way that ships carrying U.S. citizens from U.S. ports deal with crime and safety. And I think there ought to be. But it's not an issue that's going to be solved by oversimplification or exaggeration.
The only useful thoughts that emerged from the CNBC piece came from Kendall Carver of the International Cruise Victims Organization. He suggested that cruise ships could carry law enforcement officials, rather like sky marshals, who could independently investigate crimes on board.
That, at least, is something to think about."
Cruise ships are less safe than the cruise industry advertises. Refer to the Testimony By Dr. Ross Klein, Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland before Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation - in March, 2007:
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/Testimony.aspx?TID=601
See www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com for a possible solution.
posted by Timalantoo | 5/19/2007 03:45:00 PM
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