Another Couple Vanishes from Carnival Cruise Ship and Cruise Line is Quick to Blame Victims

A wonderful, happy couple vanished while we were on a Carnival Cruise in 2005 and they did not drink and were not suicidal. We will never know who murdered them because the cruise lines spent millions on lobbying Congress and donating to campaigns and prevent the placement of independent law and safety enforcement officers on their ships. Cruise customers must realize that they are not protected from crime while at sea.

107 INDIVIDUALS HAVE GONE OVERBOARD SINCE THE YEAR 2000. THAT'S AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT ONE PER MONTH, YET CONGRESS HAS YET TO IMPROVE SECURITY AND SAFETY RULES. http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

Many of the deaths were never investigated thoroughly and were never solved. Foul play should be considered for all incidents until they are fully investigated. The Cruise Lines continue to tell the media that this is a rare occurence. Nothing has improved since our cruise in 2005. Hundreds of sexual assults have been reported on cruise ships and there has not been one conviciont in the last 40 years.

For a possible solution go to http://www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com/ and http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/
We offer our support and prayers to all families as they struggle to resolve these tragedies.



Cruise Cabin of Missing Couple Locked From Inside
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28699051/

By Olsen Ebright
NBCLosAngeles.com
updated 12:15 p.m. ET, Sat., Jan. 17, 2009
FBI agents responded to a cruise ship Friday to search for a missing married couple, who may have gone overboard.The wife, 79, and husband, 90, have not been seen since Tuesday, said Laura Eimiller of the FBI. The Carnival Cruise line ship, Carnival Paradise, docked in Long Beach on Friday. The vessel holds 2,052 passengers and just returned from a four-day cruise to Catalina Island and Ensenada."The woman and her husband, whose identities are not being released at this time, were not accounted for when passengers disembarked in Long Beach," Eimiller said.Eimiller said investigators were aboard the ship conducting interviews and an evidence response team was sent to search for anything that might suggest possible foul play, but she could not confirm whether or not foul play was suspected. "Whether we're dealing with a homicide, a suicide situation or an accidental death,'' Eimiller said to ABC7, the FBI would not make any determination "until we have all the facts.'' "Their cabin door was double locked from the inside with a do not disturb sign on the handle and the door leading from the cabin to the balcony was unlocked. The couple's personal belongings remained inside the cabin," said a statement from Carnival.

5 Pirates Drown With Share of $3 Million Ransom a Day After Freeing Saudi Tanker

www.washingtonpost.com
By Mohamed Olad Hassan
Associated Press Sunday,
January 11, 2009; Page A15
MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 10 -- Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3 million ransom, a relative said Saturday, the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship.
The Sirius Star and its 25 crew members sailed safely away Friday at the end of a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden, where pirates attacked more than 100 ships last year. Hundreds more kidnapped sailors remain in the hands of pirates. The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas, and family members were still looking for four bodies, said Daud Nure, another pirate who knew the men involved.
Piracy is one of the few ways to make money in Somalia. Half the population is dependent on aid, and a whole generation has grown up amid war. A recent report by London's Chatham House research group said pirates raked in more than $30 million in ransom last year.

Air Search for Carnival Ship Cruise Employee Who Fell Overboard Was Unsuccessful

No reliable statisics exists on the number of cruise line employees that have been injured, killed, or gone overboard. They work under sweat shop conditions with no local law enforcement available.

Florida Today Exposes Carnival "Sweat Ships": The Under Belly of the Cruise Ship Industry
http://safecruise.blogspot.com/2006/02/florida-today-exposes-carnival-sweat.html

Five cruise employees died under suspicious circumstances during a four week period in 2006:
http://safecruise.blogspot.com/2006/02/5-cruise-ship-employees-die-under.html

If the rich cruise industry cannot provide reasonable safetry and security for employees, how safe can it be for the passengers?

http://www.news-press.com/article/20090102/NEWS01/90102047/1075
Florida Today

PORT CANAVERAL — The U.S. Coast Guard relaunched planes this morning to resume an air search for a cruise ship entertainment employee who fell from the Carnival cruise ship Sensation as he was celebrating the New Year.Guardsmen searched the waters on boats throughout the night, Petty Officer James Harless said. They will reassess the search situation sometime today.
Six co-workers saw the man, whose name is not being released, fall from the ship, the cruise company said in a statement.It marked a solemn ending for what passengers described as an otherwise pleasant four-day cruise to the Bahamas. It was the second fall from a cruise ship in a week."It seemed like the whole ship was somber this morning," said Maureen Fitzpatrick, a passenger from Connecticut. "You're hoping things turn around for this man. You hope that it turns out for the best."Searchers use a system based on wind conditions, ocean currents and the location where the man went overboard to determine where to look, Harless said. From there, guardsmen follow currents and perform search patterns over the sea.The chances of the man surviving depend on a number of factors, such as the water temperatures, wave conditions and the man's age and health, Harless said.Ocean temperature was about 72 degrees, but the man did not have a life jacket to help with the 7- to- 8-foot waves.Accidental fallCarnival said the fall was "clearly an accidental overboard." It occurred about 20 miles east of Vero Beach."Our thoughts and prayers are with this young man at this time as well as with his friends and family," the company statement said.Passengers told FLORIDA TODAY the crew member was a singer with a band that had performed on the top deck of the Carnival Sensation. They said he was trying to take a picture when he went overboard.Laura Martin, a passenger from upstate New York, said she and her three daughters were leaving the bandstand area on the ship when the incident occurred.A group of off-duty crew members had been dancing with other passengers, ringing in the New Year, she said."They were having fun," she said. "It was very sad."She said she saw a commotion involving several young women on the entertainment crew. She said they yelled down to other crew members, who immediately went into action to try to rescue the man who went overboard.Another passenger, Diego Friedmann of Uruguay, said the crew started throwing life jackets to the man. Three vests were thrown, but the man was not able to reach any of them, he said.Sensation crew began search-and-rescue activities and contacted all authorities, including the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard stops search for cruise ship employee:
http://www.bradenton.com/439/story/1127558.html

The Cruise Lines Are Now Responsible for more Disappearances and Deaths than America's Worst Serial Killer:
http://safecruise.blogspot.com/2006/07/cruise-lines-are-now-responsible-for.html