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