Another Whale Killed by Princess Cruise Ship

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A Supposedly Fun Thing That Seems To Kill Whales
— By Mark Follman Tue July 28, 2009 9:42 AM PST

Over the weekend, an adult fin whale—a threatened species in Canada—turned up dead in the waters at a cruise ship terminal in Vancouver. The rare marine giant was impaled on the bow of the “Sapphire Princess,” a Princess Cruises’ ship arriving from Alaska.But according to my source, two passengers who arrived on the Sapphire Princess in Vancouver this weekend said that several passengers on the ship had seen whales swimming around and under the ship as it traveled the Inside Passage cruise route just north of Vancouver Island.
Spaven, the DFO spokesperson, told the Vancouver Sun that she believes the whale was struck north of Vancouver Island, since fin whales aren’t normally found in the straits closer to Vancouver.
The Inside Passage is famously rich with marine wildlife and is a crucial habitat and migratory route for whales. As the Sun also reports: “This is the second time in the last 10 years that a cruise vessel has come into the Port of Vancouver with a whale caught on the bow. In that instance, in June of 1999, the Celebrity Cruise vessel MV Galaxy collided with an adult male fin whale, which likely happened as the ship transited the Hecate Strait north of Vancouver Island.”

Murder on Carnival Cruise Ship Elation

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Husband arrested in woman's death aboard cruise ship
3:00 PM July 16, 2009
A 55-year-old San Fernando Valley man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of his wife while the two were on an ocean cruise to Mexico, the FBI said.
Robert McGill of Winnetka was arrested after the ship docked today in San Diego.
McGill and his wife, Shirley, 55, were on a five-day Carnival Cruise Lines voyage aboard the ship Elation when ship's personnel went to their cabin Tuesday to investigate a possible domestic disturbance. Shirley McGill was found dead, the FBI said.
FBI agents, ferried by a Coast Guard cutter, boarded the Elation and this morning FBI evidence technicians searched the 2,052-passenger ship when it docked in San Diego.
The FBI has authority in the case under federal maritime law.

LA man arrested in wife's high-seas deathHe declined to release any details of the death, but a statement from Carnival Cruise Lines said the woman was killed on Tuesday evening after the couple got into a dispute in their cabin. The man was taken to the ship's brig and a guard was posted on the cabin, which was secured as a crime scene, Slotter said. The FBI sent about 20 agents to the ship in a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Wednesday night while the ship was at sea, and they spent the night interviewing the suspect ...SignOnSanDiego.com: Nation - http://www3.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/

Cruise ship industry reverses stance, backs federal safety bill

www.latimes.com/business
The legislation would make shipboard crime reporting mandatory and require installation of security latches and peepholes on cabin doors, among other measures.
By Kimi Yoshino July 7, 2009
The nation's cruise ship industry, in a turnaround from its long-standing position that no additional government oversight is needed, on Monday endorsed proposed federal safety legislation, paving the way for increased security measures on cruise ships.Cruise Lines International Assn., the industry's chief lobbying and advocacy organization representing 24 member cruise lines, sent a letter of support to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), one of the bill's co-sponsors. Association President Terry Dale said in the letter that he would work to ensure the passage of the comprehensive security bill.

If it passes, the bill would make shipboard crime reporting mandatory and require installation of security latches and peepholes on cabin doors. Ship physicians would also have to be trained in sexual assault examinations.Ken Carver, president and founder of International Cruise Victims, called the shift "a historic moment.""I think they've really taken a lot of heat and I'm glad to see them joining forces," Carver said, adding that he believes with the cruise industry's backing the bill will pass.
The $38-billion-a-year industry had maintained that cruises were one of the safest forms of vacationing and that its own self-regulation was adequate. But in recent years, after several high-profile reports of missing persons and sexual assaults, cruise lines had increasingly come under scrutiny.If the bill passes it would be a significant victory for safety advocates, who have long alleged that the industry skirts regulation by registering its vessels in foreign countries to avoid U.S. labor laws and income tax.The industry requested one major concession: deletion of an amendment to the Death on the High Seas Act that would have allowed surviving relatives to recover damages for their emotional suffering and bereavement, as well as any pain and suffering the victim may have experienced before death.Under the existing law, survivors of people who die at sea can only recover lost wages or burial expenses. If a retired person died, for example, family members would get little if any money, Miami maritime attorney James Walker said.The legislation would also clarify the long-debated issue of crime reporting. The bill would establish a reporting structure based on the current voluntary reporting guidelines.Each ship would be required to maintain a logbook to record all deaths, missing persons, alleged crimes, and complaints of theft, sexual harassment and assault. That data would also be posted on a website maintained by the Coast Guard.kimi.yoshino@latimes.com