Cruise Industry Safety Topic of Hearing in the U.S. Congress

An Arizona father whose daughter´s cruise ship disappearance went unreported, a Connecticut couple who had nearly $7,000 worth of jewelry stolen while on a cruise and the son of Vietnamese immigrants who mysteriously disappeared from a Caribbean cruise are among a dozen people scheduled to testify at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.

This is the second of two hearings Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut, is co-sponsoring in Washington to address cruise ship safety. FBI and cruise industry officials testified at the first meeting in December. Passengers and their families will have an opportunity to speak at this hearing.

Both were prompted by the disappearance of Greenwich´s George A. Smith IV from a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean. While Royal Caribbean International has said it responded appropriately to Smith´s disappearance, his family has said the company did not do enough to protect Smith and investigate what happened.

Intense media attention in the case has spawned public scrutiny of the cruise industry and inspired the advocacy group International Cruise Victims. Shays said he wants to publicize the plight of families who have fallen victim to cruise ship tragedies and to advocate for changes to the industry, particularly when it comes to reporting crimes aboard ships.

The victims´ group wants Congress to enact legislation to force the cruise industry to be held more accountable for crimes and tragedies aboard their ships, Carver said. Currently, the cruise industry voluntarily reports crimes to the FBI and varying policing authorities.