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Flag-Of-Convenience Line Ordered To Report Sex Crimes
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| 108 Instances Of Sexual Assault In Five Years Aboard Ships Owned By One Company | |||
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Under orders from an American court, a U.S.-based foreign cruise line
revealed that its
crewmembers had committed 108 sexual assaults against passengers and other
crewmembers aboard the company's flag-of-convenience vessels during a
five-year period. The cruise line was forced to make this confession as part of a lawsuit being brought against it by a former employee. The 26-year-old woman alleged that she was raped by an engineer working aboard the ship with her. When the ship made port in the U.S., she alleged that the company helped to transport the engineer to the airport, where he was flown to his native Italy and later arrested on rape charges. Of the 108 sexual assaults reported, 22 involved rape, with 16 of those assaults being against passengers. The company, U.S.-based foreign-held Carnival Cruise Lines, disclosed the numbers in two separate reports. At first, the company said its shipboard employees had committed 62 sexual assaults aboard its vessels in a five-year period. A subsequent report increased that number to 108. Carnival is based in Miami, Fla., but incorporated in Panama. It operates vessels that are typically registered with small Third World nations, although many of the ships operate from the U.S. In the wake of Carnival's revelations, Cynthia Colenda, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, an organization that represents 90 percent of the U.S.-based, foreign-registered cruise lines, announced a new council-wide policy of reporting sexual assaults against passengers to the proper authorities. Despite its apparent newfound dedication to passenger safety, statements from flag-of- convenience cruise industry representatives following the disclosure of the number and scope of sexual assaults aboard Carnival vessels raise doubts as to whether effective preventative measures can or will be taken. In the midst of the publicity storm spawned by Carnival's confessions, Carnival President Bob Dickinson issued a letter to U.S. travel agents that seems to be an attempt to minimize the apparent severity and scope of the crimes committed against passengers by employees of Carnival Cruise Lines. Colenda told the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel the ICCL's new crime policy, that allegations of crime on foreign-flag cruise ships "will be reported automatically to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for any vessel that calls on United States ports or any incident involving U.S. citizens," reflected longstanding practices at most cruise companies. This is contradicted by several of the rape victims of Carnival employees, who have said they were discouraged from reporting the assaults upon them to U.S. authorities. Different victims told similar tales to New York Times reporter Douglas Frantz, who in 1998 wrote an extensive piece covering sex crimes aboard foreign-flag cruise ships. In the article, Frantz wrote: "Accused crew members are sometimes put ashore at the next port with airfare to their home country. Industry lawyers are flown to the ship to question the accusers; and aboard ships flowing with liquor, counterclaims of consensual sex are common. The cruise lines aggressively contest lawsuits and insist upon secrecy as a condition of settling." In fact, in 1995, cruise industry lawyers drafted legislation to restrict the liability of cruise lines in sexual assault cases. The legislation was introduced in the House but was stopped in the Senate by Ernest Hollings (D.-S.C.). In light of their consistent effort to dissuade victims and skirt U.S. law behind the shield of foreign registry, the new "crime policy" is revealed to be without substance. In fact, the cruise ships operated by companies belonging to the ICCL are registered in foreign nations, such as Liberia, and are not subject to U.S. law while in international waters. The cruise lines are no more legally obligated to report crimes that occur in international waters to U.S. authorities than they were prior Carnival's disclosure of the crime statistics. While the industry coalition may work to pressure its members to comply with a new policy, the ICCL has not and cannot provide U.S. passengers travelling aboard flag-of- convenience cruise ships with legal recourse if they are assaulted by crewmembers. While at sea, passengers are still in the hands, and at the mercy, of the cruise lines when it comes to pursuing justice. | |||
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