How Safe Are You on the High Seas?

[cruiseduo]

I offer no opionion about this article, however, having been born and raised in the NY Metro Area I've learned to be on personal alert and aware of your surroundings whenever you travel. Whether in a big city, small town, or on a cruise ship. Be safe always.

How safe are you on the high seas?

Are you at risk?

Travelers now have an easier time finding out how at-risk they are for shipboard illnesses than for rapes or other violent crimes. Cruise lines consider that proprietary business information.

Advocates are pushing Congress for laws that would require cruise ships to report crimes, improve investigative standards on ships and make information about crime rates available to the public.

By M.C. MOEWE

Daytona Beach News-Journal Staff Writer

Her cabin door aboard Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas had no peephole, so when Laurie Dishman heard the light knock she thought her girlfriend had returned.

The next moments were a blur as a strange man burst into the room.

"He forced his way in and pushed me toward the bed," the 35-year-old restaurant manager said. "I just remember putting my hands up and trying to push him away and saying stop. He kept saying 'You could have six more days of this.' "

She lost consciousness during the Feb. 21 rape, awakening with marks around her neck. By Feb. 26, even before the seven-day cruise had ended, the U.S. Attorney's Office had decided not to prosecute her case.

Dishman's story, along with documents acquired by The News-Journal, illustrate how passengers who feel victimized must rely on the cruise industry to report and often conduct the initial investigation of onboard crimes -- crimes that could expose the cruise lines to expensive lawsuits.

While travelers can peruse federal government Web sites to track the frequency of outbreaks of shipboard illnesses, they have no similar system for rapes, other violent crimes or missing persons.

Industry insiders concede that crimes such as rape occur among the 8.6 million passengers who embark from U.S. ports each year. Yet the cruise lines treat crime stats as "proprietary business information." The FBI reports an average of eight convictions a year for violent shipboard crimes. Cruise officials insist their passengers are far safer on board their ships than they are walking the streets of their hometown.

But critics of the system -- including those pushing Congress to require that crime statistics be tracked and made publicly available -- say the industry's secrecy creates doubt about the thoroughness of its investigations and record-keeping.

No one expects a 100 percent conviction rate -- on land or at sea -- but the cruise line's record is hard to believe, said James Walker, a Miami attorney with almost 20 years' experience in civil suits involving cruise lines.

"Since Royal Caribbean was founded in 1969, they have never had a single conviction of anyone committing a felony or a serious crime such as sexual assault," Walker said.

LACK OF EVIDENCE

After Dishman said she was raped, she was left waiting for hours in her cabin before being allowed to see the ship's doctor, who did a pelvic exam, took swabs and a blood sample. Dishman said she does not recall any photographs being taken of the bruises on her neck. She and her girlfriend were given two plastic garbage bags and instructed to go back to the room and collect sheets, pillowcases, blankets and anything else they thought was involved in the attack.

"They left it up to us," said Dishman, a Sacramento, Calif., woman who took medication to prevent the development of sexually transmitted diseases as a precaution.

Michael Sheehan, a Royal Caribbean spokesman responding to questions via e-mail, said the cruise line has protocols for investigating such incidents, including guidance for shipboard medical staff to document any bruises or other marks during a general exam.

The company's safety manual -- included in court documents -- states that photographs of the victim or alleged assailant are not to be taken.

Yet photographs, particularly of alleged injuries, are typically standard in a criminal investigation, said John Gillies, chief of the FBI's violent crime division.

Most cases of alleged rape on cruise ships are not prosecuted for a lack of evidence, Gillies said.

That's no surprise to Walker, the Miami attorney who's representing Dishman in a civil suit against Royal Caribbean.

"The way the (safety) manual is written, it's not instructing a ship doctor to do their best to help a victim," he said. "They're looking to dismantle a potential legal claim while the victim is still in shock."

The safety manual also includes instructions for ship personnel to immediately notify the company's risk management department, Walker said -- the people charged with minimizing the cruise line's legal liability.

CONFLICTING NUMBERS

Crime statistics for all cruise lines doing business in U.S. ports came under scrutiny earlier this year during congressional inquiries. The cruise lines were required to report crimes, but Congress agreed to keep the individual numbers secret.

Fifteen cruise lines reported to Congress that 177 unlawful sexual incidents allegedly occurred between 2003 and 2005.

Publicly available crime statistics for individual cruise companies are rare. The News-Journal was able to see records maintained by Royal Caribbean Cruises International only after a Miami judge ordered they be produced as part of a civil suit involving the alleged fondling of two 12-year-old girls in 2005. It may represent the first time raw data has been released by a cruise company.

Those in-house records differed from the numbers Royal Caribbean reported to Congress.

The cruise line told Congress 66 alleged sexual acts or contacts were reported on their ships between 2003 and 2005. Internal documents showed 109 incidents that were categorized as sexual assaults or sexual batteries in a 31-month period during that time frame.

Sheehan, the company spokesman, said the documents should not be compared because the internal assessment was not categorized based on criminal statutory definitions.

"Internal company records will often include the language used by a party who is first reporting an incident to us," he wrote in response to questions. "This obviously does not mean those terms were used accurately as the person reporting the incident would be unaware of the technical statutory definitions of such terms."

Some examples not reported to Congress from Royal Caribbean's internal documents:

• March 26, 2004 on board the Explorer of the Seas: Victim "alleges sexual assault (rape) by another guest."

• Nov. 13, 2003 on Navigator of the Seas: Victim "alleges sexual assault by head waiter."

• Dec. 12, 2004 on Monarch of the Seas: Victim "claims she was sexually assaulted by a guest."

Sheehan said not all the incidents were reported to Congress because they didn't meet federal definitions for sexual abuse.

"In the three cases you listed, one involved a later admission of consensual sex by the victim, and two involved sexual touching without force or threat," Sheehan wrote.

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE

The conflicting numbers and legal definitions are factors motivating the push for more transparency from the cruise lines.

"The U.S. public should know, when they get on a given cruise line, how many crimes are being committed," said Kendall Carver, president of International Cruise Victims, a group that's pushing for more oversight of the cruise industry. "If you are walking in a high-crime area, you want to know it."

Rep. Christopher Shays, R.-Conn., who began investigating cruise ship safety after prominent Connecticut businessman George Smith disappeared on his July 2005 honeymoon, presented legislation in June that would require cruise ships that call on American ports to report crime and overboard or missing person incidents involving American citizens to the Department of Homeland Security.

Companies would be required to refer potential ticket-buyers to a government Web site that publishes incident reports. Ships also would be inspected to ensure adequate equipment and trained personnel are available to investigate crimes.

Dishman supports the proposal and believes her case was dropped too quickly.

She said the FBI has not told her what evidence they received or what tests, if any, were done on the samples taken by the ship's doctors.

A spokeswoman for the FBI in Los Angeles, Laura Eimiller, said that information cannot be released because no arrest was made. "Until public charges are filed, they're just allegations," she said.

After returning home, Dishman found on the Internet plenty of material questioning the safety of passengers on cruise ships -- a notion she hadn't given much thought to before she left.

"I don't even know if I would have ever gone on a cruise if I had known this could happen," said Dishman, who hopes to bring attention to the lack of crime statistics publicly available on the cruise industry. "I don't want another woman to go through anything like this."

mary.moewe@news-jrnl.com

[JoeyandDavid]

This doesn't seem to be logical...I don't know that I have an answer... but to let this continue as is ...is unacceptable imho.

[hazelson]

It's sad that this happens and no one seems to care about it. Or worse tries to cover it up .......

[elfed]

It's sickening to hear of these happenings. Thankfully they don't occur very often -at least not reported. Actually I'm rather surprised that more of these assaults have not taken place. Think of these guys cooped up in a ship for up to 6 months at a time. Seeing barely clothed ladies walking around their ship for days on end must be a dreadful temtation to some. Many of the crew of the average cruise ship are under 35 and must be sorely tempted at times to try and make a pass at these women. Mind you ther's absolutely no excuse for rape.

Regards,

James.

[schatje]

For those of us that live in very small towns we have to act like we are in a large city when on a cruise, we should not let down our guard? But at the same time enjoy ourselves. I bet there would be multiple reports of theft if we carried cash around the ship as well :sad:

[lilrosie]

IMO (JMO) I feel this needs to be dealt with...I understand that everywhere you go you Have to keep your guard up...even on a Cruise...but the woman was violated and threatened and then have to collect the evidence herself to be processed..and then have to wait hours to see the doctor...the cruiseline violated her rights again (JMO) She notified authorities immediately and in my opinion they shunned her,,,OMG I am not naive enough to think that you are 100% safe on a ship...but to have this happen and the staff make this woman wait hours to be checked by a doctor and then have the U.S. Attorney's Office decide Not to prosecute the case...what kind of decision is that?? You may as well hang up a flier to all Predators stating go on a Cruise Violate anyone and Nothing will be done about it...Sorry to get on the soapbox...but this just nauseate me...anyways its JMO

[SCIROCCO]

James you are on track about the Crew Members being on board for months and with some of the Younger Women wearing mostly nothing at the Pools and also onboard ship this could be a determining factor! Also they just arent trained in This type of Assaults or Geared towards a police Investigators point of view and arent trained that way! Kinda like at the Amusement Parks Security! Be visible but no Activity or Action! :wink: Dont get in the way of the Guest's! :wink: I always keep a eye out for Suspicious behaviour when Onboard from Guests and Crew Members! Not because Im still trying to be a Police Officer but because Im always careful but not So Overly cautious where I dont enjoy myself, its 17 Years thats instilled in me of being this way thats why Ive stayed alive so far! :wink: Now I have to be cautious of the Doctors and Medication! And also theres more of disrespect towards Americans as well from foreign countries as well and we havent done a thing to deserve it! :wink: And to just come down to it they know they can get away with it as well! :wink: Whats going to happen to them get fired or deported :rolleyes: Theyll just jump on another Cruise Line and start over! :wink: If you ever need to report something go to the Officers not the security people you see walking around or standing around the Ships decks at times because they dont care :wink: You have to go to a Higher Ranking Officer to get any results "IF" you get any! :wink:

[sailingrose]

Unfortunately there really are no police at sea. Every line has had problems like this sad to say. We just have to keep our guard up a little more these days, just like walking down the street. Sad, very sad.

[KeithnRita]

It's very unfortunate that this happens, however that seems to be the world we live in today. Incidents tend to get overblown by the media as common occurrences. If you are the victim, then it is a common occurrence! Also, as a victim you have little or no rights, as the perpetrators have them all.

All aspects of life have a degree of danger. We still feel safe on cruise ships, however having been victims of a theft, we remain cautious.

[Mebert]

Based on the article, it seems that the cruise lines need to upgrade the security on the ship to include personnel that can truly perform criminal investigations while the evidence is still available. They also need to improve protocol for handling reports of crimes during cruises.

Being a male, I feel absolutely safe on the ship, however, I do take precautions to check in with my traveling companion when we do our separate things.

I would imagine that the situation would be different for women when it comes to sexual crimes. I am assuming that most of the sexual crimes that occur on ships have women as victims. Something definitely has to be done about that to assure that women are more safe.

Having said that, it still seems that a cruise vacation is still one of the safest vacations to be had.