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Cruise lines face changes in legislation
The Federal Government is considering tough new laws to improve the reporting of crimes at sea in the wake of the death of Diane Brimble on a P&O cruise and controversy in the US over unsolved cases of passengers missing at sea.
Legislation that penalises cruise ships for failing to report crimes against passengers is before the US Congress after the FBI told a national security committee it knew “all crimes aren’t being reported”.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said he was monitoring the US legislation, as well as the coronial inquest into Brimble’s death while on a cruise in 2002.
“If either give reason to further amend our legislation, we will certainly look at it,” Mr Ruddock said.
P&O Cruises Australia said the reporting of crimes at sea and any investigations were self-regulated. But all crimes or suspected crimes were reported to authorities at Australian home ports and records were kept, the company said.
A P&O Cruises Australia spokesman said the company would object if legislation similar to that in the US were proposed in Australia. “We don’t consider it necessary,” he said.
“We are required to report crime, the only issue is where do we report it, and in this case we report to appropriate authorities and ordinarily report crimes or incidents that might amount to that sort of behaviour to the NSW police for Sydney-based ships and Queensland police for Brisbane-based ships.”
One wonders exactly why cruise companies consider behaviour at sea to be so vastly different to that tolerated on land. Surely people have a reasonable expectation that community standards apply on board the same as they do on land based resorts?
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