Cruise ship emergencies and passenger safety

Cruise shipping has been a mode of relaxation and refreshment for people over the years, especially for vacations. However, accidents may happen sometimes. Fire outbreaks, drowning, falling overboard, and collisions are the most common accidents experienced on cruise ships.

According to a cruise ship injury lawyer, “While cruise ships continue to offer their services, sometimes, they face emergencies that can make passengers panic or even be at high risk. Whether on the cruise ship itself, on land, or on an excursion as part of the cruise, the cruise line is responsible to maintain a safe environment”.

Instances of Previous Cruise Ship Emergencies

Cruise ship emergencies have always been a cause for concern and have had mild to severe consequences. Some examples include:

Costa Concordia Disaster

The large luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia 2012 had about 3,229 passengers on a Mediterranean tour. When the captain, Francesco Schettino, changed from the planned route to do a sail-past near an Italian island on the first night, the ship went off course and struck a rock, which made the navigation system go faulty. The captain abandoned the vessel and fled, and it later capsized. 32 passengers lost their lives, while 64 suffered injuries.

The captain was later charged with manslaughter.

Hableány Disaster

On the evening of May 29, 2019, Hableány, a sightseeing boat, and Viking Sigyn, a cruise ship, collided in the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. Hableány sank in 7 seconds, and the heavy rains and the resulting high currents delayed rescue operations. 33 South Korean tourists and 2 Hungarian crew members were on board, and only 7 were saved at the scene. Other passengers were later reported dead.

The captain of the Viking Sigyn, Yuri Chaplinsky, was charged with “reckless misconduct in waterborne traffic leading to mass casualties” and “35 counts of failure to assist” after the collision.

Carnival Triumph Incident

In 2013 when the Carnival Triumph cruise line sailed with about 2,700 passengers, the engine room of the ship caught fire, and this caused a severe lack of services for the passengers. The toilets were affected, and this caused unhealthy disposal of human waste. This adventure was tagged ‘poop cruise’, leaving the passengers in a mess. There was also limited food supply and no air conditioning.

Royal Caribbean Explorer Illness

Also, in May 2013, passengers on this ship broke down with the Norovirus. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 630 passengers on this ship (making 19% of the total passengers) contracted this disease, with about 54 crew members affected. The disease outbreak made the vessel return to the port earlier than expected, cutting short the adventure experience of the passengers and making them sick. The cruise ship was planned to be on board for ten days but had to return two days earlier.

SS Morro Castle

This 20th-century incident was one of the ghastliest ones at the time. SS Morro Castle, with 500 passengers, was going from Havana, Cuba to New York City. The captain was Officer Robert Willmott, who died of a heart attack. Following this, Officer Williams took charge. After some time, the liner caught fire. It was reported that the crew members failed to take adequate curative measures, which made the fire spread rapidly, leading to the death of about 135 lives on the vessel.

Investigations showed that the fire spread quickly due to the ship’s design.

Ensuring Passenger Safety During Cruise Accidents

When emergencies happen, passengers react in a certain way, and the management of that cruise ship will determine the safety of the passengers on board.

Emergency Impact

Usually, passengers tend to react to emergencies differently depending on the severity. They may not know what is happening until crew members give updates and further instructions. Accidents are unplanned, so passengers may be caught off guard while enjoying the wining and dining on the ship. It may not even occur to them to pick up a life jacket from the cabin or even use an exit at first for the rush of emotions when they eventually understand the state of things.

It is usually the responsibility of crew members to keep people onboard calm and assure them of safety.

Evacuation

During the evacuation, effective organization, clear instructions, and adherence are of the essence. Emergency response procedures must be strictly followed. Lifeboats are deployed to rescue passengers, and emergency crew members come onboard.

Staff must know their duties and carry them out appropriately, as the lives of passengers lie in their hands.

Medical Emergency Response

In most circumstances, ship medical facilities can provide prescriptions and dispense drugs, carry out minor operations, and stabilize patients before they can access a better medical facility. Ship medical professionals take care of injuries (if any) or tend to sick people if the case is that of a disease outbreak.

In conclusion, it is the responsibility of captains, crew members, and passengers to ensure safety. Passengers have to take responsibility by keeping to instructions and not getting drunk onboard to ensure that they respond actively to emergencies. If the fault of an onboard incident is that of the ship management, passengers need to get a cruise ship attorney to fight their cause.