We have been saying for years that the cruise industry maintains one of the best public relations operations of any industry in the world.  Accidents are often under reported, if they are reported at all.  Passengers go missing, are raped and sexually assaulted by cruise line employees, and are injured in large numbers.  But, these incidents rarely make the headlines. 

However, after the recent Concordia cruise ship accident, there may be ano opportunity for much needed oversight to be imposed on the industry.  Today a piece by Reuters news agency points out some of the issues with regulating the industry until now.

First the story quotes a statement by the European Council saying “During the past two decades, cruise lines have maintained the best safety record in the travel industry.”

However, as teh stroy goes on to point out, this is a very difficult assertion to verify, given the lack of adequate reporting by the cruise ship industry to date.

“Research by Reuters has revealed, however, that patchy safety data and poor accident reporting standards make it difficult to verify how safe the industry really is and impossible for members of the public to easily compare the relative safety standards of different operators,” the article says

The article goes on to list different ways the cruise industry is under-regulated, including lack of minimum stafffing levels, and regulations which are “full of holes”

Particularly shocking is that, according to the article “The IMO database lists 38 incidents involving passenger ships since 2005 in which more than 60 people died.” 

The hope is that finally the international governing community will finally wake up and make the necessary changes to ensure ships are operating in a safe manner.

Primary Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/25/us-italy-ship-regulation-idUSTRE80N1OD20120125

As the wrecked cruise ship Concorida sits in one of Europe´s most pristne marine habitats, preparations began today to remove a half million gallons of fuel from the ship.  The race is on to remove the fuel before it leaks into the pristine Tuscan Sea. 

Today workers were seen attaching a barge to the ship, marking the first steps of the process.  The actual removal of the the fuel is not set to being until Saturday. 

The salvage team, workig for the Dutch firm Smit, made the prliminary inspections today on the wrecked ship, preparing to clean up the mega-cruiser.  So far the death toll from the accident stands at 16, with still more than a dozen missing. 

See below for an animation of the propsed fuel extraction

Primary Source: http://www.startribune.com/world/137950498.html

Reports indicate that two additional bodies have been found in the wrecked cruise ship Concordia, bringing the total number of confirmed dead to 15. The bodies, which were reportedly recovered today, were of two women. There are reportedly 17 people still missing as a result of the accident.

Meanwhile, according to ABCNews.com, two Americans remain unaccounted for, the only two Americans still missing. Jerry and Barbara Heil of White Bear Lake, Minn., have not been seen since the disaster. They reportedly used retirement savings to take the cruise off the Italian coast.

Recent challenges to searching inside the half sunken ship included weather patterns, which caused the ship to shift. According to Franco Gabrielli, head of operations of the Civil Protection Authority, the ship has stopped shifting.

“Searching underwater inside the ship is getting increasingly more difficult, but can continue,” said Gabrielli. “The ship is now stable and should not slip further.” He said divers are also trying to recoup personal belongings from the ship.

Primary Source: http://abcnews.go.com/International/cruise-ship-wreck-womens-bodies-found-heil-children/story?id=15421660

A lot has happened in the less than 2 weeks since the Costa Concordia disaster.  There has been the monumental resuce effort, which in many ways is still ongoing.  There has been the storyline of the showboating captain, the attempt by the cruise line to displace culpability, and the heart wrenching stories of chaos and lives lost.  But, even now it is not too soon to begin to ask  “How Much Will The Costa Concordia Disaster Cost?”

First, we deal with the economic impact of the loss of the ship itself.  Costa Cruise Lines has previously stated that they are not sure if the ship will be a total loss, or whether it can be salvaged.  Assuming it is considered a total loss, the cost for the ship alone could run into the several hundreds of millions of dollars.  Though the ship doubtless has insurance, there will probably be some kind of fight with the insurance company over the payout.

Second, we look at the environmental cost, and the cost of the clean-up.  The ship ran aground in one of Eurpoe´s most pristine marine habitats.  It is already said to be leaking oil into the water, and weather conditions threaten to sink the ship completely.  The cost of the clean-up for the environment, and the removal of the ship will certainly run into the tens of millions of dollars.

Finally, we consider the human cost.  At least a dozen people lost their lives in the accident, and about 20 more are still missing.  There has been some question as to the maximum compensation each passenger is able to seek because the cruise contract can be very restrictive to passengers seeking damages.  It has been reported that maximum damges are limited to $71,000 per person.

Check out this quote on CruiseCritic.co.uk – which includes a quote from our own Jack Hickey.

An Italian consumer protection agency, Codacons, said Tuesday that 70 passengers have already joined a class-action lawsuit against Costa. In a statement, Codacons head Carlo Rienzi said the “objective is to get each passenger at least 10,000 euros (~$12,900) compensation for material damage and also for … the fear suffered, the holidays ruined and the serious risks endured.” Maritime attorney Jack Hickey told Cruise Critic it’s likely additional suits will be filed. “Civil lawsuits are based on negligence,” said Hickey, “and there’s no doubt that the negligence is due to the captain — and of course [Costa] is responsible for the actions of its employee.”

Expect this limit to be challenged in court.  Not only are there legal reasons to challenge it, but from a public relations standpoint, Carnival Cruise Lines, the parent company of Costa Cruise Lines, may pay out more.

Overall, this is easily a $100 million disaster, though the costs seem to have very little upward limit.  Depending how the courts rule as far as liability, and whether the ship is a total loss, the total cost could be significantly more.

In the video which can be seen below, a woman, reportedly working for Costa Cruise lines, tells passengers that everything is fine, and to return to their cabins.  According to the source of the video, The Guardian, the woman designated the message as being from “the captain,” and the message was delivered some 40 minutes after the ship struck the underwater rocks which tore a 100 foot breach in the hull.

The woman in the video stressed that there was an “electrical problem”  which the crew had finished addressing.  She insisted everthing was under control.

No doubt this video will become evidence in any upcoming litigation against Costa Cruise Lines and its parent company Carnival Cruise Lines. The cruise lines immediately tried to pin the blame soley on the capain, saying he acted recklessly, and independent of cruise authority.  However, this video seems to show a more systematic breakdown of order.

The exact number of deceased is not known, but about 20 passengers remain unaccounted for.

Jack Hickey is working with Italian attorneys in order to assist the victims of the recent Concordia cruise ship disaster.  He has been quoted by numerous news sources, including the New York Times.  He has also appeared on ¨Good Morning America¨ and ¨Anderson Cooper 360.¨  Below we have included the 2nd NY Times quote, and a little of the story for context.

But the egregious acts must be the owner’s. If the captain disregarded his duties, the company could argue that it was not responsible for his behavior. To Jack Hickey, a maritime lawyer in Miami who is working with an Italian lawyer to represent Costa Concordia passengers, the cruise line’s responsibility is obvious. Referring to the captain, Mr. Hickey said that the company had “nobody with more authority or responsibility than him” on the ship.

The issues in the case could be shaped by the highly restrictive terms of the contract that every passenger gets with his or her ticket, said Gerald McGill, an admiralty lawyer in Pensacola, Fla.

Cruise contracts are notoriously restrictive regarding the rights of passengers, and Costa’s 6,400-word contract is no exception. The Costa contract sharply limits the kinds of lawsuits that can be brought, where those suits can be brought and how much the company can be made to pay. All such provisions have been upheld in the courts of the United States, he said.

Primary Source: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/cruises/index.html?scp=2&sq=jack%20hickey&st=cse

The cruise ship disaster involving Concordia Cruise Lines is an excellent example which hilights many different facts about the cruise business which were previously unknown.  One of these facts is that when a passenger agrees to board a cruise ship, they usually agree at the same time to waive many of their rights to hold the cruise line, and its subsidiaries or parent company, accountable for certain damages.  In the wake of the Concordia disaster, attorneys around the world will be looking into just how iron clad those agreements are.

In a New York Times article published today, the paper covers the topic of liablility in the Concordia case.  Our own Jack Hickey was quoted for the piece.  Referring to the fact that the Costa Cruise Lines seems to be attempting to place liability soley on the captain, arguing he acted in a negligent manner on his own, Hickey says “nobody with more authority or responsibility than him” on the ship.

He also added today we live in an age in which ships are in constant commuincation with their owners.  It seems logical that if the ship were truly off course, the owners should have known.   “You mean if it gets that far off track, you don’t know?” Hickey asked.

Due to cruise contract limitations, it seems that the maximum damages any passenger can seek from the line, even in cases of death, is about $71,000 per passenger – according to the article.

Unraveling the legal case against Costa will take an internation team of attorneys working long hours, fighting for the victims.  We are proud to say that our own Jack Hickey has been fighting for years for cruise victims, and will help those of the Concordia in any way he can.

Primary Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/world/europe/cruise-lines-use-law-and-contracts-to-limit-liability.html

Miami and Fort Lauderdale maritime lawyer John H. (Jack) Hickey appeared on CNN this morning to discuss Captain Francesco Schettino’s actions in the COSTA CONCORDIA sinking disaster. Watch the video to hear Hickey’s analysis of Captain Schettino’s behavior that led to the terrible cruise ship accident.

Miami maritime attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey appeared on Good Morning America on Tuesday, January 17, to give his opinion about the COSTA CONCORDIA cruise ship accident. Watch the video to learn Hickey’s views about how cruise lines must be careful in selecting those who captain their ships.

After the Italian luxury liner COSTA CONCORDIA ran aground on January 13, 2012, numerous media outlets turned to Miami maritime attorney John H. (Jack) Hickey for insight. According to the BBC, six people were confirmed dead and 29 of the more than 4,000 passengers and crewmembers are still missing. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is facing charges of manslaughter and abandoning his ship.

While the investigation into the Concordia accident continues, Hickey told the Associated Press that the ship’s owner and operator, Costa Cruises, will “likely face legal consequences for a whole host of reasons,” including the Schettino’s apparent decision not to immediately issue a mayday call and inability to properly navigate the ship before it ran aground.

“If you are the captain of a ship carrying 4,000 people, you should know the waters you ply like the back of your hand,” Hickey said. “There are obviously questions about that. It’s one thing to get into problems, but you must react appropriately.”

In regards to prosecutors’ commenting that Schettino “went beyond authorized procedure” and “was a reckless show boater,” Hickey told ABC’s “Good Morning America,” “You want to screen out the risk-takers. You want to screen out the hot-doggers. You want to screen out people who are not willing to take responsibility.”

Hickey, who has been practicing maritime law for more than three decades, also told the AP that “while cruise ship crews get some training on operation of lifeboats, overall safety training is usually an afterthought.” The size alone of modern cruise ships makes that lack of safety training worse, Hickey told the AP, adding, “because now, as opposed to 10 or 20 years ago, you are dealing with thousands and thousands of people. It’s very difficult and dangerous to get off a ship like that.”

While the Concordia story has captured worldwide attention, Hickey told the AP that he doubted the accident would have a broader impact. “The cruise industry as a whole is pretty healthy, it’s growing,” he said. “It might affect bookings on Costa in the near term, certainly over the next year.”

In addition to the Associated Press and ABC, Hickey has also been quoted by BBC News, the Huffington Post, MSNBC, Business Insider, the New Zealand Herald, Siolbreaker, Vibrantfin, Ad Crowd Daily, Ukrain-English-News, CM Wire and Goolyduk.com. In addition to his appearance on Good Morning America, Hickey has appeared on HLN and has scheduled appearances today on MSNBC and CNN.

To hear Hickey speak about passengers’ claims against cruise lines, watch the video below. You can also watch a video of his interview on Good Morning America, available online at the ABC News website. For more information about the COSTA CONCORDIA sinking or about cruise ship accidents in general, contact the Hickey Law Firm, P.A. to tell our Miami maritime lawyers your story.