The Travel Industry Wonders When the Cruise Industry Will Fix Its “Passenger Overboard” Problem

The most recent incident of a passenger falling off a cruise ship has many wondering, just how often does this happen and what causes someone to fall from a cruise ship?

Popular website Quartz.com tacked these two questions in an article published today, and the answers to the above questions are startling. The article starts by recounting the case of Samtha Broberg, a successful mother of two who went missing from Carnival cruise ship in 2016. According to the article Broberg had been served an alleged 19 drinks before going missing from the ship at about 2am.

The article says about 18 people per year fall from cruise ship and large ferries. That amounts to bout 284 people over the pas 18 years.

The piece rightfully notes that the position of the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) is that these incident are few and far between. But the article also notes that when CLIA minimizes the problem, it also minimizes the positive impact cruise companies can have in preventing the deaths.