Crime on Cruise Ships

[BrendaJ]

With all the television and newspaper articles about various crimes on cruise ships, one thing is still not clear to me. On a ship flying a "flag of convenience" but owned by an American corporation, whose laws are passengers and crew obliged to follow? What courts would oversee crimes committed at sea, on a ship registered in Liberia, owned by an American corporation, sailing in international waters?

 

Just curious . . .

 

Brenda

[lisiamc]

For what it's worth, Celebrity now registers their ships in the Bahamas. The corporation (RCL) itself is still registered in Liberia. So although the company has a corporate office in Miami, they are not technically an "American" corporation.

 

I have no idea how this affects anything, though!

 

Lisa

[chessbriar]

If the crime is against an American passenger, the FBI will investigate. That's why they were involved in the George Smith case. It was international water, yet the Turkish authorities were also involved in the investigation. Turkey was the next port of call.

[Happy ks]

I think the country where the crime takes place has jurisdiction.

 

All the news regarding various crimes at sea are pretty much going over the same instances, over and over again. It sounds like a lot of activity, in reality it is just a few cases, some of them not even involving crime at all. While I do realize there is crime at sea, it is at a much lower rate than in your own home town. People do need to be cautious when on a cruise ship, there can be a false sense of security there. A lot of the reported stories involve drinking alcohol and we all know poor decisons are made when inebriated.

 

People love a juicy mystery. I know I do.

[BrendaJ]

Thanks for all the info. I guess I was just curious on what country would have jurisdiction if, say, a Romanian crew member robbed a Mexican crew member and the ship was in international waters (say a transatlantic crossing). Or if a French passenger beat up an Italian passenger . . .

I don't think cruises are any more dangerous than life in a small town, and all the recent stories don't make me remotely nervous; I'm just wondering exactly how the laws work with regards to the ships.

I recently read "Devils on the Deep Blue Sea" and the book made it seem like cruise lines were able to get away with a whole lot, such as not paying a lot of taxes, etc., based on their foreign registries. I'm just wondering who, if anyone, the cruise lines are accountable to, other than their shareholders.

[smeyer418]

Foreign registered corporations get the same tax treatment, cruise ship or not. US tort law applies to ships that return or leave from the US. When a crime is committed on the high seas against a US citizen, US law applies as well as the law of the jurisdiction where the crime is committed(either the country where the ship is flagged or the closest jurisdiction). These admiralty rules are unfortunately complicated.

[etoile]

From the CC "Crime at Sea" feature at this link:

" Because a cruise ship sails from country to country, there are regulatory laws for all ports. If a problematic situation were to occur, local authorities would be contacted and their laws adhered to. It is standard procedure that the F.B.I. is immediately contacted if an American passenger is involved. Should the situation involve a select number of passengers and/or crew, the local authorities will usually allow the vessel to proceed on its itinerary minus those personnel. A vessel will not be held in port unless documented evidence of a crime is presented. Local jurisdiction produces local justice. It is, in most cases, effective."

[BrendaJ]

I understand if a ship is in port, the local law has jurisdiction, and I realize the FBI gets involved with anything involving American passengers; I'm more curious as to what would happen halfway across the Atlantic or Pacific, not involving Americans. Would the last port visited before crossing have jurisdiction, the next port being visited, or the closest port at the time of the crime?