Cruise Industry Unveils New Safety Procedures

The cruise industry has undertaken a major overhaul of its safety procedures and policies, since the fatal Costa Concordia disaster earlier this year. Cruise organizations have announced a number of changes to their safety policies, and this month, the 3 major cruise associations announced yet more changes.

The Cruise Lines International Association and the European Cruise Council have now announced at least 3 new safety policies adopted by the cruise industry. These policies have come about as a result of the Cruise Industry Operational Safety Review. The new policies are related to the storage of heavy objects on board, bridge-operating procedures and life jacket stowage.

The new life jackets stowage policy requires that life jackets must be provided equal to or more than the number that is required by international regulations. These must be stowed near important lifeboat embarkation points on the vessel, as well as near muster stations.

The new policy also requires that cruise vessels have strong procedures in place to secure heavy objects during poor weather. Further, the cruise vessel must conduct inspections to ensure that heavy objects like pianos, televisions and other pieces of furniture are safely secured.

The new procedures are now more consistent in order to help crewmembers who may frequently work on different vessels to seamlessly transition between ships without affecting safety.

It’s not just passengers on a cruise vessel who may be in danger of injuries when the operator does not follow safety regulations, but also crewmembers of the vessel who may be at risk. All the safety hazards, like lack of firefighting or personal protection equipment, slippery floors, and fire hazards that pose a serious injury risk to passengers, also pose a similar risk to crew members on a vessel.

The cruise ship injury lawyers at Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers represent cruise ship crewmembers who have been injured in accidents at sea.