FBI Assistant Director Testifies About the Dangers on Cruise Ships for Passengers

The FBI Assistant Director testified in front of Congress about the dangers that cruise ship passengers face. The percentages he provided of sexual assaults and physical assaults were shocking. This prompted Congress to eventually determine new legislation to protect passengers that suffer a sexual or physical attack onboard a cruise ship.

The cruise ship passenger sees the brochures and believes that they will have a fun and exciting time on a cruise, but they never even consider that they will not be safe. Instead they believe that this unlike the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego crime is left far behind on this luxury liner. The truth is that over the past five years, according to this testimony the leading crimes that have been investigated on cruise ships have been 55 percent sexual assaults and 22 percent physical assaults.

In these cases 37 percent were identified as employees of the cruise ship that perpetrated the crime, with 65 percent of the employees not being citizens of the United States. This testimony was given in 2007 and cruise ship travel has only become more dangerous for passengers, instead of becoming better. The cruise lines have a responsibility to keep their passengers safe, though it does not seem to be the case with the sexual and physical assaults that occur. Cruise ship passengers feel that they are safe onboard this floating luxury liner, when they should be keeping their guard up like they would on the streets of their own city, including keeping their guard up with cruise ship employees.

Part of the problem is that many passengers assume that cruise ship employees have had their backgrounds checked by the cruise line, when that might not be the case at all. These statistics that were testified too, showed that these employees are involved in sexual and physical assaults.

The victim of a cruise ship sexual or physical assault has the legal right to hold the cruise ship accountable for an attack that occurred on their ship and they will need the protection of a Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego cruise ship sexual and physical assault attorney. This is a legal claim that can be complex and the cruise line that does not want to be held responsible or for other potential passengers to fear taking a cruise line will have attorneys representing their interests.