[Travelandtourism] Concordia Hearing: U.S. Senate Grills Cruise Industry on Safety, Taxation March 2, 2012

[cheryl echevarria]

It was rough going for the cruise industry at times in a U.S. Senate hearing room on Thursday. Depending on your perspective, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), chairman of the Committee on Science, Transportation and Commerce, was either a gallant crusader protecting the public from mayhem in the aftermath of Costa Concordia’s accident or a bit of a schoolyard bully.
The cruise safety topic at hand was “Are Current Regulations Enough to Protect Passengers and the Environment?” “The cruise ship industry is large, successful, and vastly profitable,” Sen. Rockefeller said in his written summary comments for the hearing. “The industry’s revenues top $25 billion a year. Nearly 13 million Americans took a cruise last year."The industry is growing with larger and larger ships entering service every year—some ships will carry over 5,000 passengers and crew," he said. "A modern cruise ship can carry the entire population of most West Virginia towns. They are floating private cities.”
Sen. Rockefeller said a unique and complex set of international rules governs the operations of the ship and the safety of passengers. “I believe that these rules work to protect the companies rather than their passengers,” he said. “We are here today to examine whether existing regulations are sufficient to protect the health and safety of passengers and the fragile ocean environment in which they operate.”
For those who want to read what Senator Rockefeller written remarks are:
This is the link:  http://1.usa.gov/yp8EDY
Safety is Top Priority
Speaking on behalf of the cruise industry, Christine Duffy, president and CEO, Cruise Lines International Association(CLIA)  passionately described the industry's safety record, its commitment, and the changes made since the Costa Concordia accident. 
Stressing that “safety is our number one priority and there is nothing more important,” Duffy reiterated statistics given in her U.S. House hearing appearance yesterday. Of 153.4 million guests who have sailed, there were 28 passenger and crew deaths due to operational issues. That said, she stressed that “not a single fatality is acceptable” to the industry.
She talked about the industry’s proactive safety review undertaken since the Costa Concordia accident on Jan. 13 inGiglio, Italy. She outlined the change in the muster policy to assure all passengers receive an emergency drill prior to sailing. And she indicated CLIA’s desire to work with maritime regulatory bodies to assure best practices for safety are adopted.
In addition, Duffy stressed that the cruise industry worked with Congress in 2010 on the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which is now law and requires certain reporting procedures and training for onboard crimes. 
Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), explained that he had constituents onboard Costa Concordia, and “when a passenger steps onto a cruise ship, they expect to relax and enjoy time off from the pressures of everyday life. No one expects to come onboard and [be part of] a nightmare.”His concerns were that the passengers were abandoned after the crash, noting: “We owe it to the public to ask the tough questions,” so that cruise ships are the safest they can be, with only the best trained, best qualified officers and crew and that all passengers receive their own proper safety evacuation instruction.
The hearing, Sen. Lautenberg said, will give the committee a better understanding of whether international standards are adequate, were followed, and where improvement needs to be made.

I will add more, when more if available.
Cheryl Echevarria
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