ICCL’s president, Michael Crye, and Charlie Mandigo, Director of Fleet Security for Holland America, opened and led the session by focusing on the safety record of the cruise industry in the new age of terrorism. Some of the facts presented were rather eye-opening.  

Cruise ships have been remarkably free from terrorist acts for the last 30 years. Only one passenger death as a result of a terrorist action on board a cruise ship has ever occurred in modern history. In 1985, 69 year-old wheelchair-bound Jewish passenger from New York named Leon Klinghoffer was shot to death by hijackers from the Palestinian Liberation Front who had taken over the cruise ship Achilles Lauro in the Mediterranean. 

There are many reasons for this somewhat impeccable run of security and terror-free good fortune in the cruise industry according to ICCL and cruise line industry officials. To begin, Mr. Mandigo described cruise ships to be, “more in the nature of a floating hotel… rather than as part of the nation’s critical transportation infrastructure. Most likely, a successful attack on a cruise ship would not seriously affect business or commercial travel like a series of public transportation attacks has done in the past.” The terrorists would not thereby readily accomplish one of their most important goals: disruption of the national economy.

Recent research also indicates that terrorists wish to use targets and methods that have been successfully used before and that can easily be taught and replicated. Cruise ships are clearly not in this category.  

Moreover, the high cost of access to a cruise ship is in and of itself an additional security layer. Hijackers simply do not want to pay several thousand dollars to reach and board a luxury cruise ship when they can easily enter a nearby subway station for a few coins and have ready access to huge crowds of soft targets. 

No longer can relatives and friends gather near a cruise ship gangway for a bon voyage or a welcome home. Today, even brief authorized visitors (including media members) to cruise ships must provide security information to the cruise line at least 4 days prior to the intended boarding. The cruise line industry has also implemented multiple security checks for all passengers with up to 5 access control points at many ports. These checkpoints invariably include extensive baggage checks, metal detection and X-rays scans, and passenger verifications and badging that typically start at the streetside door of the port building and continue throughout the entire process of embarkation.  

Photographs of each passenger are taken prior to the initial boarding and then loaded into the ships’ electronic security systems with additional ID information. Each passenger is then given a matching encoded security card that must be used when leaving or reboarding the ship. When a passenger reboards a ship after a port-o’-call, the card is swiped and the ship’s security system shows the photo that is then verified by the cruise security personnel to ensure the face in the computer registry matches that of the presenting passenger. Detailed electronic records are kept for each passenger that boards or disembarks form the ship.

Cruise lines pay special attention to MARSEC (Maritime Security) threat levels, which are similar to the US Department of Homeland Security’s threat levels, but which are set in each seaport by local governmental authorities. Cruise ships have been known to entirely skip ports that have even slightly elevated MARSEC threat levels. These ships are maneuverable, highly self-sufficient and can change itineraries at will. Unlike an aircraft that might be running dangerously low on fuel during a hijacking, a cruise ship can do just fine at a dead stop in the water. Even at the lowest MARSEC threat levels, the cruise lines actively screen 100% of their passengers, luggage and stores.  

Unlike a ferry, no vehicles are loaded aboard cruise ship, thereby obviating an attack by car or truck bomb. Similarly, cruise ships carry no container cargo where large explosive caches could be hidden and later detonated. By their sheer numbers, the many crewmembers on these ships, numbering in the hundreds and even approaching 1,000 on the largest cruise ships, are another significant deterrent against an attempted hijacking.  

One area of anti-terrorism security that the cruise industry is apparently actively working on is providing additional layers of protection that would prevent or deter a USS Cole-type of attack on a cruise ship by a fast moving boat laden with explosives. Although ICCL and industry officials indicated that there were indeed deterrents to such an attack already in place, they declined to elaborate arguing that the release of such information would reduce or render ineffective such measures if know to potential terrorists.  

Many other factors were cited by ICCL and cruise line officials for the lack of successful terrorist attack on cruise ships including wide-ranging internationally accepted legislation promoting and standardizing maritime security and the close and continuing collaboration between the cruise industry, the Coast Guard and State, Federal and foreign port authorities. Also cited were such measures as frequent ship security audits and assessments, detailed security planning including drills and exercises, and a contingent of designated security personnel on board every ship.  

For the time being at least, the cruise lines appear to remain relatively insulated from the terrorists’ favorite targets: airlines, trains, buses and other forms of public transportation as well as land-based resort hotels and restaurants.  

Cruise 101  Part 2- Cruise Ships and Eco-Tourism
By Patrick Peartree, TravelTalkMEDIA 

Aboard the ms Staterdam in the Port of San Diego: Representatives of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), together with cruise line officials from Holland America Lines, Inc., recently presented Cruise 101, An Overview of the Issues Facing Cruise Lines Today. One of the major topics addressed was that of the environmental impact of cruise ships on the world’s oceans.

The ICCL represents all of the world’s 16 major cruise lines in setting and promulgating industry security practices and procedures, environmental policies and accessibility standards as well as many other internal regulations.

Presenting for the cruise line industry on environmental impact issues was Capt. L. “Nick” Schowengert, Holland America’s Director of Policy and Plans. According to Schowengert, the cruise line industry has made an absolute commitment to protection of the environment and “…leave nothing behind except a wake.” The industry clearly realizes that it is the environments cruise ships visit – the Bahamas, Mediterranean seaports, and glaciers on the Inside Passage of Alaska – all of which are considered to be highly sensitive, biodiverse areas - that really sell cruises. And few passengers would enjoy seeing, much less knowing, their garbage, or worse, their sewage, was being tossed or flushed straight into the beautiful seas and pristine maritime environments they are paying dearly to see.

Today, it is the stated commitment of the cruise line industry to use state-of-the-art technology  to “…design, construct and operate cruise ships to minimize their impact on the environment and meet or exceed the requirements of applicable treaties, laws, regulations, standards and agreements.” The cruise industry also has a goal of “expanding waste reduction strategies including reuse and recycling to the maximum extent.”

Through the International Maritime Organization, the US and other maritime nations have worked to develop consistent and uniform international conventions and standards that apply to all vessels engaged in international commerce. These include MARPOL (Maritime Pollution) Convention, SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) and numerous national laws and regulations of Flag States and Port States (including the United States). US laws include the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The US Coast Guard enforces both international conventions and domestic laws. In addition, many industry standards have been issued by the ICCL and others.

The industry’s current focus on tourism and sensitive biodiversity zone issues is critical in light of the fact that approximately 70 percent of cruise destinations are in biodiversity hotspots, including the Caribbean, Alaska, the Mediterranean, Mexico, the Panama Canal Zone, and the South Pacific. A preponderance of species diversity is found exclusively within the earth's 25 designated biodiversity hotspots which, when combined, actually cover a very small percentage of the Earth's oceanic surface. Each biodiversity hotspot has already lost much if not the majority of its original species habitat, and the remainder face imminent threat of further destruction.

In response, Holland America claims to have gone to nearly total recycling of all solid wastes on board its ships including implementing such measures as clearly marked recycling bins in every stateroom (since 1993), receptacles in the gift shops reminding passengers to recycle their camera batteries, and designing treatment centers in the belly of the ships for shredding, crushing, packing and storing glass and plastic, paper and metal. The policy of ICCL members is a goal of zero discharge of solid waste products. Everything from used laser printer cartridges to mercury vapor and fluorescent light bulbs to dry-cleaning waste fluids created or used aboard cruise ships is being collected, sorted, treated, bagged, stored and safely offloaded onshore for proper disposal.

There are new policies, processes and procedures onboard all cruise ships for handling everything from oily bilge water to the proper disposal of used and outdated pharmaceuticals as well as  photoshop and printshop waste fluids. Even simple strategies such as encouraging passengers to reuse bath towels and forego daily linen changes are being undertaken.

Onboard sewage treatment and water purification is another complex area that the cruise line industry has trying to get its arms around. Utilizing rapidly changing technological advancements, some ICCL members are field testing wastewater treatment systems that employ cutting-edge systems. Using state-of-the-art filtering and maritime sanitation devices (MSDs), the goal is to treat both gray water (from showers, sinks and dishwashers) and black water (from urinals, toilets and medical sinks) in an attempt to reach effluent discharges that are of high quality and purity even allowing the reclaiming water for re-use in ballast tanks. Recent years have seen the installation of several water treatment prototypes on more than 20 ships at a cost of $50 million USD. Many of these systems, while capable of meeting high standards for treatment, are still in the early stages of application for applied use and include the use of plasma energy, ultra-violet radiation, filtration, heat, biological, chemical brocides, ozone and deoxygenation. These new systems can result in water discharge levels on the ships that are near-drinking water quality.

According to recent company press releases, Holland America Line has a history of embracing new environmental technologies.  Four years ago, at a cost of US$2.5 million per ship, the company installed a revolutionary wastewater treatment process aboard six ships to purify sewage, sink and shower water to near-drinking water quality. 

Sometimes, embracing these new technologies proves difficult. Because ships constantly move dynamically, some types of wastewater treatment and processing are very difficult to achieve and effective land-based technology must occasionally be radically altered for the same basic processes to work onboard. Retrofitting the behemoths for new technology can be prohibitively expensive. Another challenge is the many environmental regulations and laws that vary by jurisdiction and that may change rapidly based on the variety of locations that cruise ships may visit on a single trip.

To reduce emissions, ship are being retrofitted with exhaust scrubbers in their smokestacks, gas turbines are being installed in new ships, and alternative power sources are being considered.

Perhaps we will see a nuclear-powered cruise ship in the not so distant future.
 

Cruise 101  Part 3 - Accessibility
By Patrick Peartree, TravelTalkMEDIA

Representatives of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) together with cruise line officials recently presented Cruise 101, a seminar to discuss current issues faced by industry. This three part series looks at what the cruise line industry is doing in the areas of ensuring passenger safety, environmental protection and accessibility for the physically challenged.

Modern cruise ships are truly engineering marvels, but what responsibility do foreign passenger ships have to comply with the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) when in US waters?  Cruise ships, although seen by many people as being “floating hotels”, are obviously quite different than land-based buildings and, according to a recent Supreme Court ruling, may require a completely different set of engineering principles.                                                        

In the case of Spector v. Norwegian Cruise Line Ltd, the US Supreme Court reached three important conclusions about how ADA will be interpreted and applied when it comes to foreign cruise ships in US waters. First, the court held that foreign cruise ships in US waters can be held liable to disabled passengers for discriminatory policies and practices. Second, as a general rule, US laws are presumed not to apply to the internal affairs of foreign ships in US waters, and the court held that ADA probably cannot require permanent, substantial structural changes to passenger ships if it would interfere with the “internal affairs” of the vessel. The court broadly expanded the meaning of “internal affairs” in its ruling to include a ship’s basic design and construction. Third, structural changes that could conflict with international treaties or threaten shipboard safety are likely not considered “readily achievable” and might not be required anyway.

Unfortunately, other than setting forth these broad rules and recognizing that there are limits to the structural changes that can reasonably be required on foreign ships under ADA, the Court did not provide much in the way of details. The resulting vagueness of the ruling leaves open much for interpretation. Fortunately, the cruise industry appears to already be doing a great deal to open its doors to people with physical disabilities by retrofitting older ships and designing and building new ships to meet the special-needs passenger market.

Statistics show that one in five Americans has a special need affecting their lifestyles. The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), representing 16 of the largest cruise lines in the world, believes that passengers with special needs, and their families and friends, are a vital segment of the cruise industry’s growth. Moreover, a growing number of people the ADA is designed to protect see cruising as a viable vacation choice, perhaps their only practical choice to see the world. The cruise line industry has recently shown a strong desire to cater to those with disabilities, but says it must balance that desire against the cost of making radical engineering changes to existing cruise ships.

Most cruise lines now offer public areas and staterooms large enough for those dependent on wheelchairs including accessible bathroom with railings and emergency call buttons. Braille coded elevator buttons, room numbers, and restaurant menus are also in place on most ships for those with vision disabilities and guide dogs are also now widely welcomed. Many cruise lines provide a TTY, a text messaging device, that allows easier communication for folks with hearing disabilities. There are even some cruise lines that include a variety of tours in the ports they visit that can accommodate guests with special needs.

One thing to be aware of: Nearly every cruise line requests that special needs guests provide advance notification of their requirements at the time of booking to ensure that the necessary accommodations are available.

A trip aboard a modern cruise ship may in fact be the best choice for a person with special needs as well as their friends and family who wish to travel as a group. More and more in today’s competitive cruise markets, people with special needs can truly experience the world and the delights and comforts of a modern floating resort

The author is Corporate Counsel and Executive VP of Business Development for TravelTalkMEDIA, a division of CelestiaLINK, LLC. TravelTalkRADIO and TravelTalkTV are also in the TravelTalkMEDIA division.

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