PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 25, 2008

The World-Wide Weekend for Cruise Safety Awareness

SAMMAMISH, WASHINGTON The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc. (ICV), is a not for profit corporation formed by victims and families of victims of cruise crimes, On Sunday, August 24^th members of ICV were at major ports providing embarking passengers with information to make their cruise a safe and pleasant experience.  Passengers were given a flyer entitled

 “Don’t Snooze Before You Cruise

Things You Should Know Before You Leave Port”

Representatives of ICV were at various ports including Seattle, Los Angeles, and Miami.  Heading the ICV team efforts in those ports were Jamie Barnett, Laurie Dishman and Shari Cecil.  Because of the tragedy that these individuals and other ICV members have personally suffered, they are committed to making the public aware of the dangers of going on a cruise.

Jamie Barnett indicated the following: “What if someone had been standing on a corner to hand one of those to my daughter, Ashley!!!  Or to Laurie, or on and on and on.  We did some good work today.  I’m proud to have been a part of it.  I can’t wait to do it again, only bigger this time.” 

Creating a public awareness is one of the goals of ICV.  A brief  summary of the material given included important information to help passengers have a safe trip including the following steps passengers can take to protect themselves…  

·         Be vigilant.  Use the buddy system on the ship and set rules for your children as you would at home.

·         Always check your cabin thoroughly when you enter, including the bathroom and closet, while your door is still open.

·         Never let your key card out of your sight.

·         Be aware that the lawful drinking age and legal limits for alcohol consumption, even legal age for sexual consent as we know it ashore, may not apply on a cruise.

·         Be aware of the increasing use of date rape drugs and only drink beverages that you have witnessed being prepared.  Ask that bottles come unopened. 

·         Should you witness someone go overboard, don’t jump in after them but report it to the crew immediately, always keeping your eyes on the victim and pointing to him or her.

·         Should you or your companions become the victim of a crime on board, or if you believe someone is missing, you should immediately contact the FBI at (202) 324-3000.

There is no reason that passengers on cruise ships should not have the same protection that they would at a resort in the United States.   As demonstrated by the efforts of our members to caution passengers on cruise ships, the goal of ICV is to support all efforts to protect crew and passengers.

Legislation has recently been introduced in both the US House of Representatives (HR.6408) and the US Senate (S.3204), entitled The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2008 that would improve ship safety, provide for transparency in reporting crimes, improve crime scene response, improve security training procedures and enforce safety and environmental standards.

As the bill’s author, Sen. John Kerry, stated, “Passenger safety should be the top priority for the cruise line industry, and it’s clear that they have work to do.”  You can support this bill by contacting your US representatives to voice your concern.

For more information about the International Crime Victims Association, please visit www.internationalcruisevictims.org or contact the following:

Kendall Carver
E-Mail Kcarver17@cox.net                                              Phone 602 852 5896