Project: Safe Cruise

Demonstration Project for Enhancing Security and Safety by Using an Independent Law Enforcement Officer or "Sea Marshal" on Each Ship

2007-03-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

Project Safe Cruise:
A Demonstration project for enhancing security and safety procedures on cruise ships by having an independent law enforcement officer or "Sea Marshal" on each ship.
Project Safe Cruise will consist of a one week cruise in 2007 that will showcase the type of security and safety system that could be put in place by cruise lines to insure the safety and security of all passengers and crew and at the same time preserve evidence of crimes and/or accidents. On this Maiden Voyage we hope to offer short entertaining seminars and panel discussions by various security experts and perhaps some celebrities, on missing persons, identity theft, date rape, kidnapping, teenage and young child safety, security, and general health and safety issues while in other countries or at sea, investment scams for seniors, how to buy art work, etc. We must focus on a positive solution that will benefit all parties involved and prevent future tragedies. With the help of former FBI and NYPD law enforcement experts, we ask you to do this as a way of honoring the 61 people who have gone overboard since the year 2000. Most of whom are presumed dead.
We believe the cruise lines are able and are in fact obligated to invest in a project that could pay dividends to all parties involved in the cruise ship safety and security issue, including the cruise companies and related business, victims and their families, government oversight agencies, and all future passengers and crew. We acknowledge that cruise lines have security and safety procedures in place. However, we also believe that there is an urgent need to enhance them for the following reasons: *The number of people overboard has increased significantly in the last five years. *A common element of each disappearance and in other cruise ship crimes and safety incidents is the lack of good evidence and/or successful investigations. Few if any crimes have been solved or prosecuted. *Overnight cruise ship operators carry close to ten million passengers on over 90 ships that call on hundreds of ports worldwide. *While on a cruise vacation, American citizens have a right to have an independent law enforcement person on each ship so they can immediately report crimes and safety problems.
It has been suggested that cruise ships are small floating cities. They should have law enforcement available just the same as small cities, and not just private security personnel. The need for enhanced security will grow over time as the number of "first time" passengers increase. They, especially, should be informed about the rights and protections available to them while on the open sea or on foreign soil. There currently are no reliable, in-depth, or up-to-date statistics on the number, type and frequency of cruise crimes and accidents among passengers or crew. These must be devloped so that trends can be monitored and improvements put in place to reduce the number of tragedies.
There are growing threats in the form of bird flu and other illnesses, terrorist threats, natural disasters, fires, equipment failures, and pirate attacks that underscore the need to have personnel in place that have the expertise, the experience, the training and authority to act, communicate, investigate, and monitor incidents quickly and effectively. Mysteries may be good for books, movies, and television but they offer no comfort or closure to those who have lost loved ones. We offer our support and prayers to all families as they struggle to resolve the tragedies of the past. Although we will never be able to prevent all deaths, crimes, or safety incidents that occur on cruise vacations, we can make a difference. And we can at least put a system in place that offers assurance to each and every American passenger that everything humanly possible was done to protect and/or save his or her friends and family while on a cruise vacation. A brief description of Project Safe Cruise is provided below. Specific dates, details, and additional information will be posted at http://www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com/ when it becomes available.
Project Safe Cruise could be a win-win solution for parties on both sides of the cruise ship safety issue. Look at it as an outside the box idea, a partnership if you will. Even though focusing on prevention is less glamorous and less dramatic than solving crimes, it is more efficient and gratifying, especially if we save one life or reduce the suffering for one family. We must work with the cruise lines to set up a cadre of independent contract employees that would act as security ombudsman (Sea Marshals) who would –
- Know how to deal with a terrorist situations, fires, natural disasters, equipment failures, crime, and health and safety
emergencies.
Develop and maintain a security and safety action plan for each ship, which would provide guidelines and procedures to follow for different threats and incidents.
Have the authority to lock down crime scenes and secure the chain of evidence.
- Help passengers file complaints with local authorities when there is theft or assaults, missing persons.
Act as liaison and reviewer of safe and unsafe shore excursion operators, establishments and neighborhoods at all ports of
call.
- Maintain and inspect fire/safety/security equipment on ships and on piers.
- Develop working relationships with global and local authorities for recent threats, incidents, watch lists, etc. Be Prepared.
- Act as a trusted, friendly cop on the beat providing peace of mind for customers and crewmembers.
Participate in regular training sessions and network with other Sea Marshals at quarterly conferences, sharing incidents,
problems, solutions, and heads up items on a searchable intranet web-based database.
- Monitor passengers, crewmembers and related contractors for suspicious activity.
- Learn how to handle various medical emergencies including contagious disease and contamination.
- File immediate and periodic reports with the FBI, Coast Guard and other appropriate authorities as outlined in the CLASS
Act.
- Develop and keep up to date various training methodologies for passengers and crewmembers.
Have available a means of communicating directly with law enforcement and emergency service personnel, such a satellite
phones.
Maintain crime scene equipment including DNA kits, a safe for effective storage of evidence, temporary holding rooms,
cameras, etc.
Have centralized independent legal staff available for consultation 24 hours a day when local authorities are not available.
Monitor whether was crewmembers are applying responsible service of alcohol, appropriate security measures, and not serving minors.
Deal immediately and directly with the FBI, Coast Guard, and other agencies and organizations in all ports of call.
Provide ongoing security and safety training to crew and travel agents and organizers including shore excursion groups.
Present short entertaining presentations outlining safety and security guidelines and resources for all passengers, including the design of a laminated security overview card for each cabin, similar to the ones used by air lines before each flight.
Monitor training given to crew members and contract employees to verify they are fully trained and competent before reporting for duty, including surprise inspections and safety/security drills.
Record and maintain a database of safety/security/crime incidents and health inspections and develop some analysis of current procedures and conduct of parties involved and recommend improvements for all.
Based on information from Internationalcruisevictims.org, we could develop agreements with the countries where the ships are flagged and major ports of call to temporarily deputize the onboard Sea Marshals, so they can consult, cooperate with, and act on behalf of the relevant authorities until their permanent staff could arrive and take over. They could stabilize the situation and begin investigations immediately. They would preserve evidence, maintain crime scenes, and interview crew members and passengers in a timely manner. The cadre could be staffed by ex-military and ex-law-enforcement personnel who would get salary and/or some free cruise or vacation packages for their work, kind of like how many campgrounds have frequent campers act as hosts. What works good on land should work good on the water including a Neighborhood Watch or Guardian Angel type system that could include frequent customers, crew members, contract employees, travel agents, etc. Design an Amber Alert system for use on ships, when passengers go missing. The use of this and an independent cadre perhaps named Sea Marshals would provide the most important factor or element for preventing and solving crimes: TIME. We sent information for a cruise ship security plan to the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations. Congressman Shays' subcommittee has introduced the "Shays/Maloney Cruise Line Accurate Safety Statistics Act"
http://www.house.gov/shays/news/2006/june/junecruise.htm

Establishing independent "Sea Marshals' on cruise ships is a real possibility as Carnival Australia's P&O lines have recently agreed to allow undercover liquor agents aboard as noted below. Also noted below is the idea that funding mechanisms are available to pay for "sea marshals" since Alaskans recently voted for a $50 head tax on cruise ship passengers.
According to the Sidney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/secret-inspectors-to-board-cruise-ships/2006/08/09/1154802960584.html
Carnival Australia/P&O Cruises Australia have greed to Undercover Liquor Agents:
THE State Government plans to send liquor and gaming inspectors on covert inspections of P&O Cruises after the Dianne Brimble affair, but the inspectors will be powerless to do anything if cruise staff fall out of line.
Staff and patrons will not be told of the inspectors' presence, but the company in charge of P&O, Carnival Australia, will know the inspectors are on board. It will pay their fares. The Government admits there is no way for sanctions to be placed on P&O if alcohol is not served responsibly because of travel in international waters. The Minister for Gaming and Racing, Grant McBride, said the inspections would allow the Government to see whether P&O was applying responsible service of alcohol and appropriate security. He said: "While it is at the company's invitation, officers will be going in undercover and crew members and patrons will be unaware of the operation.
"We are keen to do all we can to ensure citizens on cruise ships departing from NSW are protected."
Mr McBride is preparing to propose at the next meeting of state and territory ministers that the Federal Government be responsible for the safety of Australians on international cruise ships.
http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N23370827
In a state primary election ballot held on Tuesday, Alaskans passed a citizen initiative that will assess a $50 tax on each cruise passenger and tax the cruise lines' corporate earnings and gambling revenues reaped when the ships are in Alaska waters. The initiative also requires cruise ships to obtain wastewater discharge permits while operating in Alaska and to pay increased fines for any wastewater violations.

U.S. Maritime Security Expo - Sept 19-20, 2006 in New York City

2006-08-24T01:02:00.000-04:00

REB Security Consultants (Former FBI) and Gil Alba (Former NYPD) who will be helping with Project Safe Cruise will have a booth at the U.S. Maritime Security Expo - Sept 19-20, 2006 in New York City.
For Details go to website: http://www.gilalba.com/flash/index.html
Complimentary tickets by Gil Alba, Alba Investigations Inc. Please call 914 646 1302
9:00 am to 10:00 am –Speakers, Homeland Security & FBI
Continental Breakfast from 10:00 to 11:00
Visit Exhibits 11:00 to 12:00pm – Speakers- Top Management Officials
2:00 pm –U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Training Vessel(NEW THIS YEAR)Assault team simulating an attack, followed by a tour of NY Harbor (limited seating-provided on a first come-first serve basis)

Press Release: PROJECT SAFE CRUISE - A Win/Win Solution to Cruise Disappearances and other Crimes

2006-03-07T00:11:00.000-05:00

March 7, 2006 Press Release: PROJECT SAFE CRUISE - A Win/Win Solution to Cruise Disappearances and other Crimes

Are Cruise Ships Safe? Not Yet, But We're Working on it!
Here is the Challenge we wish to direct towards the cruise lines,

Now posted at http://www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com/ and www.safecruise.blogspot.com

In memory of all families and individuals that have suffered any type of loss
while on a CRUISE VACATION, we Challenge
All cruise line companies,
The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL),
Owners,
Stockholders,
Employees,
All media organizations,
Interested members of the public,
Members of Congressman Shays subcommittee and related government agencies,
And all related business; including but not limited to travel agents, hotels, airlines, suppliers, tourist groups, gift shops, restaurants, tour companies, and advertising firms

To participate in, support, and/or sponsor Project Safe Cruise, a joint government and private sector demonstration project. Project Safe Cruise will consist of a one week cruise in 2007 that will showcase the type of security and safety system that could be put in place by cruise lines to insure the safety and security of all passengers and crew and at the same time preserve evidence of crimes and/or accidents. On this Maiden Voyage we hope to offer short entertaining seminars and panel discussions by various security experts and perhaps some celebrities, on missing persons, identity theft, date rape, kidnapping, teenage and young child safety, security, safety, and health issues while in other countries or at sea, investment scams for seniors, how to buy art work, etc. We must focus on a positive solution that will benefit all parties involved and prevent future tragedies. If you are interested in learning more and perhaps joining the cruise or if you represent the press or would like to sponsor or help plan the cruise or if you have had similar experiences involving poor or non-existent safety and security procedures on a cruise please leave contact information in the comments section of http://www.safecruise.blogspot.com/ or http://www.safecruise.blogspot.com/ Or send an email to safecruise@hotmail.com or to mailto:safecruise@hotmail.com
With the help of former FBI and NYPD law enforcement experts, we ask you to do this as a way of honoring the 47 people who have gone overboard since the year 2000. Most of whom are presumed dead.
>Each year the cruise lines and their employees:
>Take in billions of dollars in profits
>Spend millions of dollars on advertising
>Spend over ten million dollars on lobbying
>Donate untold monies to various political campaigns

We believe the cruise lines are able and are in fact obligated to invest in a project that could pay dividends to all parties involved in the cruise ship safety and security issue, including the cruise companies and related business, victims and their families, government oversight agencies, and all future passengers and crew.

We acknowledge that cruise lines have security and safety procedures in place. However, we also believe that there is an urgent need to enhance them for the following reasons:
*The number of people overboard has increased significantly in the last five years.
*A common element of each disappearance and in other cruise ship crimes and safety incidents is the lack of good evidence and/or successful investigations. Few if any crimes have been prosecuted.
*Overnight cruise ship operators carry close to ten million passengers on over 90 ships that call on hundreds of ports worldwide.
*While on a cruise vacation, American citizens have a right to have an independent law enforcement person on each ship that they can immediately report crimes and safety problems.

It has been suggested that cruise ships are small floating cities. They should have law enforcement available just the same.
The need for enhanced security will grow over time as the number of "first time" passengers increase. They, especially, should be informed about the rights and protections available to them while on the open sea or on foreign soil. There currently are no reliable, in-depth, or up-to-date statistics on the number, type and frequency of cruise crimes and accidents among passengers or crew. These need to exist so that trends can be monitored and improvements put in place to reduce the number of tragedies.

There are growing threats in the form of bird flu and other illnesses, terrorist threats, and pirate attacks that underscore the need to have personnel in place that have the expertise, the experience, the training and authority to act, communicate, investigate, and monitor incidents quickly and effectively. Mysteries may be good for books, movies, and television shows but they offer no comfort or closure to those who have lost loved ones. We offer our support and prayers to all families as they struggle to resolve the tragedies of the past. Although we will never be able to prevent all deaths, crimes, or safety incidents that occur on cruise vacations, we can make a difference. And we can at least put a system in place that offers assurance to each and every American passenger that everything humanly possible was done to protect and/or save his or her friends and family while on a cruise vacation. A brief description of Project Safe Cruise is provided below. Specific dates, details, and additional information will be posted at http://www.projectsafecruise.blogspot.com/ when it becomes available.
Project Safe Cruise could be a win-win solution for parties on both sides of the cruise ship safety issue. Look at it as an outside the box idea, a partnership if you will. Even though focusing on prevention is less glamorous and less dramatic than solving crimes, it is more efficient and gratifying, especially if we save one life or reduce the suffering of one family. We must work with the cruise lines to set up a cadre of independent contract employees that would act as security ombudsman who would –
- Know how to deal with a terrorist situation.
- Have the authority to lock down crime scenes and secure the chain of evidence.
- Deal immediately and directly with the FBI, Coast Guard, and other agencies and organizations in all ports of call.
- Provide ongoing security and safety training to crew and travel agents and organizers including shore excursion groups.
- Record and maintain a database of incidents and present some analysis of current procedures and conduct of parties involved and recommend improvements for all.

The cadre could be staffed by ex-military and ex-law-enforcement personnel who would get salary and/or some free cruise or vacation packages for their work, kind of like how many campgrounds have frequent campers act as hosts. What works good on land should work good on the water including a Neighborhood Watch or Guardian Angel type system that could include frequent customers, crew members, contract employees, travel agents, etc. Design an Amber Alert system for use on ships. The use of this and an independent cadre perhaps named Sea Marshals would provide the most important factor or element for preventing and solving crimes: TIME. The former FBI and former NYPD investigators I have been talking with are drafting a cruise ship security plan and a letter to send to the Cruise lines. Perhaps, Homeland Security or the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations might do this as a demonstration project.

Coming in 2007: PROJECT SAFE CRUISE

2006-01-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

Originally Posted 12/28/2005

Project Safe Cruise will consist of a one week cruise in 2007 that will showcase the type of security and safety system that could be put in place by cruise lines to insure the safety and security of all passengers and crew and at the same time preserve evidence of crimes and/or accidents. On this Maiden Voyage we hope to offer short entertaining seminars and panel discussions by various security experts and perhaps some celebrities, on missing persons, identity theft, date rape, kidnapping, teenage and young child safety, security, safety, and health issues while in other countries or at sea, investment scams for seniors, how to buy art work, etc. We must focus on a postive solution that will benefit all parties involved and prevent future tragedies. This will be a win/win proposition giving all American passengers peace of mind and at the same time reducing crime and saving lives. If you are interested in learning more and perhaps joining the cruise or if you represent the press or would like to sponsor or help plan the cruise please leave contact information in the comments section or send an email to safecruise@hotmail.com. Become a charter member and be a part of history.

Project Safe Cruise could be a win-win solution for parties on both sides of the cruise ship safety issue. Look at it as an outside the box idea that is sort of like pre-event arbitration, a partnership if you will. Even though focusing on prevention is less glamorous and less dramatic than solving crimes, it is more efficient and gratifying, especially if we save one life or reduce the suffering of one family. We must work with the cruise lines to set up a cadre of independent contract employees that would act as security ombudsman who would –

Know how to deal with a terrorist situation.
Have the authority to lock down crime scenes and secure the chain of evidence .
Deal immediately and directly with the FBI, Coast Guard, and other agencies and organizations in all ports of call.
Provide ongoing security and safety training to crew and travel agents and organizers including shore excursion groups.
Record and maintain a database of incidents and present some analysis of current procedures and conduct of parties involved and recommend improvements for all.

The cadre could be staffed by ex-military and ex-law-enforcement personnel who would get salary and/or some free cruise or vacation packages for their work, kind of like how many campgrounds have frequent campers act as hosts. What works good on land should work good on the water including a Neighborhood Watch or Guardian Angel type system that could include frequent customers, crew members, contract employees, travel agents, etc. Design an Amber Alert system for use on ships. The use of this and an independent cadre perhaps named Sea Marshals would provide the most important factor or element for preventing and solving crimes: TIME. We will contact Congressman Shays or his subcommittee for possible grants to solve the problem by thinking outside of the box?

RCL Changes Murder Theme Cruises to Pirate Theme Cruises

2006-01-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Can you believe this?
http://www.whodunitcruises.com/
still offers mystery cruises in association with Royal Caribbean. After January 19, 2006 they now offer PIRATE Mystery Cruises. Before that date they offered MURDER Mystery Cruises. Besides changing the theme they have also removed offensive words like KILLER and CRIME and DYING and DEADLIER. And they have removed phrases like:

We finished our killer cruises for 2005 !! But 2006 will prove to be even a deadlier year !

Partners in Crime (AKA- Travel Agents)

CLICK HERE to see is how the web page appeared as of 1/19/06 according to MSN Search cache:

CLICK HERE to see is how the web page appears after 1/19/06:

RCL Stock drops 8.5% in One Week

2006-01-21T12:26:00.000-05:00

RCL (Common Stock) performance:

8.5% drop from January 13, 2006 through January 20, 2006. Perhaps their damage control is working about as well as their security and safety protocols? If there were $5 billion in stock that would amount to a loss of about $425 million. And RCL did not look that bad on Oprah this week.

As former presidents' entourage would say: "Its the bottom line, stupid!"

When it should be, "Read my lips, no new disappearances or deaths!"

ABC Primetime Investigates Cruise Disappearances at 10 pm on January 26

2006-01-20T16:05:00.000-05:00

ABC Primetime Investigates Cruise Disappearances at 10 pm on January 26

Schedule of Events

2006-01-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

Under Construction

List of Team Members

2006-01-14T11:48:00.000-05:00

Under Construction

Press Releases

2006-01-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

Under Construction

Contact Information

2006-01-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

projectsafecruise@hotmail.com

Under Construction