“Safety First” is the standard motto of cruise liners that promote to crew members and their guests. As soon as a crew member boards a ship the training for cruise safety related to crew members and guests is initiated. How many crew members can remember barely sleeping the first week due to work and safety trainings? I am sure most, if not all, as it is the standard training for most major cruise liners. However, one may question whether the motto “Safety First” is referred only for guests, but not crew members?
The previously mentioned question that is posed is due to the frequent lack of information related to any accidents or even criminal behavior that occurs related to crew members. For instance, in the news currently circulates the story of two crew members who have been found dead on two separate cruise ships within the jurisdiction of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The first incident is related to a male officer who was found dead early Sunday aboard a cruise ship anchored at the private island serving Disney Cruise Lines vessels, Castaway Cay. The second incident is reported as the finding of a female crew member’s lifeless body aboard another vessel early Monday morning. However, the name of the vessel or the cruise liner is not reported. The authorities investigating these two incidents are keeping the details to both cases very tightly, not disclosing any identifying information not only to the two crew members in question, but also not even the names of the vessels in question.
While the responsibility to protect all human life through the “Safety First” is placed on crew members, the question stands who is responsible to protect the human life of the crew members? Although due to “active investigation” it is common for authorities to keep certain details of active cases a secret in the effort to solve the case or to catch a perpetrator; however, the same authorities has the responsibility to inform the remaining crew members and guests if there is a potential threat, as well as the general public that may consider boarding those ships.
When a death of questionable circumstances occurs in our communities on land, the news and the authorities often inform the citizens if there is a potential threat and danger in order to take special precautions, as well provide significant information to collaborate with the community in the effort to capture a potential perpetrator if it is determined that one or more do exist. However, when it comes to crew members and cruise liners this does not occur frequently, if at all. One may wonder if this is due to the power of the cruise industry that provides such an enormous income for the Bahamas receiving special treatment from the authorities in the effort to not lose guests and revenue. If this is the case, than what is the worth of one crew member’s life if it does not receive the same dignity of information of potential threat as he or she would receive on land as a part of the general community? For those who work or have worked on cruise ships, we know our worth as soon as we sign that contract. Regardless, if threat is current and known, crew members deserve the information to heighten their ability to protect not only themselves better, but their GUESTS as well.
