Job well done by several hundreds of Carnival crew members and shore side employees who participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Day. On September 19, they did their part to help environment by cleaning the coast and beaches in different seaside locations from Europe, Florida and the Caribbean to Central America. Carnival Cruise line employees give a great example of the line’s ongoing commitment for environmental protection and preservation. 

Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas has been damaged by a strong winds that the ship encountered this morning. The ship was hit by powerful wind at 5:00 AM waking up all passengers onboard, while sailing near Greek Isles. The ship sustained damages in public areas and several large windows in the dinning room have been broken.  There are also reports that the ship heavily listed and water poured from the pool deck to several decks bellow.

Fire broke out aboard the cruise ship Emerald Princess, on September 17 while the ship was sailing from Southampton to Las Palmas. The news was headlined by the popular maritime blog Cruise Law News. A passenger sailing on the current voyage send a message to Jim Walker, saying that the fire started in the engine room.

The Bosnian Serb, Zoran Jaksic, who is one of the leading figures of the global criminal group "America," was arrested in Peru. Jaksic was arrested in the Peruvian border city Tumbes, when he tried to enter Ecuador in July. According to officials, the group “America” maintained a distribution of cocaine from Peru via Argentina to the Netherlands and Belgium.

A 31-year-old man from St.Vincent and Grenadines was arrested for scamming people with a promise to secure for them jobs on a cruise ships. The accused Tedroy McCree has taken money from 40 people he deceived ranging from $50 to $950. McCree was denied bail when he appeared at the Court because he could hinder the investigation if released. St. Vincent police is still investigating reports by the people tricked in believing that McCree was recruiting agent for a popular cruise line.

Many of you have emailed me after yesterday’s note about the loss of our colleague Ariel Leyson and asked what you could do to help.

In a tragic accident on Tuesday, Harmony of the Seas crew family, lost one of their own. Royal Caribbean President and CEO Michael Bayley released the following statement on his Facebook profile:

Preliminary investigation on Harmony of the Seas incident carried by Marseille prosecutor Xavier Tarabeux, indicate that the lifeboat lowering equipment was functioning properly. Tarabeux said the investigation had so far found no signs of "faulty equipment". He added that "The investigation is shifting towards the theory that human error was to blame." Investigators are now focusing on whether mistakes were made in the procedures of lowering the lifeboat.

Just over three months after its inaugural cruise, Harmony of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world, is a scene of a serious accident. According to information provided by the French newspaper "La Provence", a lifeboat with five crew members inside detached off deck 5 crashing into the sea.  One crew member has been killed and two other crew are critically injured after a lifeboat fell while the ship conducted lifeboat drill in the French port of Marseille on Tuesday, September 13.

Looking for ways to rise more money, the City Council of Colon decided to implement $10 tax for each person landing by Cruise Ship. This controversial tax passed on June 19, 2016 raised the alarm by the Maritime Chamber of Panama, saying that this will affect the cruise ships coming in this port, and directing their vessels in other ports.