The U. S. Congress passed the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 in order to improve cruise passenger safety and ensure that, should a sexual assault occur onboard a cruise ship, the victim has access to trained first responders and to a confidential means of communication with law enforcement, legal and victim advocacy professionals. This law applies to cruise ships with overnight sleeping facilities that carry 250 or more passengers that depart from or call at U. S. ports.
Enhanced Vessel Safety Features
Vessel owners must install the following safety features within 18 months of the law's enactment date:
- Peep holes in passenger stateroom and crew cabin doors;
- Ship rails that are at least 42 inches high;
- Video surveillance equipment for monitoring passenger safety and "passenger overboard" situations;
- Acoustic hailing or warning devices that can be heard throughout the ship, for alerting passengers to danger;
- Passenger security guides, which will explain the process for reporting a serious crime, with detailed information about the legal and law enforcement policies and points of contact applicable if the crime occurs in port (U. S. or foreign) or at sea. The security guide will also include material about medical and security crewmembers' responsibilities and provide contact information for these crewmembers.
Ships built after the law goes into effect must have security latches and time-sensitive key technology installed on each passenger stateroom and crew cabin door.
Cruise lines must set up procedures for determining which crewmembers may enter passenger staterooms and documenting the permitted access times.
Trained Medical Personnel
Every ship's staff must include a doctor or registered nurse who is trained in assisting sexual assault victims and preserving evidence for use by law enforcement officers. Ships must carry anti-retroviral medications. Trained medical personnel who know how to administer these medicines must be onboard each ship, and a certification program will be developed and implemented to ensure that this training is adequate. Victims must also be able to contact legal, law enforcement, embassy, Coast Guard and victim support service offices via private telephone or Internet connection from onboard the ship.
Cruise Vessel Crime Reporting
Each ship must create and maintain a log of crime reports and track serious crimes (murder, suspicious death, missing person, kidnapping, assault with serious bodily injury, theft of items valued over $10,000, tampering with the ship or setting it on fire, sexual abuse or sexual abuse of a minor), thefts of items or money valued at over $1,000 and all other reported crimes. The statistics must be reported to the U. S. Department of Homeland Security for inclusion in a database that is accessible to the public.
If a serious crime takes place on the vessel, it must be reported as soon as possible to a field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or to a legal attaché and reported in writing to the Department of Homeland Security.
Effective Dates
Most of the provisions of this law go into effect one year after the date it takes effect. The certification of medical personnel training takes effect two years after enactment of this law.
