Critics lead push for crackdown on cruise ship industry

The Chicago Tribune -- WASHINGTON - Laurie Dishman, a 37-year-old food-services manager from Sacramento, said it was time to face her fears head-on, so she took a therapeutic trip to the Port of Miami last weekend.

It was the first time she'd gone near big ships since 2006, when she was raped on a cruise by one of the ship's janitors. Back then, she was appalled when the crew responded by telling her that she needed to control her drinking. So on Sunday, at one of the busiest ports in the nation, she handed out more than 300 pamphlets to people as they began their vacations, warning them of danger.

"There are no laws out there," Dishman said in an interview. "All kinds of things can happen on this floating city in the middle of the ocean, and there's no security. There's no protection. You think you have American rights when you board a ship, but you don't."

The industry is fighting back, saying that Americans are safer on cruise ships than they are on land and that no regulatory changes are needed. "The cruise industry's number-one priority is safety of its passengers and crew," said Terry Dale, the president and chief executive officer of the Ft. Lauderdale-based Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 24 cruise lines and 16,500 travel agencies. "Quite simply, Americans are extremely safe at sea today."

Dishman, however, is confident that her message will lead to a new federal law. When Congress returns from its summer recess on Sept. 8, she and other crime victims will be on Capitol Hill to lobby for a plan that would force cruise industry officials to change the way they do business.

Critics say that immediate changes are needed because under current law, cruise ships aren't required to report even the most serious crimes that are committed in international waters. READ MORE