On the second anniversary of the Costa Concordia disaster, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is releasing a new report on cruise ship safety.
Currently, 11 of 15 safety provisions from the 2010 Cruise Vessel Safety & Security have been implemented. Still outstanding is regulation of cruise crime reporting. The law requires reporting of sexual or physical assaults. However, cruise lines are not obligated to report incidents of theft under $10,000.
Additionally, there has been some concerns over cruise lines not reporting crimes in an efficient manner. For the public to make an informed decision, crimes should be reported by cruise line, cruise ship and itinerary. Currently, travelers are entitled to this information, but it is not readily available.
Right now, the main concern is if the current cruise legislation is sufficient or whether the government will establish even stricter rules about safety, training and crime reporting, or whether the cruise industry will be allowed to self regulate.
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