Democratic lawmaker says cruise ship accident shows need for more regulation

Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) says the Italian cruise ship accident that left 11 people dead shows the need for more regulation of the industry. 

Matsui, who sponsored legislation passed by Congress last year to improve the safety of passengers onboard cruise ships, said Tuesday the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act that signed into law last year by President Obama was just the first step necessary to rein in a “highly unregulated cruise line industry.”

{mosads}“The Costa Concordia tragedy underlines the critical need for greater regulation of the cruise line industry,” she said in a statement. “While this was a major step forward in oversight of the highly unregulated cruise line industry, the incident in Italy shows that still more must be done to protect passengers.” 

Matsui said during the debate over the 2010 cruise line bill that she introduced the measure because one of her constituents was sexually assaulted during a cruise. 

The law focuses more on the behavior of passengers aboard ships than on the safety of the vessels themselves. For example, it requires cruise lines to provide video surveillance and provide medical personnel on board to deal with the possibility of sexual assaults.

The law also required cruise ships to be fitted with peepholes in passenger’s rooms and side rails that were at least 42 inches high.

The measure does not address the responsibilities of cruise ship captains when accidents occur. The captain of the Costa Concordia, which was carrying 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it crashed near Italy, reportedly abandoned the damaged ship.

Matsui pledged to “continue working with my colleagues to see that there is greater regulation of, and accountability for, the cruise industry, so that a tragedy like this does not occur again.”