Miami, FL Admiralty and Maritime Law Attorney Robert C. Gross, P.A. Discusses Passenger Safety on Cruise Ships

"From 2005 to 2010, about 100 million passengers took cruises, and there were 16 deaths attributed to marine accidents, according to the Cruise Lines International Association." – "So, Just How Safe Is Your Ship?" Michelle Higgins – New York Times – February 1, 2012

The GP Wild Report

In the weeks following the Costa Concordia cruise ship accident, the luxury liner industry made a concerted effort to publicize information like this in an attempt to mitigate the public relations damage caused by the catastrophe. The figure referred to in the NY Times article comes from a paid research report that was prepared by GP Wild (International) Ltd. The report states that from the years 2006 to 2011, 102.84 million passengers embarked on cruise vessels. Of those passengers, only 490 suffered injuries and there were only 16 fatalities. The report concludes that, "While any single fatality is one too many, the data released by GP Wild confirms that cruising is one of the safest forms of recreation and travel in the world."

Substantiating the Numbers

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal published on April 13, 2012 entitled "Cruise-Ship Safety is Tough to Track," there is no single, reliable data source that tracks deaths or accidents aboard cruise ships. The article further states that the research firm did not include deaths from drowning or passengers who fell overboard—which are frequently suicides. Additionally, deaths resulting from natural causes were removed from the reports.

"The firm includes only deaths it discovers from the news media or other public sources, though some are missed by this method." – "Cruise-Ship Safety is Tough to Track" Carl Bialik – Wall Street Journal – April 13, 2012.

Beware of the Cruise Industry's Statistical Data

The cruise ship industry will undoubtedly refer to the GP Wild report to demonstrate its safety track record to new and returning customers. It is, however, important for passengers to remember that accidents and wrongful deaths occur aboard vessels at a much higher rate than they're being lead to believe. As a Miami maritime law attorney who represents passengers and crew members who have been injured aboard cruise ships, my personal experience would indicate that the numbers reported in the GP Wild report are inaccurate and biased.