Princess Cruises Sued for Failing to Rescue Fishermen

Princess Cruises Sued for Failing to Rescue Fishermen

Princess Cruises has been charged with a lawsuit due to its "outrageous conduct" and "callous disregard for human life" as it failed to rescue three young men aboard a disabled Panamanian fishing boat, two of whom later died at sea.

The civil complaint, in a tragic high seas case that has caught international attention, was filed in court in Miami last week.  It was filed on behalf of 18-year-old Adrian Vasquez of Panama, the sole survivor of the incident in the open Pacific Ocean earlier this year.

Vasquez and his two friends, 16-year-old Fernando Osorio and Oropeces Betancourt, 24, were adrift after losing power aboard the small boat in which they had embarked from Rio Hato, Panama, on February 24.

The vessel, named the Fifty Cents, had been adrift for 15 days when it saw the Star Princess, a luxury cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, the lawsuit says.  Three passengers aboard the Star Princess spotted it and alerted a crew member to the vessel, as Vasquez and his friends waved their arms and a shirt tied to a pole to signal they were in distress.

The cruise ship refused to offer any assistance, did not alter its course and sealed the fate of two young men who died what were otherwise avoidable deaths, according to the lawsuit.

The lack of help was despite the fact that the crew member who "visually confirmed the distressed boat" was alleged to have reported the emergency situation to the cruise ship's bridge and other Princess employees, the civil complaint says.

According to Manuel Epelbaum, Vasquez’s attorney, Osorio died about 24 to 36 hours after the Star Princess sighting.  Osorio's death was followed within a matter of days by that of Betancourt’s, he said.

Princess Cruises, a unit of global cruise industry giant Carnival Corp, said it was still investigating the Fifty Cents incident and the claim that Star Princess failed to rescue the disabled fishing boat.

Vasquez was rescued 13 days after being sighted by the Star Princess passengers by another fishing boat near the Galapagos Islands, according to the lawsuit.

Epelbaum said the Star Princess' failure to rescue people lost at sea violated general maritime law and several international treaties or conventions.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Thursday May 17 2012, 4:11 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0