1.Short title; table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of
2009
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of
contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Cruise vessel security and safety
requirements.
Sec. 4. Detailing Coast Guard personnel to
enforce cruise ship requirements.
Sec. 5. Study and report on the security
needs of passenger vessels.
Sec. 6. Amendment of the Death on the High
Seas Act.
2.The Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)There are
approximately 200 overnight ocean-going cruise vessels worldwide. The average
ocean-going cruise vessel carries 2,000 passengers with a crew of 950
people.
(2)In 2007 alone,
approximately 12,000,000 passengers were projected to take a cruise
worldwide.
(3)Even with these
high passenger numbers, few vacationing passengers on cruise vessels fully
appreciate their potential vulnerability to crime while on an ocean voyage, and
those who are victimized often do not know their legal rights or whom to
contact for help in the immediate aftermath of the crime.
(4)On numerous
occasions, sexual violence, the disappearance of passengers from vessels on the
high seas, and other serious crimes have occurred during luxury cruises.
(5)Over the last five
years, sexual assault and physical assaults on cruise vessels were the leading
crimes reported to and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with
regard to cruise vessel incidents.
(6)These crimes at
sea can involve attacks both by passengers and crewmembers on other passengers
and crewmembers.
(7)There are no
Federal statutes or regulations that explicitly require cruise lines to report
alleged crimes to United States Government officials, unless such crimes occur
within the territorial waters of the United States.
(8)It is not known
precisely how often crimes occur on cruise vessels or exactly how many people
have disappeared during ocean voyages because cruise line companies do not make
comprehensive, crime-related data readily available to the public.
(9)Obtaining reliable
crime-related cruise data from governmental sources can be difficult, because
multiple countries may be involved when a crime occurs on the high seas,
including the flag country for the vessel, the country of citizenship of
particular passengers, and any countries having special or maritime
jurisdiction.
(10)Due to the
absence of law enforcement officials on ocean voyages, it can be difficult or
impossible for professional criminal investigators to immediately secure an
alleged crime scene on a cruise vessel, recover evidence of an onboard offense,
and identify or interview potential witnesses to the alleged crime.
(11)Most cruise
vessels that operate into and out of United States ports are registered under
the laws of another country, and investigations and prosecutions of crimes
against passengers and crewmembers may involve the laws and authorities of
multiple nations.
(12)The Department of
Homeland Security has found it necessary to establish 500-yard security zones
around vessels to limit the risk of terrorist attack, but no viable means of
communicating and enforcing the security zones has been established. Recently
piracy has dramatically increased throughout the world and vessels have limited
if any means of protection against piracy and terrorism while on the high
seas.
(13)To enhance safety of cruise passengers, the
owner of these cruise vessels could upgrade, modernize, and retrofit the safety
and security infrastructure on such vessels by installing peep holes in
passenger room doors, installing security video cameras in targeted areas,
limiting access to passenger rooms to select staff during specific times,
installing acoustic hailing and warning devices capable of communicating and
enforcing the 500-yard security zone.
3.Cruise vessel
security and safety requirements
(a)Chapter 35 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
3507.Cruise vessel
security and safety requirements
(a)Vessel Design,
Construction, and Retrofitting Requirements
(1)Each passenger vessel to which this subsection applies
shall comply with the following design and construction standards:
(A)The vessel shall
be equipped with ship rails that are located not less than
41/2 feet above the deck.
(B)Each passenger
stateroom and crew cabin shall be equipped with entry doors that
include—
(i)peep holes;
(ii)security latches;
and
(iii)time sensitive
key technology.
(C)Fire safety codes
shall be implemented.
(D)The vessel shall
integrate technology that can be used for detecting passengers who have fallen
overboard, to the extent that such technology is available.
(E)The vessel shall be equipped with a
sufficient number of operable acoustic hailing and warning devices to provide
360 degrees of communication capability around the vessel. The acoustic hailing
and warning devices shall be capable of communicating clear voice instructions
to approaching vessels that are 500 yards away, over 88 dB of background noise
at the listener’s position with 90 percent intelligibility. The broadcasts made
by such devices shall be directional in nature so as not confuse other vessel
operators who are not in the security zone and to limit unnecessary noise. The
device controls shall be manned and operable during transits in and out of
harbors and whenever another vessel approaches within 500 yards of the
passenger vessel
(2)The requirements of paragraph (1) shall take effect 36
months after the date of the enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of
2009.
(b)Crew Access to
Passenger StateroomsThe owner, charterer, managing operator,
master, or individual in charge of a vessel to which this section applies
shall—
(1)establish and
implement procedures and restrictions concerning—
(A)which crewmembers
have access to passenger staterooms; and
(B)the periods during
which they have that access; and
(2)ensure that the
procedures and restrictions are fully and properly implemented and periodically
reviewed.
(c)Log Book and
Reporting Requirements
(1)The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or
individual in charge of a vessel to which this section applies shall—
(A)record in a log
book reports on reported deaths, missing individuals, and each significant
alleged crime committed on the vessel, and all passenger and crewmember
complaints regarding theft, sexual harassment, and assaults; and
(B)make such log book
available—
(i)upon request to
any agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, any member of the Coast
Guard, and any law enforcement officer; and
(ii)to the Coast
Guard in an electronic format prescribed by the Commandant.
(2)The information recorded under paragraph (1) shall
include, at a minimum—
(A)the type of
vessel;
(B)the name of the
cruise line;
(C)the flag under
which the vessel was operating at the time the reported incident
occurred;
(D)the age of the
victim;
(E)the nature of the
alleged crime or complaint, as applicable, including whether the perpetrator
was a passenger or a crewmember;
(F)the vessel’s
position at the time of the incident, if known, or the position of the vessel
at the time of the initial report;
(G)the time, date,
and method of the initial report and the law enforcement authority to which the
initial report was made;
(H)the case number or
other identifier provided by the law enforcement authority to which the initial
report was made; and
(I)whether the
reported incident occurred on land or onboard.
(3)Requirement to
report crimes and other information
(A)The master of a passenger vessel to which this section
applies—
(i)shall contact the
nearest Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office or Legal Attache by
telephone as soon as possible after the occurrence on board the vessel of an
incident involving homicide, suspicious death, a missing United States
national, kidnapping, assault with serious bodily injury, any offense to which
section 2241, 2242, 2243, or 2244(a) or (c) of title 18, United States Code,
applies, firing or tampering with the vessel, or theft of money or property in
excess of $10,000 to report the incident;
(ii)shall furnish a
written report of the incident by facsimile or electronic mail to the Coast
Guard National Command Center and by facsimile to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
(iii)may report any
serious incident that does not meet the reporting requirements of clause (i)
and that does not require immediate attention by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation to the nearest Field Office or Legal Attache by facsimile or
electronic mail; and
(iv)may report any
other criminal incident involving passengers or crewmembers, or both, to the
proper State or local government law enforcement authority.
(B)Incidents to
which subparagraph (A)
appliesSubparagraph (A) applies to an incident involving
criminal activity if—
(i)the ship,
regardless of registry, is owned, in whole or in part, by a United States
person, regardless of the nationality of the victim or perpetrator, and the
incident occurs when the vessel is within the admiralty and maritime
jurisdiction of the United States and outside the jurisdiction of any
State;
(ii)the incident
concerns an offense by or against a United States national committed outside
the jurisdiction of any nation;
(iii)the incident
occurs in the Territorial Sea of the United States, regardless of the
nationality of the vessel, the victim, or the perpetrator; or
(iv)the incident
concerns a victim or perpetrator who is a United States national on a vessel
during a voyage that departed from or will arrive at a United States
port.
(4)Availability of
incident data via internet
(A)The
Secretary shall maintain, on an Internet site of the department in which the
Coast Guard is operating, a numerical accounting of the missing persons and
alleged crimes recorded in each report filed under paragraph (1)(A). The data
shall be updated no less frequently than quarterly, aggregated by cruise line,
and each cruise line shall be identified by name.
(B)Each cruise line taking on or discharging passengers in
the United States shall include a link on its Internet website to the website
maintained by the Secretary under subparagraph (A).
(d)Crew Database
RequirementThe Secretary shall prescribe regulations that
require the owner of each vessel to which this section applies to participate
in the establishment and maintenance of a database for reporting all
individuals whose employment on such a vessel has been terminated for a matter
reported under subsection (c)(1)(A).
(e)The owner of a vessel to which this section applies
shall—
(1)maintain on the
vessel adequate, in-date supplies of anti-retroviral medications and other
medications used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases after a sexual
assault;
(2)maintain on the vessel equipment and
materials for performing a medical examination to evaluate the patient for
trauma, treat injury, and collect forensic evidence;
(3)make available on the vessel at all times
an individual licensed to practice as a medical doctor in the United States who
has received training in conducting forensic sexual assault examinations, to
promptly perform such an examination upon request and to provide proper medical
treatment of a victim, including antiretroviral medications and other
medications that may prevent the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus
and other sexually transmitted diseases;
(4)prepare, provide
to the individual, and maintain written documentation of the performance and
findings of such examination that is signed by the individual and ensure that
no medical information is released to the cruise line or any legal
representative thereof without the prior knowledge and approval in writing of
the victim, or, if the victim is unable to provide written authorization, the
victim’s next-of-kin; and
(5)provide the
individual free and immediate access to—
(A)a description of
the toll-free telephone number and website by which the individual may access
the National Sexual Assault Hotline and the National Sexual Assault Online
Hotline referred to in section 628 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–248; 42 U.S.C. 16985);
(B)information for
local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(C)a private
telephone line and Internet-accessible computer terminal on the cruise ship by
which the individual may confidentially access such hotline services.
(f)Crime Scene
Investigation Training for Passenger Vessel CrewmembersThe
Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, shall develop a training curriculum for crewmembers and law
enforcement officials of passenger vessels to educate them concerning
appropriate methods for collecting evidence at a crime scene and proper
evidence preservation. The Administrator of the Maritime Administration may
certify organizations that offer the curriculum for training and certification
under subsection (g).
(g)Certification
RequirementBeginning 2 years after the date of enactment of the
Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of
2009, no passenger vessel may enter a United States port on a
voyage (or voyage segment) on which a United States citizen is a passenger
unless there is at least 1 crewmember onboard who is certified as having
successfully completed training in the collection of crime scene evidence on
passenger vessels under subsection (f).
(h)The
Secretary shall conduct an annual inspection of each passenger vessel seeking
to enter a port in the United States to determine whether the passenger vessel
has adequate equipment to investigate covered crimes on the vessel and has at
least 1 crewmember who is certified under subsection (f).
(i)
(1)Requirement to
maintain surveillanceThe owner of a vessel to which this section
applies shall maintain video surveillance to monitor and document crimes as
they occur on the vessel and to provide evidence for the prosecution of such
crimes, as determined by the Secretary.
(2)The owner of a vessel to which this section applies shall
provide to law enforcement officials, upon request, a copy of all records of
video surveillance that may provide evidence of a crime reported to law
enforcement officials.
(j)The owner of a vessel to which this section applies
shall—
(1)prominently post
in each stateroom and crew cabin and in other places specified by the Secretary
information regarding—
(A)the name of each
country the cruise ship will visit during the course of such carriage;
(B)the locations in
such country of the embassy and each consulate of the United States;
(C)the contact
information for the National Sexual Assault Hotline and the National Sexual
Assault Online Hotline referred to in section 628 of the Adam Walsh Child
Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–248; 42 U.S.C. 16985);
(D)telephone numbers
for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(E)the degree to
which the owner is responsible or liable for the safety of passengers while
they are on shore excursions; and
(2)include in
mandatory crew training the details of this section, its application, and the
determination of the United States to protect its citizens against crimes
committed at sea.
(k)
(1)Any
person that violates this section or a regulation under this section shall be
fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or
both.
(2)The Secretary may deny entry into the United States to a
cruise vessel if the owner of the cruise vessel—
(A)commits an act or
omission for which a penalty may be imposed under this subsection; or
(B)fails to pay a
penalty imposed on the owner under this subsection.
(l)Within
6 months after the date of enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of
2009, the Secretary shall issue guidelines, training curricula,
and inspection and certification procedures necessary to carry out the
requirements of this section.
(m)The
Secretary and the Commandant shall each issue such regulations as are necessary
to implement this section.
(n)This
section applies to any passenger vessel that embarks or disembarks passengers
in the United States or that is a vessel of the United
States.
.
(b)The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following:
3507. Cruise vessel security and safety
requirements.
.
4.Detailing Coast
Guard personnel to enforce cruise ship requirements
(a)Section 7(b)(3) of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33
U.S.C. 1226(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
(3)dispatch properly
trained and qualified armed Coast Guard Personnel on vessels and public or
commercial structures on or adjacent to waters subject to United States
jurisdiction—
(A)to deter or
respond to acts of terrorism or transportation security incidents, as defined
in section 70101 of title 46, United States Code;
(B)to act as
environmental observers for the purposes of—
(i)monitoring
compliance with the requirements of all applicable Federal laws and regulations
regarding the discharge of waste into United States territorial waters;
(ii)observing
operation and maintenance procedures for onboard waste treatment
systems;
(iii)ensuring the
proper handling and disposal of all hazardous wastes; and
(iv)verifying log
book entries for all records required by the Coast Guard related to waste
treatment and disposal; and
(C)to act as public
safety officers for the purposes of—
(i)assisting vessel
passengers and crew, as needed, with the reporting and investigation of
potential criminal activities occurring on board vessels to which section 3507
of title 46, United States Code, applies while such vessels are in United
States territorial waters;
(ii)securing, to the
degree possible, suspected crime scenes on such vessels; and
(iii)collecting
evidence of alleged crimes against passengers and crew on such
vessels.
.
(b)The Commandant of the Coast Guard may promulgate
regulations under section 9701 of title 31, United States Code, establishing
charges for services provided by the Coast Guard under section 7(b)(3)(C) of
the Ports and Waterways Safety Act (33 U.S.C. 1226(b)(3)(C)) as amended by
subsection (a).
5.Study and report
on the security needs of passenger vessels
(a)Within 3 months after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall
conduct a study of the security needs of a passenger vessel depending on number
of passengers on the vessel, and report to the Congress findings of the study
and recommendations for improving security on those vessels.
(b)In recommending appropriate security on those vessels,
the report shall take into account typical crewmember shifts, working
conditions of crewmembers, and length of voyages.
6.Amendment of the
Death on the High Seas Act
(a)Section 30302 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by
striking 3 nautical miles
and inserting 12 nautical
miles
.
(b)Nonapplication
to Incidents within 12-mile LimitSection 30308 of title 46,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the
following:
(c)Incidents
Occurring within 12-mile limitThis chapter does not apply if the
death of an individual is caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring
on the high seas 12 nautical miles or less from the shore of the United
States.
.
(c)Section
30303 of title 46, United States Code, is amended—
(1)by inserting
and nonpecuniary
after pecuniary
; and
(2)by adding at the
end In this section, the term nonpecuniary loss means loss
of care, comfort, and companionship. The individuals for whose benefit the
action is brought may also recover damages for the decedent’s pre-death pain
and suffering.
.
(d)
(1)Chapter 303 of
title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking section 30307.
(2)The chapter
analysis for such chapter is amended by striking the item relating to section
30307.