Sunday, March 17, 2013

Stranded at Sea



Just a month ago, the Carnival Triumph experienced major problems aboard their ship after a fire disable the engines, leaving 3,000 passengers and 1,000 crew members stranded at sea for four days without toilets or washing facilities. But that has not been the last of Carnival’s ship troubles. Last Saturday, the Carnival Elation had to be escorted by a tug-boat because of a problem with its steering system. Four days later on Wednesday, the Carnival Dream encountered a technical issue involving a malfunction of the ship’s backup emergency diesel generator. And today, the Carnival Legend just returned to its Tampa port after experiencing problems that affected its travel, and stopping passengers from visiting the Grand Cayman Islands. 
But why are situations like these happening aboard cruise ships? Can these dangerous situations be avoided?


As seen in the graph to the right, the Cruising industry has been growing around the world, with more people going on cruise ships today more than ever before. In a recent study from the Cruise Line Association, the cruise line industry is responsible for the generation of $40.4 billion dollars. Even with so much money in the industry, cruise liners are still experiencing many technical difficulties that put passengers in danger in the middle of the ocean. But why can’t big cruise liners, like Carnival, use a portion of their earnings to make cruise ships safer for their passengers? Do you think that big cruise liners, like Carnival, should make their ships safer by using a portion of their earnings to make their ships safer?

1 comment:

  1. I agree that these situations are ridiculous considering the entire cruise industry relies on functional cruise ships, and these ships aren't even working. I would have to assume that already a large portion of money goes toward ship safety and mechanics, but maybe more should be allocated to this area if these issues keep arising. If situations keep arising in which passengers are unsafe or 'stranded' in the ocean, it seems very likely that many people will opt out of going on a cruise for vacation. Therefore, it seems in the best interest of the customers and the cruise companies to put more of an emphasis on safety.

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