Dying Fishermen Spotted from Cruise Ship

As if the cruise ship industry hasn’t taken enough of a public relations beating recently following the Costa Concordia tragedy off Italy and Carnival Splendor losing all power with 4,500 passengers off Mexico, there are now allegations that the crew and/or captain of Carnival’s Star Princess ignored three bird-watcher passengers who alerted them to the fact that three fishermen were desperately signalling for help after their boat broke down off the coast of Panama on March 10. Carnival is the largest cruise ship line in the world, and the Star Princess is a 981-footer with four pools, a nine-hole putting green, a casino, and cabins for some 2,000 passengers.

According to 18-year-old Adrian Vasquez, who was found barely alive near the Galapagos after drifting for 28 days without food or water, his friend Oropeces Betancourt, 24, died the day after the cruise ship failed to respond, and his other friend Fernando Osario, 16, died five days later. The fishermen had been spotted by three birdwatchers on the cruise ship, two from Oregon and one from Ireland. After alerting the crew, the birdwatchers assumed that the captain would do what was required to help the helpless fishermen.

Once they got home, they made inquires to find out what happened. They not only learned nothing had been done, they also learned about the deaths of the two fishermen. International maritime law requires ships that come upon other vessels in distress to render assistance, as long as they can do so without endangering themselves. An on-going investigation by Carnival has concluded that word of the stranded fishermen never made it to the captain of Star Princess — they cite a "breakdown in communication" that’s still being investigated.