Cruise Line Sued By Stranded Fisherman for Negligence

Whoever thought of the phrase “smooth sailing” must not have had cruises in mind. First, the Costa Concordia cruise ship runs aground off the coast of Italy in January, causing 32 people to lose their lives. Then, on February 22, passengers aboard the Carnival Splendor were robbed at gunpoint in Mexico. Now, the most recent wave of trouble hits Princess Cruises.

Last week, a civil suit was filed a against the company in a Miami, Florida circuit court on behalf of Adrian Vasquez, an 18-year-old fisherman from Panama. The suit accuses the company of showing a "callous disregard for human life" and of “outrageous conduct,” according to Reuters. Vasquez was on a commercial fishing trip from Panama when the power on the boat, Fifty Cents, went out. On March 10, after being stranded at sea for 15 days, Vasquez and two friends – Fernando Osorio, 16, and Oropeces Betancourt, 24 – saw the Star Princess and signaled for help. Although passengers alerted crew members and voiced concern, the luxury cruise ship didn’t alter its course to rescue the men. The Fifty Cents was rescued by another fishing boat near the Galapagos Islands nearly two weeks later. Vasquez is the only survivor.

Reuters reports that in a statement, the cruise line said that the captain of the Star Princess was unaware of the situation due to “a case of unfortunate miscommunication.” According to CNN, Princess Cruises released a statement Monday saying it was "deeply saddened that two Panamanian men perished at sea" and that the company was "very sorry for the tragic loss of life.” Karen Candy, a spokeswoman for Princess Cruises told CNN on Monday that the company was still investigating the incident.

CruiseLawNews.com, the website that originally broke the story, is reporting that both Panama (where the three men were from) and Bermuda (where the cruise ship is flagged) are investigating as well. Now that a law suit has been filed, the website is also predicting the cruise company’s strategy for handling legal action. “Cruise lines like Princess will not try and reach a reasonable settlement with the young Panamanian man,” wrote Jim Walker. “Princess Cruises' first step will be to try and dismiss the case from Florida and prevent the case from reaching a jury.”