Star Princess investigation

[srpilo]

I will wait to pass judgement when I hear the entire story from both sides. Not just a reporters version of it. I wonder who they reported this to aboard ship? I wouldnt even know who to contact to insure that they listened to me if I saw something like that. By the time you contact someone the boat has moved quite a ways away and they stated they were looking through very powerful binoculars.

 

Yes.. Waiting for a complete investigation is the prudent thing to do.

 

 

Srpilo

[PescadoAmarillo]

I think there are three things to consider: 1.) Criminal intent, whereby the bridge crew purposely ignored a distress signal at sea; 2.) Negligence, which, I think, if anything is more likely. Was information really communicated to the bridge?; or 3.) neither of the above, which would most likely be the case if the photographed boat isn't really the boat in question.

 

I doubt it's the first, I hope it's the third, but fear it might be the second.

[robgvic]

I think the press would have taken this as an opportunity to bring the cruise industry another bad reputation but I have not heard anything about this incident.

[Astro Flyer]

And aren't many judging those they accuse of judging? That's the trap. We all judge, but call out only those we disagree with.

Read my postings on this situation...they say to wait until all of the facts are known before making any sort of judgment & if that's judgmental to you then I don't understand your rationale. :rolleyes:

[caribill]

Captain McBain came aboard the Star for the 3/19/12 sailing.

After reading this story, I am wondering if the switch of Captains was scheduled , or if it came about as a result of the pending investigation of the incident. (I did read the post that said Captain Perrin was going on vacation at the end of their cruise.)

 

And posting what is totally inaccurate speculation just adds to the feeding frenzy.

 

Those on the March 19 sailing knew by early February that Todd McBain would be their captain.

[NitaBcruising]

This story was on our local news this evening, from Portland, Or., beings the birdwatcher is from Oregon. The passenger himself was interviewed.

 

I'm with many others, why wouldn't anyone follow through, if the ship did nothing, after you reported it? :confused: I'd be checking to make sure my message got through.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I wouldn't consider telling someone to wait until all the facts are presented to be Judging. Isn't that the basis of innocent until proven guilty? The foundation of the American court system?

 

When one says that apparently some have gone elsewhere to express their opinions against the captain without really knowing if these posters have gone somewhere else, then I would think that is judging.

[RickEk]

This story was on our local news this evening, from Portland, Or., beings the birdwatcher is from Oregon. The passenger himself was interviewed.

 

I'm with many others, why wouldn't anyone follow through, if the ship did nothing, after you reported it? :confused: I'd be checking to make sure my message got through.

 

My thoughts exactly...

[Matcodixon]

I have a great deal of confidence that, in the end, the truth will come out, and whatever the outcome, it will be proven that the captain did not knowingly not help a boat in distress.

 

I am thankful that the commentary on this board has been mostly confined to one thread. On the Princess Facebook page there are many. All attacking the captain and Princess. Lot's of emotion and few facts.

 

Based on all past experience, Princess has made many rescues in the past years and there is absolutely no reason to believe that they would knowingly avoid doing so in this situation.

 

At this point I could say some things about those that were in that boat and how and why they were in this situation, but I will respectfully refrain. I am sorry for the seemingly unnecessary loss of life.

[gcvt]

I just hope it is truly a matter of conducting a full investigation, as opposed to conducting an operation to find a scapegoat in order to protect a select few.

[flamomo]

And posting what is totally inaccurate speculation just adds to the feeding frenzy.

 

Those on the March 19 sailing knew by early February that Todd McBain would be their captain.

 

I don't apprediate the misinterpretation and response to my comment. I was in NO way speculating or implying anything negative about Captain Perrin. It was a SIMPLE musing on my part!! I am NOT prone to making judgements without all the facts.

Obviously I offended someone, and for that I apologize.

[voyageur9]

Leave aside judgement about whether the captain (and or others including the passengers who saw the drifting boat) acted properly because we don't know all of the facts and circumstances.

 

What we do know is:

-- several passengers on Star Princess were sufficiently convinced that people on a small boat several hundred miles from nearest shore were in distress.

-- they alerted the ship's crew (albeit office staff) who in term passed those concerns on to the bridge (no one seems to question that chain of communication.)

-- Star Princess didn't slow, change course or further investigate the small boat. (We don't know about reporting, radio exchanges, etc.)

-- Two of the three fisherman on board the drifting 'Fifty Cent' subsequently died.

-- When shown pictures taken Mar 10 by the 'birders' from Star Princess of the drifting 'Fifty Cent,' the sole survivor identified the boat saying "That's us."

-- it seems self-evident that if Star Princess had stopped, a rescue of all three men on board would have occurred.

-- so, someone, perhaps several people, failed. We don't yet know who and in what sequence.

-- there is a duty, long established in maritime law and tradition, for the master of a vessel to assist those in distress.

[NitaBcruising]

Leave aside judgement about whether the captain (and or others including the passengers who saw the drifting boat) acted properly because we don't know all of the facts and circumstances.

 

-- so, someone, perhaps several people, failed. We don't yet know who and in what sequence.

 

This statement is so true.

 

Again, this is all on the news this morning. Two of the birdwatchers, from Oregon, have been interviewed on our local news.

[ilovetexas]

Has ANYONE paid attention to a few of the STRANGE details in the survivor's account of the incident? They originally set out on February 24:

 

Later on the night of 10 March, Oropeces Betancourt, 24, died of dehydration. The youngest fisherman, Fernando Osorio, 16, died on 15 March suffering from dehydration, sunburn and heat stroke. Another nine days elapsed before Adrian Vasquez, 18, was finally saved from his ordeal, having had to push his friends' bodies overboard.

 

Why don't all of you who are good enough with the internet to have researched the issue and assigned blame to the captain do a little research on how long a human being can live without water.

 

March 10, death due to dehydration......March 15 (five days later), death due to dehydration....March 24 (nine days later), rescue of final fisherman. I'm calling BS on that story. Or else our honest, upstanding fisherman was hoarding water while his friends were dying and he was pushing their bodies overboard. And it's his word you are using to vilify the captain and crew.

[bonsai3s]

...just want to know:

* Whose jurisdiction is this anyway?

* Is Princess investigating Princess?

* After the investigation is completed...which court do you go to?

* Will be a jury?

Whatever the outcome, you have 2 dead people...that will never change.

And the JUDGE...it will be us, the passengers. There will be those that will choose not to cruise with Princess, not to cruise at all, or continue to cruise but with reservations. It's yet another black mark to the cruise industry.

[Matcodixon]

The Lynch mob is in full swing on the Princess Facebook page.

[tserface]

It must be incredibly tough to be a captain sometimes. I think some of these situations are no win. I guess we won't know the truth until the truth comes out, but lynch mobs are *never* the right answer.

 

What if they ship had stopped and it turned out the fishing boat was full of pirates that boarded the cruise ship and called in other boats hiding nearby to rob the guests. Then the captain would have been blamed for putting the ship at risk.

 

I think, if he knew, it still would have been worth the risk to stop and help (perhaps sending a smaller lifeboat over), but I'm just saying. People are brutal sometimes. Nobody likes to be judged, but we are all too often willing to jump to conclusions when someone else is in question.

 

Tom

 

The Lynch mob is in full swing on the Princess Facebook page.

[Idahobaker]

If you want to keep up with the latest info, check Don Winner's www.panama-guide.com . He's an American journalist living in Panama, and he has a great English language site. Enjoy.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

This story is getting very silly just read elsewhere on CC that the captain received a distress from the boat and refused to go to its aid, that will be the fishing boat with no radio,

 

yours Shogun

[gdisney]

March 10, death due to dehydration......March 15 (five days later), death due to dehydration....March 24 (nine days later), rescue of final fisherman. I'm calling BS on that story. Or else our honest, upstanding fisherman was hoarding water while his friends were dying and he was pushing their bodies overboard. And it's his word you are using to vilify the captain and crew.

 

Actually, one of the stories linked from the OP's linked story says that a rain storm a couple of days after the second person died allowed the last survivor to collect enough fresh water to survive.

[gdisney]

Hi All

 

This story is getting very silly just read elsewhere on CC that the captain received a distress from the boat and refused to go to its aid, that will be the fishing boat with no radio,

 

yours Shogun

 

Yeah, the story on some of the sites is that the ships log shows communication with a vessel that thanked the ship for staying clear of their fishing nets. Assuming this is true, it clearly wasn't the same boat. Isn't it possible the bridge was talking to another boat in the area and thought that was the boat the passengers had seen? After all, it sounds like the boat in distress was too far away to make out clearly with the naked eye. Just thinking out loud here...

[Mom33]

Yeah, the story on some of the sites is that the ships log shows communication with a vessel that thanked the ship for staying clear of their fishing nets. Assuming this is true, it clearly wasn't the same boat. Isn't it possible the bridge was talking to another boat in the area and thought that was the boat the passengers had seen? After all, it sounds like the boat in distress was too far away to make out clearly with the naked eye. Just thinking out loud here...

 

I think you have a valid point here.

[FLACRUISER99]

If you want to keep up with the latest info, check Don Winner's www.panama-guide.com . He's an American journalist living in Panama, and he has a great English language site. Enjoy.

And seems to be highly biased against the Cruise line!

[Astro Flyer]

The Lynch mob is in full swing on the Princess Facebook page.

 

Hi All

 

This story is getting very silly just read elsewhere on CC that the captain received a distress from the boat and refused to go to its aid, that will be the fishing boat with no radio,

 

yours Shogun

 

You never want to 'confuse' those on social media with facts & inconsistencies...lynch mob mentality doesn't care about such things because they've already become judge, jury & executioner.

 

I'll wait to hear the results of the investigation to form my own opinion & it could end up a combination of factors such as those already posted on CC.

 

There is always a chain of events leading up to a tragedy with many 'links' in that chain from the time the fishermen sailed until the lone survivor was rescued. If any of those 'links' had been 'broken' then the results may have been different. It may have been in getting the info from the bird watchers to the bridge? I would have dialed the emergency phone number if I was convinced there was a vessel in distress & not just told some unknown 'officer' in a white shirt. If I had a photo of what I believed was a boat in distress I would've shown them to everyone in authority on board to ensure that was investigated. Whether there were other fishing boats in the area that could have been mistaken as the one in distress would also be good to know.

 

These are some of the questions that I have in my mind while I "speculate" about what happened. In any type of investigation all possibilities need to be explored without rushing to judgment about a 'probable cause'.

 

Apparently those on social media who are rushing to judgment and ready to lynch the captain would never make a good investigator nor a good juror because they are willing to convict before all the facts are known.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Yeah, the story on some of the sites is that the ships log shows communication with a vessel that thanked the ship for staying clear of their fishing nets. Assuming this is true, it clearly wasn't the same boat. Isn't it possible the bridge was talking to another boat in the area and thought that was the boat the passengers had seen? After all, it sounds like the boat in distress was too far away to make out clearly with the naked eye. Just thinking out loud here...

 

wouldn't the ship have high powered binoculars like the birdwatchers?

 

Bill