Officer Ends Life on Celebrity Millennium

[mahdnc]

Here are the news articles on this tragedy:

 

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2018/12/articles/crew-member-rights/officer-ends-life-celebrity-millennium/

 

http://crew-center.com/celebrity-millennium-officer-found-dead-his-cabin

 

 

[Lastdance]

19 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Here are the news articles on this tragedy:

 

https://www.cruiselawnews.com/2018/12/articles/crew-member-rights/officer-ends-life-celebrity-millennium/

 

http://crew-center.com/celebrity-millennium-officer-found-dead-his-cabin

 

 

 

I sure hope that crew members are able to speak to someone...if you have never dealt with anything like this, you would totally understand.  So very, very sad!

[Jim_Iain]

Just saw this and really shocked.   We had the opportunity to sail with him on a B2B in September.   He was one of the most personable and competent Suites Manager we have had the privilege to sail with.   Our condolence to his family and fellow crew members who worked so closely with him.  He will be truly missed.  

[Northern Aurora]

My husband and I are just stunned by the news.  We spent 28 nights on the Millennium last fall (on the same cruises with Jim and Iain), and I found Anton to be one of the nicest Celebrity staff persons I have ever met.  An incredibly competent person and one of the nicest persons one can ever hope to meet.  

 

When we left the ship inYokohama we were in the cruise terminal waiting for our private transfer service to take us to our Tokyo hotel.  Anton was actively searching for the drivers for those of us who had booked private cars, and was the first to find our particular driver.  I remember hugging him as we said our goodbyes -- so incredible to me that that hug would be our last.  I am just so saddened by the news.

 

 

 

[FlorenceItaly]

How heartbreaking.  He sounds like a wonderful young man.  My condolences to his family, friends and all who loved him.

[GUT2407]

Sad, no matter the reasons

Edited December 11, 2018 by GUT2407

[chengkp75]

8 hours ago, RDC1 said:

If there was a clear indication that such issues are not being addressed then I might agree. However, when these unfortunate incidents occur they seem to be widely reported.  Based upon those making the news the rate of such is actually lower then the rate within the US. Considering that the job entails long periods away from home and one support group, in a culturally diverse environment with long hours, the relatively low rate, would imply that some kind of effective support group exists.

 

Would be interesting to get a comment from one of the frequent posters such as chengkp75 (Ships engineer) or copper 10-8 (HAL Security) to comment on what support or capability exists on board ship.

 

Lets say that the cruiselines did put a psychologist on each ship. Based upon how cruise lines handle medical conditions that cannot be effectively handled on board, how exactly do you think a case would be handled if a crew member went to a psychologist on board, and it was determined that they posed a risk to themselves or others, or for that matter presented any degree of instability.  It would be the same as any other company with employees in remote situations, it would be to get them out of there as soon as possible (of ship at the next port). Not exactly like one going to a therapist at home.

 

Having such a comment from an article on cruise law news does not surprise me in the least.

I wasn't planning on weighing in on this, but I do agree with you that the suicide rate among cruise ship crew is less than the US rate, and probably less than the rate in the crew's home country, it is just that crew suicides are publicized, especially in places like Walker's site.  Since cruise ship crew account for a tiny fraction of the worldwide pool of mariners, if a psychologist is needed, due to the "stress of the job", then there would be a lot more suicides at sea than we know about, and every ship would need a shrink.

 

Does anyone demand on site psychiatric help for other industries where the workers are in remote locations, like oil field workers, and lumberjacks?  Why cruise ship crew only?

 

As you say, if a visit to an onboard psychologist showed the person to be a risk to themselves or others, the therapist would have no option but to remove the person from the ship, as that person is required to perform a safety function with regards to everyone else on the ship.  This becomes a legal liability issue for the cruise line.  Therefore, which crew would risk lowing their employment talking to a therapist?  And the petition mentioned asked for a "day off" each week. This represents a 14% reduction in work hours, so how is this made up?  Add 14% more crew?  Where are these cabins for them?  Do the crew lose the pay from the day off, or are they paid for not working?  What crew wants a 14% pay cut?  Does the cruise line have to increase payroll by 28% (14% for the day off, 14% for the additional worker)?

 

The biggest assistance for crew that I've seen onboard are the ethnic "Mafias", where each nationality tends to look out for all of the crew of that nationality, and help each other.  John has stated that on HAL, this is so institutionalized, that the major "Mafias" are represented in monthly crew meetings with senior manaagement onboard.

 

The best solution is to have crew training before they arrive on the ship for the first time, much like HAL does with their training facilities, to acclimate crew to shipboard life and hardships.  This way, those who don't find they can cut it, will not sign on in the first place.

 

I feel sorrow for this individual, and his family, but there are many mariners out there in the world who are not happy working on ships, who don't do this, and many who face crises at home and still cope.