Washington ( CNN ) -- Vegas stole the slogan . But cruise ships can also lay claim : Whatever happens on cruise ships , stays on cruise ships . Only a tiny portion of alleged crimes on cruise ships is ever publicly disclosed , according to a report by the Senate Commerce Committee . Of 959 crimes reported to the FBI since 2011 , only 31 were disclosed on a web site maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard . As a consequence , passengers have an incomplete picture of crime on board of ships . Sen. Jay Rockefeller , a West Virginia Democrat , disclosed the statistics on Wednesday in advance of a hearing on safety and security on cruise ships . Luxury cruise fails surprise health inspection . `` I 've been told time and again that cruise lines will change , that things will get better for passengers , '' Rockefeller said in a statement . `` But according to our investigation , it does n't appear to me that passengers are substantially safer . '' In 2007 , the FBI , Coast Guard and the cruise lines agreed that the industry would voluntarily report to the FBI incidents involving serious violations of U.S. law , including homicide , suspicious death , missing U.S. nationals , kidnapping , assault with bodily injury , sexual assaults , firing or tampering with vessels , and theft greater than $ 10,000 . Three years later , Congress ordered the Coast Guard to maintain a web-based statistical record of alleged crimes . But the site discloses only incidents no longer under investigation , giving the public an incomplete picture , Rockefeller said . Rockefeller has introduced legislation that would require industry to disclose all crime alleged on cruise ships , and beef up video surveillance of public areas . It also would give the Department of Transportation the lead agency for cruise ship consumer protection , akin to its role in aviation . 5 things we 've learned about cruising . Crime on cruise ships , though infrequent , presents special problems , Rockefeller said . `` If someone steals your property or assaults you on a cruise ship , you can not call 911 and have the police there in a few minutes . You can only call the ship 's security officers , who also happen to be employees of the cruise line , '' he said in written remarks . `` Under current law , cruise ship crime report data is not available to the public . That means consumers have no way to find out what their real risks are before they book a cruise . '' The industry emphasizes that crimes are infrequent . For instance , two big cruise companies , Carnival and Royal Caribbean , reported a combined seven incidents in the quarter ending June 30 . All were either assaults involving serious bodily injury or sexual assaults . `` There is nothing more important to us than the safety of our guests , '' Carnival says on its web site . `` Public reporting requirements ... are unique to the cruise industry and similar requirements do not exist for other travel suppliers such as airlines , hotels and theme parks . '' In a cruise ship crisis , what should happen ?
Only a small portion of incidents on cruise ships publicly disclosed , Senate investigation finds . Coast Guard record on Web gives public incomplete picture of cruise ship crime . Industry says incidents infrequent , notes absence of reporting requirements for airlines , other modes .