"We're in a race with a catastrophe," says Alan Pollock of the National Transportation Safety Board on efforts to improve cruise ship safety. He said a cruise ship disaster would create overwhelming pressure for new safety regulations, but he would rather take preventive action. Safety experts are primarily concerned with fire protection, especially in the big new atrium ships, the ability of crewmembers to give safety instructions in a language that passengers understand and the aging of the world fleet of cruise ships. The U.S. Coast Guard is also looking at ways to increase its presence off shore as well as more aggressive patrols by unmanned aircraft systems.
"We're in a race with a catastrophe," says Alan Pollock of the National Transportation Safety Board on efforts to improve cruise ship safety. He said a cruise ship disaster would create overwhelming pressure for new safety regulations, but he would rather take preventive action. Safety experts are primarily concerned with fire protection, especially in the big new atrium ships, the ability of crewmembers to give safety instructions in a language that passengers understand and the aging of the world fleet of cruise ships. Jim Bennett, chairman of the National Transportation and Safety Board said, "The potential for loss of life is enormous."