Drunk Cruise Ship Crew
Unable To Save Passengers
During Sinking Ship
It was 02:31am, the bewitching hour, onboard the 2200 passenger, ill fated luxury cruise ship on what had been a fabulous 7 day cruise. The alarm went off right after many crew members had just crawled into their bunks.
Passengers, many asleep, had long ago tucked the 300 children onboard into the beds. Senior citizen passengers had taken their heart medication hours ago, and dreamed of the next day's sun filled decks as they relaxed in pool side lounge chairs. One hundred passengers, quarantined to their cabins as they suffered from an outbreak of Norovirus, had finally felt some relief from medication dispensed by the ship's doctor, and were now thankfully fast asleep at last. The honeymooners had left the casino only minutes before, and sat in their cabins counting their winnings, some counting their losses. But the losses this night would be counted not in dollars, but in human lives.
The off duty crew, seen aboard in public areas throughout the night, had danced the night away with available women and men passengers, drinking their favorite beers and mixed drinks until well after midnight. Some, who had managed to rack up another shipboard romance with a passenger, one of only hundreds they had enjoyed in their career, were snuggled in the arms of passengers . . . some willing, some not.
This is not an uncommon occurrence, when the officers, dressed in their crisply pressed uniforms and the crew in their 'civilian' clothing mingle with the passengers onboard. It is fact that many single, widowed, and divorce (and some married) men and women count on socializing with crew, while onboard the cruise ships.
But, what nobody counted on this night was having officers and other crew member drunk and in bed at 02:31am when that terrible accident took place.
Rammed by a cargo ship that had malfunctioning instruments on their bridge, on a night of low visibility, the cruise ship took a huge jolt, before it began to list. At first everybody just assumed things would be alright, but the listing became so severe, so quickly, it took the crew and passengers a few moments to realized this was the end of the voyage.
Now 02:34am, many officers and crew members in a drunken haze, try to get their wits about them, as they search for their clothing in the dark, and stumble to figure out what to do next.
With blood alcohol levels at .05 to .25, they are now on an unforgiving collision course with the bottom of the sea. The dead, as history would report it, never had a chance.
In the coming months, the few survivors would report that officers and crew they came upon as they raced to their muster stations in their pajamas, were stumbling in the halls, running in circles, with the heavy odor of alcohol on their breaths. They blame the crew for the too few lifeboats that were launched too slow, and the total confusion griping the ship, that will be remembered forever.
U.S. legislators, in shock at the high death count in this modern age, will rush to enact legislation, way too late, that prevents crew members from consuming alcohol anywhere, on any cruise ship, at any time, when a ship has made, or will make a call in any U.S. port. Other nations quickly follow.
While the public screams in horror at the fact that possibly 50% of the off duty crew were legally Sailing Under the Influence (SUI), Cruise Bruise polls before the accident show that 47% of all cruse ship passengers thought off duty drinking was fine. The number after the accident of those approving of off duty drinking would be virtually nil, and most would likely consider criminal charges against crew members in the wake of the tragedy.
As horrific as this story is, though only a possible scenario, the world is lucky the case is untrue for now. But, it is not far fetched, as ships typically travel at night, prefering to be in ports during the day, when passengers want to shop and enjoy the sights and sounds of foreign lands.
It has been well documented by millions of cruise ship passengers, that off duty officers and crew party and enjoy themselves, not only in public areas with passengers, but well below the decks, in places most passengers will never see.
With the many collisions cruise ships have every year, groundings, fires, sinkings, listings caused by crew error, and ships tossed in high seas, it is utterly amazing that the cruise lines continue to allow off duty drinking without giving any thought at all to passenger safety and safe evacuation in the middle of the night of those passengers, with a partially drunken crew to assist them.
While this case is fiction, it is only a matter of time before real names fill this article, and real tragic deaths in large numbers are etched into cruise history.
But, it is not too late to change the course of destiny. Now is the time for the cruise lines to enact employee regulations that prohibit drinking on a vessel or in port of calls during the employment contract. Sober employees make a ship safe, 24 hours a day. Sober employees on duty or off duty are responsible for saving lives during a severe ship-wide emergency. They need to be sober.
Random drug and alcohol testing of crew and officers should be part of the all cruise line policy.
