Passengers will be protected by new safety features while on luxury cruises, according to the European Cruise Council, an industry association for cruise companies operating in Europe.
In an announcement highlighting new safety policies for cruise passengers, Manfredi Lefebvre, chairman of the European Cruise Council (ECC) and member of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Executive Committee, said, ‘We are convinced that this approach will achieve concrete, practical and significant safety dividends in the shortest possible time and fully reflects the measured and responsible progress on future safety initiatives by both the Commission and European Parliament following the Concordia tragedy.’
The three new policies, adopted by both ECC and CLIA, a US-based association of cruise lines, are related to issues including passage planning, and personnel access to the bridge and lifejackets. The policies will be submitted to the United Nation International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for its approval in May 2012.
Lefebvre said, ‘The cruise industry is highly regulated and it is this regulatory regime, complied with onboard by our professional and committed officers and crews that has given the cruise industry a truly remarkable safety record. But as the Concordia incident demonstrates, there is no such thing as perfect safety. We do strive for a perfect commitment to safety. And as part of our commitment to a safety culture, the industry – both individually as cruise lines and collectively through CLIA and the ECC – beginning January 27 launched an Operational Safety Review to learn the lessons from Concordia and to conduct a top to bottom safety review.’
