# I pit the cruise ship crew/captain that left three fishermen to die... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 19, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310 "2012-04-19T19:27:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/21 "2012-04-21T16:38:00Z")
This is a front page story in the _Miami Herald_ today. According to this account, the cruise line is now saying the captain was never told of the sighting of the boat. The person the birders told (and showed the boat in their scopes) is now being called a “sales representative” for the cruise line. Where the breakdown in communication occurred between this person and the captain (if in fact the captain wasn’t told) remains to be seen. There is no mention in this account of the cruise ship trying to avoid fishing nets. It’s said that the small boat was several miles away from the cruise ship, so that couldn’t have been a concern (since boats that size would not carry very long nets). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/22 "2012-04-21T16:57:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This is a front page story in the _Miami Herald_ today. According to this account, the cruise line is now saying the captain was never told of the sighting of the boat. The person the birders told (and showed the boat in their scopes) is now being called a “sales representative” for the cruise line. Where the breakdown in communication occurred between this person and the captain (if in fact the captain wasn’t told) remains to be seen. > > There is no mention in this account of the cruise ship trying to avoid fishing nets. It’s said that the small boat was several miles away from the cruise ship, so that couldn’t have been a concern (since boats that size would not carry very long nets). What this revision makes clear is that somebody and Carnival was spouting total and utter bullshit with the first version of the story. Either it was the Captain lying to his own management to save his own ass, or some marketing drone just made up shit out of thin air to explain why the ship didn’t stop and render aid. Of course, every large company is chock full of CYA bullshitters, The best we can hope is that they get canned when they are found out. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/23 "2012-04-21T18:05:48Z")
Here’s the Miami Herald story. [Star Princess captain never got report of distressed boaters, cruise line says](http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/19/2757434/star-princess-passed-boaters-in.html#storylink=misearch) > [@](#): > > Late Thursday afternoon, after a preliminary investigation, Princess Cruises released a statement blaming an apparent “breakdown in communication in relaying the passenger’s concern.” > > The cruise operator said that neither Capt. Edward Perrin nor the officer on watch had been notified, and said the company “deeply regrets” that the two men died at sea. > > “Understandably, Captain Perrin is devastated that he is being accused of knowingly turning his back on people in distress,” the statement said. “Had the captain received this information, he would have had the opportunity to respond.” > > Princess, which is owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp., is continuing to investigate “to fully understand the circumstances,” the cruise line said. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/24 "2012-04-22T01:24:32Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Here’s the Miami Herald story. > > [Star Princess captain never got report of distressed boaters, cruise line says](http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/19/2757434/star-princess-passed-boaters-in.html#storylink=misearch) “Would have had the opportunity to respond”? What the hell kind of weaseling is that? It’s both reasonable and expected in any distress situation on sea that you respond in any bloody way you can. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/25 "2012-04-22T09:16:52Z")
Am I going to hell because I laughed when I read that the picture of the boat was taken by a man named Gilligan? ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/26 "2012-04-22T11:17:50Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > “Would have had the opportunity to respond”? What the hell kind of weaseling is that? It’s both reasonable and expected in any distress situation on sea that you respond in any bloody way you can. What? Thats what anybody would say if asked. “Why didn’t you respond to the distress call?” “I bloody would have if I had got the chance, I never knew about it”. He never had the opportunity to respond. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310/27 "2012-04-22T13:20:37Z")
I actually believe the statement from the company that after a preliminary investigation it was found that the captain and the officer on duty had never been informed of the sighting. What captain or officer is going to risk losing his job and possibly more serious consequences because they neglected to respond to a ship in possible distress? Company ships have been diverted 30 times in the last decade in response to just such sightings. To borrow a phrase, what we have here is a failure to communicate. Apparently the passengers involved had told a ‘sales representative’ what they had seen and it was he who had promised to convey the information to the crew. If anyone is at fault it would be either this guy or, if he passed it on, the guy he told or, etc etc I also think the fishermen themselves bear the greatest responsibility for their fates. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-cruise-ship-crew-captain-that-left-three-fishermen-to-die/619310.md?page=1)