Senator Rockefeller Eager for Cruise Ship Industry to Take Financial Responsibility

Senator Rockefeller is taking on the cruise industry. Troubled by the recent Carnival Triumph fiasco, in which over 4,000 people were stranded on a crippled ship for nearly a week in March, he is working to pressure congress into making much needed changes in how the whole system is regulated. From tightening safety measures to revising tax breaks for the industry, he is gaining support from people who want the cruise ship industry to mend its ways.

The cruise ship owners and operators receive a number of incentives and tax breaks that allow them to increase their profits in ways unavailable to US land based resorts and hotels. Tax provisions that allow the cruise ship industry to keep their ships registered in foreign ports create a "tax shelter" from corporate income taxes. Senator Rockefeller sees this as enabling the cruise ship industry to take advantage of American taxpayers, and alleges that this sheltering and lack of critical oversight has led to the kind of negligence people saw with the disaster on the Carnival Triumph.

Because cruise lines do not pay the taxes which competing land based businesses are obligated to pay, they do not pay for the emergency services that they are provided in certain emergencies. The U.S. Coast Guard, whom the Carnival Triumph relied upon to help with their emergency situation in March, received no direct or indirect financial support from the cruise ship company despite the great expense to the U.S government which provided the revenues to run the Coast Guard. Recent studies show that the US Coast Guard has had to make over 90 emergency "interventions" on Carnival cruise ships alone in the last few years—and there was a cost of $780,000 in responding to the situation on the Carnival Triumph. U.S. Coast Guards efforts in these scenarios is crucial to the safety of the ship's passengers and crew- why shouldn't the cruise ship owners be responsible to cover these costs? As a result of the incident and complaints by Senator Rockefeller, it is reported that Carnival has agreed to reimburse the Coast Guard costs in assisting the Triumph.

While U.S. companies pay 20 percent in taxes, companies such as Carnival Cruise Line have been successful in avoiding substantial tax payments because their "offshore " status. Rockefeller is currently working to convince Congress that laws have to be passed to insure that the cruise companies pay the kinds of taxes other competing industries pay.

Rockefeller believes that by paying their fair share in taxes, the cruise industry will be paying their fair share and also be held accountable. The argument is that paying more taxes will pay for the necessary intervention required to assist endangered ships, as well as protect passengers by encouraging more stringent safety enforcement.

Whether Rockefeller has his way or not, Americans are beginning to see that the cruise ship industry needs to be held accountable.