111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3360 

AN ACT 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to establish requirements to ensure the security and safety of passengers 

and crew on cruise vessels, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Cruise vessel security and safety requirements. 

Sec. 4. Study and report on the security needs of passenger vessels. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) There are approximately 200 overnight 

9 ocean-going cruise vessels worldwide. The average 

10 ocean-going cruise vessel carries 2,000 passengers 

11 with a crew of 950 people. 

12 (2) In 2007 alone, approximately 12,000,000 

13 passengers were projected to take a cruise world14 wide. 

15 (3) Passengers on cruise vessels have an inad16 equate appreciation of their potential vulnerability to 

17 crime while on ocean voyages, and those who may be 

18 victimized lack the information they need to under19 stand their legal rights or to know whom to contact 

20 for help in the immediate aftermath of the crime. 

21 (4) Sexual violence, the disappearance of pas22 sengers from vessels on the high seas, and other se23 rious crimes have occurred during luxury cruises. 
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1 (5) Over the last 5 years, sexual assault and 

2 physical assaults on cruise vessels were the leading 

3 crimes investigated by the Federal Bureau of Inves4 tigation with regard to cruise vessel incidents. 

5 (6) These crimes at sea can involve attacks 

6 both by passengers and crew members on other pas7 sengers and crew members. 

8 (7) Except for United States flagged vessels, or 

9 foreign flagged vessels operating in an area subject 

10 to the direct jurisdiction of the United States, there 

11 are no Federal statutes or regulations that explicitly 

12 require cruise lines to report alleged crimes to 

13 United States Government officials. 

14 (8) It is not known precisely how often crimes 

15 occur on cruise vessels or exactly how many people 

16 have disappeared during ocean voyages because 

17 cruise line companies do not make comprehensive, 

18 crime-related data readily available to the public. 

19 (9) Obtaining reliable crime-related cruise data 

20 from governmental sources can be difficult, because 

21 multiple countries may be involved when a crime oc22 curs on the high seas, including the flag country for 

23 the vessel, the country of citizenship of particular 

24 passengers, and any countries having special or mar25 itime jurisdiction. 
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1 (10) It can be difficult for professional crime 

2 investigators to immediately secure an alleged crime 

3 scene on a cruise vessel, recover evidence of an on4 board offense, and identify or interview potential 

5 witnesses to the alleged crime. 

6 (11) Most cruise vessels that operate into and 

7 out of United States ports are registered under the 

8 laws of another country, and investigations and 

9 prosecutions of crimes against passengers and crew 

10 members may involve the laws and authorities of 

11 multiple nations. 

12 (12) The Coast Guard has found it necessary to 

13 establish 500-yard security zones around cruise ves14 sels to limit the risk of terrorist attack. Recently pi15 racy has dramatically increased throughout the 

16 world. 

17 (13) To enhance the safety of cruise pas18 sengers, the owners of cruise vessels could upgrade, 

19 modernize, and retrofit the safety and security infra20 structure on such vessels by installing peep holes in 

21 passenger room doors, installing security video cam22 eras in targeted areas, limiting access to passenger 

23 rooms to select staff during specific times, and in24 stalling acoustic hailing and warning devices capable 

25 of communicating over distances. 
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1 SEC. 3. CRUISE VESSEL SECURITY AND SAFETY REQUIRE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 46, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 3507. Passenger vessel security and safety require7 ments 

8 ‘‘(a) VESSEL DESIGN, EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, 

9 AND RETROFITTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each vessel to which this 

11 subsection applies shall comply with the following 

12 design and construction standards: 

13 ‘‘(A) The vessel shall be equipped with 

14 ship rails that are located not less than 42 

15 inches above the cabin deck. 

16 ‘‘(B) Each passenger stateroom and crew 

17 cabin shall be equipped with entry doors that 

18 include peep holes or other means of visual 

19 identification. 

20 ‘‘(C) For any vessel the keel of which is 

21 laid after the date of enactment of the Cruise 

22 Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009, each 

23 passenger stateroom and crew cabin shall be 

24 equipped with— 

25 ‘‘(i) security latches; and 

26 ‘‘(ii) time-sensitive key technology. 
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1 ‘‘(D) The vessel shall integrate technology 

2 that can be used for capturing images of pas3 sengers or detecting passengers who have fallen 

4 overboard, to the extent that such technology is 

5 available. 

6 ‘‘(E) The vessel shall be equipped with a 

7 sufficient number of operable acoustic hailing 

8 or other such warning devices to provide com9 munication capability around the entire vessel 

10 when operating in high risk areas (as defined 

11 by the Coast Guard). 

12 ‘‘(2) FIRE SAFETY CODES.—In administering 

13 the requirements of paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary 

14 shall take into consideration fire safety and other 

15 applicable emergency requirements established by 

16 the Coast Guard and under international law, as ap17 propriate. 

18 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

20 subparagraph (B), the requirements of para21 graph (1) shall take effect 18 months after the 

22 date of enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security 

23 and Safety Act of 2009. 

24 ‘‘(B) LATCH AND KEY REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 The requirements of paragraph (1)(C) take ef-
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1 fect on the date of enactment of the Cruise Ves2 sel Security and Safety Act of 2009. 

3 ‘‘(b) VIDEO RECORDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN SURVEIL5 LANCE.—The owner of a vessel to which this section 

6 applies shall maintain a video surveillance system to 

7 assist in documenting crimes on the vessel and in 

8 providing evidence for the prosecution of such 

9 crimes, as determined by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO VIDEO RECORDS.—The owner 

11 of a vessel to which this section applies shall provide 

12 to any law enforcement official performing official 

13 duties in the course and scope of an investigation, 

14 upon request, a copy of all records of video surveil15 lance that the official believes may provide evidence 

16 of a crime reported to law enforcement officials. 

17 ‘‘(c) SAFETY INFORMATION.—The owner of a vessel 

18 to which this section applies shall provide in each pas19 senger stateroom, and post in a location readily accessible 

20 to all crew and in other places specified by the Secretary, 

21 information regarding the locations of the United States 

22 embassy and each consulate of the United States for each 

23 country the vessel will visit during the course of the voy24 age. 
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1 ‘‘(d) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The owner of a vessel to 

2 which this section applies shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) maintain on the vessel adequate, in-date 

4 supplies of anti-retroviral medications and other 

5 medications designed to prevent sexually transmitted 

6 diseases after a sexual assault; 

7 ‘‘(2) maintain on the vessel equipment and ma8 terials for performing a medical examination in sex9 ual assault cases to evaluate the patient for trauma, 

10 provide medical care, and preserve relevant medical 

11 evidence; 

12 ‘‘(3) make available on the vessel at all times 

13 medical staff who have undergone a credentialing 

14 process to verify that he or she— 

15 ‘‘(A) possesses a current physician’s or 

16 registered nurse’s license and— 

17 ‘‘(i) has at least 3 years of post-grad18 uate or post-registration clinical practice in 

19 general and emergency medicine; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) holds board certification in emer21 gency medicine, family practice medicine, 

22 or internal medicine; 

23 ‘‘(B) is able to provide assistance in the 

24 event of an alleged sexual assault, has received 

25 training in conducting forensic sexual assault 
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1 examination, and is able to promptly perform 

2 such an examination upon request and provide 

3 proper medical treatment of a victim, including 

4 administration of anti-retroviral medications 

5 and other medications that may prevent the 

6 transmission of human immunodeficiency virus 

7 and other sexually transmitted diseases; and 

8 ‘‘(C) meets guidelines established by the 

9 American College of Emergency Physicians re10 lating to the treatment and care of victims of 

11 sexual assault; 

12 ‘‘(4) prepare, provide to the patient, and main13 tain written documentation of the findings of such 

14 examination that is signed by the patient; and 

15 ‘‘(5) provide the patient free and immediate ac16 cess to— 

17 ‘‘(A) contact information for local law en18 forcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

19 the Coast Guard, the nearest United States 

20 consulate or embassy, and the National Sexual 

21 Assault Hotline program or other third party 

22 victim advocacy hotline service; and 

23 ‘‘(B) a private telephone line and Internet24 accessible computer terminal by which the indi25 vidual may confidentially access law enforce-
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1 ment officials, an attorney, and the information 

2 and support services available through the Na3 tional Sexual Assault Hotline program or other 

4 third party victim advocacy hotline service. 

5 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAM6 INATION AND SUPPORT INFORMATION.—The master or 

7 other individual in charge of a vessel to which this section 

8 applies shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) treat all information concerning an exam10 ination under subsection (d) confidential, so that no 

11 medical information may be released to the cruise 

12 line or other owner of the vessel or any legal rep13 resentative thereof without the prior knowledge and 

14 approval in writing of the patient, or, if the patient 

15 is unable to provide written authorization, the pa16 tient’s next-of-kin, except that nothing in this para17 graph prohibits the release of— 

18 ‘‘(A) information, other than medical find19 ings, necessary for the owner or master of the 

20 vessel to comply with the provisions of sub21 section (g) or other applicable incident report22 ing laws; 

23 ‘‘(B) information to secure the safety of 

24 passengers or crew on board the vessel; or 
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1 ‘‘(C) any information to law enforcement 

2 officials performing official duties in the course 

3 and scope of an investigation; and 

4 ‘‘(2) treat any information derived from, or ob5 tained in connection with, post-assault counseling or 

6 other supportive services confidential, so no such in7 formation may be released to the cruise line or any 

8 legal representative thereof without the prior knowl9 edge and approval in writing of the patient, or, if 

10 the patient is unable to provide written authoriza11 tion, the patient’s next-of-kin. 

12 ‘‘(f) CREW ACCESS TO PASSENGER STATEROOMS.— 

13 The owner of a vessel to which this section applies shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) establish and implement procedures and 

15 restrictions concerning— 

16 ‘‘(A) which crew members have access to 

17 passenger staterooms; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the periods during which they have 

19 that access; and 

20 ‘‘(2) ensure that the procedures and restrictions 

21 are fully and properly implemented and periodically 

22 reviewed. 

23 ‘‘(g) LOG BOOK AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The owner of a vessel to 

25 which this section applies shall— 
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1 ‘‘(A) record in a log book, either electroni2 cally or otherwise, in a centralized location 

3 readily accessible to law enforcement personnel, 

4 a report on— 

5 ‘‘(i) all complaints of crimes described 

6 in paragraph (3)(A)(i), 

7 ‘‘(ii) all complaints of theft of prop8 erty valued in excess of $1,000, and 

9 ‘‘(iii) all complaints of other crimes, 

10 committed on any voyage that embarks or dis11 embarks passengers in the United States; and 

12 ‘‘(B) make such log book available upon 

13 request to any agent of the Federal Bureau of 

14 Investigation, any member of the Coast Guard, 

15 and any law enforcement officer performing of16 ficial duties in the course and scope of an inves17 tigation. 

18 ‘‘(2) DETAILS REQUIRED.—The information re19 corded under paragraph (1) shall include, at a min20 imum— 

21 ‘‘(A) the vessel operator; 

22 ‘‘(B) the name of the cruise line; 

23 ‘‘(C) the flag under which the vessel was 

24 operating at the time the reported incident oc25 curred; 
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1 ‘‘(D) the age and gender of the victim and 

2 the accused assailant; 

3 ‘‘(E) the nature of the alleged crime or 

4 complaint, as applicable, including whether the 

5 alleged perpetrator was a passenger or a crew 

6 member; 

7 ‘‘(F) the vessel’s position at the time of the 

8 incident, if known, or the position of the vessel 

9 at the time of the initial report; 

10 ‘‘(G) the time, date, and method of the ini11 tial report and the law enforcement authority to 

12 which the initial report was made; 

13 ‘‘(H) the time and date the incident oc14 curred, if known; 

15 ‘‘(I) the total number of passengers and 

16 the total number of crew members on the voy17 age; and 

18 ‘‘(J) the case number or other identifier 

19 provided by the law enforcement authority to 

20 which the initial report was made. 

21 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO REPORT CRIMES AND

22 OTHER INFORMATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The owner of a vessel 

24 to which this section applies (or the owner’s 

25 designee)— 
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1 ‘‘(i) shall contact the nearest Federal 

2 Bureau of Investigation Field Office or 

3 Legal Attache by telephone as soon as pos4 sible after the occurrence on board the ves5 sel of an incident involving homicide, sus6 picious death, a missing United States na7 tional, kidnapping, assault with serious 

8 bodily injury, any offense to which section 

9 2241, 2242, 2243, or 2244 (a) or (c) of 

10 title 18 applies, firing or tampering with 

11 the vessel, or theft of money or property in 

12 excess of $10,000 to report the incident; 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall furnish a written report of 

14 the incident to the Secretary via an Inter15 net based portal; 

16 ‘‘(iii) may report any serious incident 

17 that does not meet the reporting require18 ments of clause (i) and that does not re19 quire immediate attention by the Federal 

20 Bureau of Investigation via the Internet 

21 based portal maintained by the Secretary 

22 of Transportation; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) may report any other criminal 

24 incident involving passengers or crew mem-
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1 bers, or both, to the proper State or local 

2 government law enforcement authority. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCIDENTS TO WHICH SUBPARA4 GRAPH (A) APPLIES.—Subparagraph (A) ap5 plies to an incident involving criminal activity 

6 if— 

7 ‘‘(i) the vessel, regardless of registry, 

8 is owned, in whole or in part, by a United 

9 States person, regardless of the nationality 

10 of the victim or perpetrator, and the inci11 dent occurs when the vessel is within the 

12 admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the 

13 United States and outside the jurisdiction 

14 of any State; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the incident concerns an offense 

16 by or against a United States national 

17 committed outside the jurisdiction of any 

18 nation; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the incident occurs in the Terri20 torial Sea of the United States, regardless 

21 of the nationality of the vessel, the victim, 

22 or the perpetrator; or 

23 ‘‘(iv) the incident concerns a victim or 

24 perpetrator who is a United States na25 tional on a vessel during a voyage that de-
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1 parted from or will arrive at a United 

2 States port. 

3 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF INCIDENT DATA VIA

4 INTERNET.— 

5 ‘‘(A) WEBSITE.—The Secretary of Trans6 portation shall maintain a statistical compila7 tion of all incidents described in paragraph 

8 (3)(A)(i) on an Internet site that provides a nu9 merical accounting of the missing persons and 

10 alleged crimes recorded in each report filed 

11 under paragraph (3)(A)(i) that are no longer 

12 under investigation by the Federal Bureau of 

13 Investigation. The data shall be updated no less 

14 frequently than quarterly, aggregated by— 

15 ‘‘(i) cruise line, with each cruise line 

16 identified by name; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) whether each crime was com18 mitted by a passenger or a crew member. 

19 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO WEBSITE.—Each cruise 

20 line taking on or discharging passengers in the 

21 United States shall include a link on its Inter22 net website to the website maintained by the 

23 Secretary under subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(h) ENFORCEMENT.— 

25 ‘‘(1) PENALTIES.— 
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1 ‘‘(A) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person that 

2 violates this section or a regulation under this 

3 section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not 

4 more than $25,000 for each day during which 

5 the violation continues, except that the max6 imum penalty for a continuing violation is 

7 $50,000. 

8 ‘‘(B) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person 

9 that knowingly fails to record in a log book or 

10 to make a log book available in accordance with 

11 subsection (g)(1), or to report in accordance 

12 with subsection (g)(3), shall be fined not more 

13 than $250,000 or imprisoned not more than 1 

14 year, or both. 

15 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF ENTRY.—The Secretary may 

16 deny entry into the United States to a vessel to 

17 which this section applies if the owner of the ves18 sel— 

19 ‘‘(A) commits an act or omission for which 

20 a penalty may be imposed under this sub21 section; or 

22 ‘‘(B) fails to pay a penalty imposed on the 

23 owner under this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(i) PROCEDURES.—Within 6 months after the date 

25 of enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 
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1 of 2009, the Secretary shall issue guidelines, training cur2 ricula, and inspection and certification procedures nec3 essary to carry out the requirements of this section. 

4 ‘‘(j) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Transpor5 tation and the Commandant shall each issue such regula6 tions as are necessary to implement this section. 

7 ‘‘(k) APPLICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section and section 

9 3508 apply to a passenger vessel (as defined in sec10 tion 2101(22)) that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is authorized to carry at least 250 

12 passengers; 

13 ‘‘(B) has onboard sleeping facilities for 

14 each passenger; 

15 ‘‘(C) is on a voyage that embarks or dis16 embarks passengers in the United States; and 

17 ‘‘(D) is not engaged on a coastwise voyage. 

18 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL AND STATE VESSELS.—This sec19 tion and section 3508 do not apply to a vessel that 

20 is owned and operated by the United States Govern21 ment or a vessel that is owned and operated by a 

22 State. 

23 ‘‘(l) OWNER DEFINED.—In this section and section 

24 3508, the term ‘owner’ means the owner, charterer, man-
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1 aging operator, master, or other individual in charge of 

2 a vessel. 

3 ‘‘§ 3508. Crime scene preservation training for pas4 senger vessel crew members 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

6 enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 

7 of 2009, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director 

8 of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Maritime 

9 Administrator, shall develop training standards and cur10 ricula to allow for the certification of passenger vessel se11 curity personnel, crew members, and law enforcement offi12 cials on the appropriate methods for prevention, detection, 

13 evidence preservation, and reporting of criminal activities 

14 in the international maritime environment. The Adminis15 trator of the Maritime Administration may certify organi16 zations in the United States and abroad that offer the cur17 riculum for training and certification under subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—The standards estab19 lished by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall in20 clude— 

21 ‘‘(1) the training and certification of vessel se22 curity personnel, crew members, and law enforce23 ment officials in accordance with accepted law en24 forcement and security guidelines, policies, and pro25 cedures, including recommendations for incor-
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1 porating a background check process for personnel 

2 trained and certified in foreign countries; 

3 ‘‘(2) the training of students and instructors in 

4 all aspects of prevention, detection, evidence preser5 vation, and reporting of criminal activities in the 

6 international maritime environment; and 

7 ‘‘(3) the provision or recognition of off-site 

8 training and certification courses in the United 

9 States and foreign countries to develop and provide 

10 the required training and certification described in 

11 subsection (a) and to enhance security awareness 

12 and security practices related to the preservation of 

13 evidence in response to crimes on board passenger 

14 vessels. 

15 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Beginning 2 

16 years after the standards are established under subsection 

17 (b), no vessel to which this section applies may enter a 

18 United States port on a voyage (or voyage segment) on 

19 which a United States citizen is a passenger unless there 

20 is at least 1 crew member onboard who is certified as hav21 ing successfully completed training in the prevention, de22 tection, evidence preservation, and reporting of criminal 

23 activities in the international maritime environment on 

24 passenger vessels under subsection (a). 
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1 ‘‘(d) INTERIM TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—No vessel 

2 to which this section applies may enter a United States 

3 port on a voyage (or voyage segment) on which a United 

4 States citizen is a passenger unless there is at least 1 crew 

5 member onboard who has been properly trained in the pre6 vention, detection, evidence preservation and the reporting 

7 requirements of criminal activities in the international 

8 maritime environment. The owner of such a vessel shall 

9 maintain certification or other documentation, as pre10 scribed by the Secretary, verifying the training of such in11 dividual and provide such documentation upon request for 

12 inspection in connection with enforcement of the provi13 sions of this section. This subsection shall take effect 1 

14 year after the date of enactment of the Cruise Vessel Safe15 ty and Security Act of 2009 and shall remain in effect 

16 until superseded by the requirements of subsection (c). 

17 ‘‘(e) CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person that violates this 

18 section or a regulation under this section shall be liable 

19 for a civil penalty of not more than $50,000. 

20 ‘‘(f) DENIAL OF ENTRY.—The Secretary may deny 

21 entry into the United States to a vessel to which this sec22 tion applies if the owner of the vessel— 

23 ‘‘(1) commits an act or omission for which a 

24 penalty may be imposed under subsection (e); or 
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1 ‘‘(2) fails to pay a penalty imposed on the 

2 owner under subsection (e).’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

‘‘3507. Passenger vessel security and safety requirements. 

‘‘3508. Crime scene preservation training for passenger vessel crew members.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON THE SECURITY NEEDS OF 

7 PASSENGER VESSELS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 3 months after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the department 

10 in which the Coast Guard is operating shall conduct a 

11 study of the security needs of passenger vessels depending 

12 on number of passengers on the vessels, and report to the 

13 Congress findings of the study and recommendations for 

14 improving security on those vessels. 

15 (b) REPORT CONTENTS.—In recommending appro16 priate security on those vessels, the report shall take into 

17 account typical crew member shifts, working conditions of 

18 crew members, and length of voyages. 

Passed the House of Representatives November 17, 

2009. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3360 

AN ACT 

To amend title 46, United States Code, to establish 

other purposes. passengers and crew on cruise vessels, and for requirements to ensure the security and safety of