diately secure an alleged crime scene on a cruise ves-
sel, recover evidence of an onboard offense, and 
identify or interview potential witnesses to the al-
leged crime. 
(11) Most cruise vessels that operate into and 
out of United States ports are registered under the 
laws of another country, and investigations and 
prosecutions of crimes against passengers and crew-
members may involve the laws and authorities of 
multiple nations. 
(12) To enhance safety of cruise passengers, 
the owner of these cruise vessels could upgrade, 
modernize, and retrofit the safety and security infra-
structure on such vessels by installing peep holes in 
passenger room doors, installing security video cam-
eras in targeted areas, and limiting access to pas-
senger rooms to select staff during specific times. 
SEC. 3. CRUISE VESSEL SECURITY AND SAFETY REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35 of title 46, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘§ 3507. Cruise vessel security and safety require-
ments 
‘‘(a) VESSEL DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND RETRO-
FITTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each passenger vessel to 
which this subsection applies shall comply with the 
following design and construction standards: 
‘‘(A) The vessel shall be equipped with 
ship rails that are located not less than 41⁄2 feet 
above the deck. 
‘‘(B) Each passenger stateroom and crew 
cabin shall be equipped with entry doors that 
include— 
‘‘(i) peep holes; 
‘‘(ii) security latches; and 
‘‘(iii) time sensitive key technology. 
‘‘(C) Fire safety codes shall be imple-
mented. 
‘‘(D) The vessel shall integrate technology 
that can be used for detecting passengers who 
have fallen overboard, to the extent that such 
technology is available. 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of 
paragraph (1) shall take effect 36 months after the 
date of the enactment of the Cruise Vessel Security 
and Safety Act of 2008. 
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‘‘(b) CREW ACCESS TO PASSENGER STATEROOMS.— 
The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or indi-
vidual in charge of a vessel to which this section applies 
shall— 
‘‘(1) establish and implement procedures and 
restrictions concerning— 
‘‘(A) which crewmembers have access to 
passenger staterooms; and 
‘‘(B) the periods during which they have 
that access; and 
‘‘(2) ensure that the procedures and restrictions 
are fully and properly implemented and periodically 
reviewed. 
‘‘(c) LOG BOOK AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The owner, charterer, man-
aging operator, master, or individual in charge of a 
vessel to which this section applies shall— 
‘‘(A) record in a log book reports on re-
ported deaths, missing individuals, and each 
significant alleged crime committed on the ves-
sel, and all passenger and crewmember com-
plaints regarding theft, sexual harassment, and 
assaults; and 
‘‘(B) make such log book available— 
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‘‘(i) upon request to any agent of the 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, any mem-
ber of the Coast Guard, and any law en-
forcement officer; and 
‘‘(ii) to the Coast Guard in an elec-
tronic format prescribed by the Com-
mandant. 
‘‘(2) DETAILS REQUIRED.—The information re-
corded under paragraph (1) shall include, at a min-
imum— 
‘‘(A) the type of vessel; 
‘‘(B) the name of the cruise line; 
‘‘(C) the flag under which the vessel was 
operating at the time the reported incident oc-
curred; 
‘‘(D) the age of the victim; 
‘‘(E) the nature of the alleged crime or 
complaint, as applicable, including whether the 
perpetrator was a passenger or a crewmember; 
‘‘(F) the vessel’s position at the time of the 
incident, if known, or the position of the vessel 
at the time of the initial report; 
‘‘(G) the time, date, and method of the ini-
tial report and the law enforcement authority to 
which the initial report was made; 
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‘‘(H) the case number or other identifier 
provided by the law enforcement authority to 
which the initial report was made; and 
‘‘(I) whether the reported incident oc-
curred on land or onboard. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO REPORT CRIMES AND 
OTHER INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The master of a pas-
senger vessel to which this section applies— 
‘‘(i) shall contact the nearest Federal 
Bureau of Investigation Field Office or 
Legal Attache by telephone as soon as pos-
sible after the occurrence on board the ves-
sel of an incident involving homicide, sus-
picious death, a missing United States na-
tional, kidnapping, assault with serious 
bodily injury, any offense to which section 
2241, 2242, 2243, or 2244(a) or (c) of 
title 18, United States Code, applies, firing 
or tampering with the vessel, or theft of 
money or property in excess of $10,000 to 
report the incident; 
‘‘(ii) shall furnish a written report of 
the incident by facsimile or electronic mail 
to the Coast Guard National Command 
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Center and by facsimile to the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation; 
‘‘(iii) may report any serious incident 
that does not meet the reporting require-
ments of clause (i) and that does not re-
quire immediate attention by the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation to the nearest 
Field Office or Legal Attache by facsimile 
or electronic mail; and 
‘‘(iv) may report any other criminal 
incident involving passengers or crew-
members, or both, to the proper State or 
local government law enforcement author-
ity. 
‘‘(B) INCIDENTS
TO
WHICH
SUBPARA-
GRAPH (A) APPLIES.—Subparagraph (A) ap-
plies to an incident involving criminal activity 
if— 
‘‘(i) the ship, regardless of registry, is 
owned, in whole or in part, by a United 
States person, regardless of the nationality 
of the victim or perpetrator, and the inci-
dent occurs when the vessel is within the 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the 
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gated by cruise line, and each cruise line shall 
be identified by name. 
‘‘(B) ACCESS TO WEBSITE.—Each cruise 
line taking on or discharging passengers in the 
United States shall include a link on its Inter-
net website to the website maintained by the 
Secretary under subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(d) CREW DATABASE REQUIREMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall prescribe regulations that require the owner 
of each vessel to which this section applies to participate 
in the establishment and maintenance of a database for 
reporting all individuals whose employment on such a ves-
sel has been terminated for a matter reported under sub-
section (c)(1)(A). 
‘‘(e) RAPE KITS.—The owner of a vessel to which this 
section applies shall— 
‘‘(1) maintain on the vessel adequate, in-date 
supplies of anti-retroviral medications and other 
medications used to prevent sexually transmitted 
diseases after a sexual assault; 
‘‘(2) maintain on the vessel equipment and ma-
terials for performing a medical examination to in-
vestigate whether an individual has been the victim 
of rape on such vessel; 
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‘‘(3) make available on the vessel at all times 
an individual licensed to practice as a medical doctor 
in the United States to promptly perform such an 
examination upon request and to provide proper 
medical treatment of a victim, including anti- 
retroviral medications and other medications that 
may prevent the transmission of human immuno-
deficiency virus and other sexually transmitted dis-
eases; 
‘‘(4) prepare, provide to the individual, and 
maintain written documentation of the performance 
and findings of such examination that is signed by 
the individual and ensure that no medical informa-
tion is released to the cruise line or any legal rep-
resentative thereof without the prior knowledge and 
approval in writing of the victim, or, if the victim is 
unable to provide written authorization, the victim’s 
next-of-kin; and 
‘‘(5) provide the individual free and immediate 
access to— 
‘‘(A) a description of the toll-free telephone 
number and website by which the individual 
may access the National Sexual Assault Hotline 
and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline 
referred to in section 628 of the Adam Walsh 
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Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (Pub-
lic Law 109–248; 42 U.S.C. 16985); 
‘‘(B) information for local law enforcement 
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and 
‘‘(C) a private telephone line and Internet- 
accessible computer terminal on the cruise ship 
by which the individual may confidentially ac-
cess such hotline services. 
‘‘(f) CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION TRAINING FOR 
PASSENGER VESSEL CREWMEMBERS.—The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Director of the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation, shall develop a training curriculum for crew-
members and law enforcement officials of passenger ves-
sels to educate them concerning appropriate methods for 
collecting evidence at a crime scene and proper evidence 
preservation. The Administrator of the Maritime Adminis-
tration may certify organizations that offer the curriculum 
for training and certification under subsection (g). 
‘‘(g) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Beginning 2 
years after the date of enactment of the Cruise Vessel Se-
curity and Safety Act of 2008, no passenger vessel may 
enter a United States port on a voyage (or voyage seg-
ment) on which a United States citizen is a passenger un-
less there is at least 1 crewmember onboard who is cer-
tified as having successfully completed training in the col-
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lection of crime scene evidence on passenger vessels under 
subsection (f). 
‘‘(h) INSPECTION.—The Secretary shall conduct an 
annual inspection of each passenger vessel seeking to enter 
a port in the United States to determine whether the pas-
senger vessel has adequate equipment to investigate cov-
ered crimes on the vessel and has at least 1 crewmember 
who is certified under subsection (f). 
‘‘(i) VIDEO RECORDING.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT
TO
MAINTAIN
SURVEIL-
LANCE.—The owner of a vessel to which this section 
applies shall maintain video surveillance to monitor 
and document crimes as they occur on the vessel and 
to provide evidence for the prosecution of such 
crimes, as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) ACCESS TO VIDEO RECORDS.—The owner 
of a vessel to which this section applies shall provide 
to law enforcement officials, upon request, a copy of 
all records of video surveillance that may provide 
evidence of a crime reported to law enforcement offi-
cials. 
‘‘(j) SAFETY INFORMATION.—The owner of a vessel 
to which this section applies shall— 
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‘‘(1) prominently post in each stateroom and 
crew cabin and in other places specified by the Sec-
retary information regarding— 
‘‘(A) the name of each country the cruise 
ship will visit during the course of such car-
riage; 
‘‘(B) the locations in such country of the 
embassy and each consulate of the United 
States; 
‘‘(C) the contact information for the Na-
tional Sexual Assault Hotline and the National 
Sexual Assault Online Hotline referred to in 
section 628 of the Adam Walsh Child Protec-
tion and Safety Act of 2006 (Public Law 109– 
248; 42 U.S.C. 16985); 
‘‘(D) telephone numbers for the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation; and 
‘‘(E) the degree to which the owner is re-
sponsible or liable for the safety of passengers 
while they are on shore excursions; and 
‘‘(2) include in mandatory crew training the de-
tails of this section, its application, and the deter-
mination of the United States to protect its citizens 
against crimes committed at sea. 
‘‘(k) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 
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