Grieving dad on verge of 'David-and-Goliath' victory over cruise industry

mercedes · July 16, 2009

It's a David-and-Goliath victory, no doubt. And one that could force some big changes at cruise lines.

As the Arizona Republic, a sister paper to USA TODAY, notes today in a lengthy front-page story, a Phoenix man whose daughter vanished from an Alaskan cruise in 2004 is on the brink of a long-awaited triumph after he helped push the multibillion-dollar cruise industry to accept new safety regulations.

In an about-face, lobbyists for the cruise industry in recent days have backed federal legislation that would force new safety standards and crime-reporting requirements on all cruise ships operating in U.S. ports -- virtually guaranteeing the bill's passage in Congress.

"This tide has turned," Kendall Carver, a 72-year-old retired insurance executive, tells the Republic. "Finally, we're going to see some accountability."

Carver's daughter, Merrian, disappeared from Celebrity Cruises' Mercury two days into a seven-day voyage in an incident the line later suggested was a suicide. There was no record of her leaving the ship, and her clothes and luggage remained in her cabin.

Still, camera footage that might have helped solve the mystery has never been made available, the Republic says. Celebrity's parent company, Royal Caribbean, has said a video camera captured her fall from a ship's deck but told Carver's father that the footage had been erased.

The Republic says Celebrity did nothing for five weeks after Carver's disappearance beyond packing up her belongings. The news outlet says the line only filed a missing-persons report with the FBI after being questioned by a private detective.

Carver tells the Republic he later learned his daughter was intimate with a crew member on the ship who now lives in Greece and refuses to answer questions. He tells the paper he doesn't fully accept that his daughter's death was a suicide.

A non-profit group Carver founded, International Cruise Victims, has been pushing for the new safety legislation for several years. The legislation would require cruise ships to log onboard crimes, disappearances, and complaints regarding thefts, sexual harassment and assaults, and make the logs available to public agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard. It also calls for peepholes on all cabins.

Shaunna · July 16, 2009

I heard about this obviously but had no idea the video had been erased. Wow.

GottaCruz · July 16, 2009

The Republic says Celebrity did nothing for five weeks after Carver's disappearance beyond packing up her belongings. The news outlet says the line only filed a missing-persons report with the FBI after being questioned by a private detective.

That is unbelievable. How very sad for the family . I hope the truth does come to light so maybe the family can get some closure.