Cruise – the perfect place for a crime?
A cruise - that sounds like cocktails at the bar, relaxing hours on deck and new travel destinations. But if you look behind the scenes, you'll see that a cruise can be an ideal setting for environmental and criminal crimes. We'll tell you why and how exactly here - and you'll get an insight into a mysterious death during a cruise at OCEAN CRIME!
Going on a cruise once in a lifetime is the dream of many tourists. At first glance, the mobile hotel sounds tempting: cocktails at the bar, relaxing hours on deck, a new destination every day. But if you look behind the scenes of the giants, you will see that a cruise can be an ideal setting for environmental and criminal crimes. We'll tell you why and how exactly here - and you can get an insight into a particularly mysterious death during a cruise in our podcast OCEAN CRIME !
Crimes on the High Seas
The glamorous world of cruise ships, at second glance, presents ideal conditions for obvious or hidden crimes. In the following, you will learn how environmental pollution, human and labor rights violations and criminal cases everyday life on board determine.
Cruise ships are popular means of transport for travelers from all over the world – Photo by Fernando Jorge on Unsplash
impacts on the environment
As versatile and comfortable as a cruise may seem at first glance, the impact on the environment is huge. The giants on the water require numerous resources so that we can travel comfortably. The ships consume the Energy of a small town to keep the restaurants, air conditioning and water parks running continuously at sea and in the ports. Due to the strict hygiene regulations, there are also 16 tons of food waste to.
The CO2 consumption on the cruise ship is also thought-provoking and has been criticized: a one-week cruise causes the same amount of CO2 per person the same CO2 emissions as a 9,000 km car journey.
Loud Nature Conservation Association A cruise ship emits as much particulate matter per day as a million cars. The fact that different environmental standards apply on water than on land is shown by the ships’ usual fuel: the majority of cruise ships run on heavy fuel oil, which is normally used in other means of transport on land. due to its high sulfur content is no longer permitted.
A cruise ship emits as much fine dust every day as a million cars – Photo by Alonso Reyes on Unsplash
flagging out and critical labor standards
In order to save taxes, some shipping companies register their ships in countries such as Malta, the Bahamas or Liberia. Although these countries do not correspond to the actual home country of the shipping company, the companies can use these so-called "flagging out" theoretically legal to the partially low labor and safety standards of the respective country. The result: the staff are often affected by low wages and poor working conditions. Unpaid overtime and low wages may be the order of the day and there is little privacy and leisure time for the employees.
Safety and Accidents on Board
But what about the legal and security situation on board? It is alarming that About 20 people disappear on cruises every year - in most cases in an unexplained manner. It is assumed that the majority of them fall overboard. The chances of survival in such a case are dwindling. The cold of the sea and the power of the ship's propeller reduce the likelihood of survival in the water. Due to the height of the ship, the impact on the water usually means that the chance of survival is very low. In addition, the ship's long braking distance makes the search for the missing people significantly more difficult.
The location plays an important role during the disappearance or accident: If a cruise ship is at least twelve nautical miles from the mainland, the ship is officially sailing in international waters. In this case, so-called flag law applies - that is, the law of the country under whose flag the ship is sailing. There is no official police on board; the captain exercises supreme police power on board by virtue of his or her office. Accordingly, after a crime or unexplained incident on the high seas, no neutral outside authority comes to the ship to resolve the situation; instead, the staff on board is responsible for this. The transparent resolution of the crimes could thus be made more difficult, as it could be in the interest of the crew to protect the ship's reputation - as was the case with the Bracenet. OCEAN CRIME podcast episode .
Every year about 20 people disappear from a cruise ship – Photo by ben o'bro on Unsplash
OCEAN CRIME: The Perfect Murder on a Cruise Ship
Partly questionable working and safety conditions, a mostly opaque legal situation due to flag law – ideal conditions for a crime on board, as Madeleine and Maja from the Bracenet team in OCEAN CRIME show the Podcast about crimes on the high seas ! You speak with criminal defense attorney Alexander Stevens, who is confronted with a confession during his private vacation with colleagues on a cruise ship: At the bar, he gets into conversation with a man who supposedly lost his wife to suicide. Allegedly - because after a short time he turns out to be a suspected murderer who is still living at large today.
In this OCEAN CRIME episode Alexander classifies the facts legally and gives us insights into the world of murders on cruise ships. Together with Madeleine and Maja, the following question is discussed: How does this case end and what does it have to do with a perfect murder? The exciting episode “The Perfect Murder on a Cruise Ship” can be heard everywhere where it podcasts gives!
OCEAN CRIME Podcast Episode: The Perfect Murder on a Cruise Ship