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Cruise ships come to aid of Cuban refugees

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Cruise ships come to aid of Cuban refugees

Two cruise ships have come to the aid of Cuban refugees stranded at sea.

On Friday, the Carnival Conquest spotted a raft with 13 people on board approximately 40 miles off the coast of Key West, Florida.

The refugees were rescued and taken on board where they were provided with food, water and medical treatment.

Gerry Cahill, Carnival president and chief executive, said: “We are happy to have come to the aid of these individuals and to support the long-established tradition among the global maritime community of providing assistance to mariners in distress.”

Shortly after, reports emerged that the Disney Wonder had picked up eight people stranded 45 miles from Key West.

Both of the ships coordinated with the US Coast Guard to undertake the rescues and also to determine their next steps.

If the Cuban refugees were seeking asylum in the US, they will now need to be interviewed by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service to see if they are eligible.

Carnival to reimburse federal government for rescues

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Carnival to reimburse federal government for rescues

By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Corp. has decided to reimburse the U.S. government for the costs incurred by the Coast Guard and Navy in coming to the aid of two of its cruise ships that had engine fires.

Carnival will pay back the expenses related to the Carnival Triumph rescue in the Gulf of Mexico in February and a similar event off the California coast in 2010 involving Carnival Splendor.

In a prepared statement, Carnival said, “It should be clearly noted that at no point in time has Carnival stated it would refuse to reimburse federal agencies if they sought remuneration.”

The Coast Guard has calculated its cost related to Carnival Triumph at $779,000 and the Splendor at $1.5 million. The Navy spent another $1.9 million, according to U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), who has pressed Carnival as to whether it would pay for the help it received.

In its statement, Carnival said that although no agencies have requested remuneration, “the company has made the decision to voluntarily provide reimbursement to the federal government.”

Previously, Carnival had responded to Rockefeller in a letter from James Hunn, Carnival Corp.’s senior vice president of maritime policy. Hunn said that help for ships in trouble at sea is the universal obligation of the entire maritime community.