Vanishing On The High Seas

Congress Probes Disappearances Of Passengers From Cruise Ships

(CBS)  Every year, about 10 million people go on cruises expecting to live in the lap of luxury, and not even thinking about harm coming to them.

But some passengers have vanished from ships over the years and cruse lines aren't required to report criminal activity aboard their vessels.

Now, Congress is looking into the problem, reports Thalia Assuras.

A House panel heard Tuesday from the families of some passengers who disappeared.

Among them, relatives of George Allen Smith IV of Greenwich, Conn., who was halfway into his honeymoon cruise through the Mediterranean in early July when he vanished while the Royal Caribbean ship was off the Turkish coast.

His family feels he was the victim of foul play

Smith's sister, Bree Smith, told reporters Tuesday, "My brother is not a mere insurance liability. … It's not a matter of dollars and cents. It's a matter of protecting U.S. citizens aboard cruise ships."

George Smith is one of about a dozen cruise ship passengers who disappeared over the last two years, Assuras said, and many other victims' families also gathered on Capitol Hill, seeking tighter federal regulations to ensure passenger safety.

"Passengers cannot assume the protection of U.S. laws and law enforcement will be available in time, if at all," said Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn.

Smith's family agrees.

After a night of partying before he vanished, there were reports of loud voices in his cabin. In the morning, Smith was gone. Blood was found on an awning below the couple's balcony.

Royal Caribbean's Greg Purdy testified that Smith's disappearance was handled correctly.

"We continue to cooperate fully with the FBI in the hope that the agency will be able to provide solid answers and some measure of closure for the smith family," he said.

But Smith's parents want more answers.

"We just want to know where he is," his mother, Maureen Smith, told a news conference Tuesday. "What happened to him. We want closure."

Royal Caribbean's representative apologized to the Smith family during the hearings. Despite that and the company's claims that it acted responsibly in Smith's disappearance, the family plans to sue, Assuras said.