Royal Caribbean is supporting three new safety policies that was announced today by two cruise industry groups.
The Securing Heavy Objects policy stipulates that crew members on cruise ships will secure heavy objects such as pianos or treadmills when not in use. In addition, there is a new lifejacket policy for newly constructed cruise ships that requires for every passenger and crew member to be stowed in close proximity to either muster stations or lifeboat embarkation points.
Previous to this rule, cruise ships had many more lifejackets than were needed for every passenger and crew member, but on some vessels a large percentage of those lifejackets are stored in cabins, with fewer than one per person available at muster stations.
A third new safety policy unveiled today by the industry groups requires consistent procedures on ship bridges.
Royal Caribbean is part of the Cruise Lines International Association and the European Cruise Council along with other major cruise companies. All of the safety initiatives were announced jointly.
The industry groups say the new Securing Heavy Objects policy already is being implemented, with lines carrying out fleet-wide inspections to ensure heavy objects are properly secured. The new policy will require heavy objects to be secured during rough weather in addition to during periods when they are not in use.
