It seems that the passengers of the incapacitated Carnival cruise ship, the Triumph, were in more danger than they realized, according to a lawyer. The ship was in danger of "tipping"
once losing power, claims John Arthur Eaves Jr., an attorney that filed a lawsuit against Carnival, according to Radaronline on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013.
The Triumph was seized last year as collateral in the lawsuit filed by the family of a man who lost his life in the Costa Concordia tragedy, which was another Carnival cruise ship. Eaves is with the law firm who represented the man's family.
Eaves claims that the design of the Concordia caused the ship to tip and the Triumph has the same design. It is dangerous sitting in open water without power to the engine. Eaves claims that the Triumph sitting in open water for a day put it in a position where it “could easily have tipped over.”
His complaints are with the Carnival Cruise Lines and their lack of emphasis on safety. There didn’t seem to be a contingency plan in place in case the ship was ever rendered powerless. Instead the passengers of the Triumph were left to fend for themselves as they were slowly towed to port by tug boats. Eaves also said:
“And why the passengers haven’t been rescued yet and taken off the boat, rather than towed to safety is beyond me. It just shows to me that safety is not Carnival’s main priority.”
The conditions on the Triumph have been deplorable with reports of urine soaked carpet, raw sewage spilling into cabins, people using plastic bags as a toilet and food supplies have dwindled to the point that passengers are fighting over food.
Cold onion sandwiches are what the passengers are eating to survive as they sleep on deck due to the heat with the air conditioning not working. Another reason they are opting to sleep in the open air using make-shift tents out of sheets is that the stench is so horrendous.
Triumph is due to be towed into port today in Galveston, Texas. Family members are there waiting for their loved ones to finally make it back to land.
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