PM applauds response to cruise ship fire - JamaicaObserver.com

PM applauds response to cruise ship fire - JamaicaObserver.com

Princess Cruises Ship Fire

Date of Incident: March 23, 2006

Summary:
A fire broke out aboard the A Princess Cruises Ship, the Star Princess early Thursday, March 23, 2006 as it pulled up to the Montego Bay port of Jamaica leaving one passenger dead, 11 people injured and at least 100 rooms scorched.

News articles on incident and date within the first 10 articles under Google search:
1. www.cannesnews.com March 25, 2006
2. www.crusielawsnews.com March 11, 2007
3. www.msnbc.msn.com March 24, 2006
4. www.cbsnews.com March 24, 2006
5. www.cruisecritic.com April 1, 2008
6. www.caribbeanshipping.com March 23, 2006
7. www.jamaica-gleaner.com January 25, 2007
8. www.jamaicaobserver.com March 23, 2006
9. www.cnn.com March 23, 2006
10. www.jamaica-gleaner.com March 24, 2006

Summary of Crisis Communication Response:
The captain’s response as the incident unfolded was quoted by one of the unnamed news articles was relayed by a passenger as immediately coming over the intercom and reassuring passengers that everything was going to be all right.
A Princess Cruise statement identified also said that as a result of a fire caused by a cigarette, two passengers suffered “significant smoke inhalation injuries” and nine others had “minor complications.”
According to MSNBC.com’s Susan Lim, the cruise company had sent letters to passengers stating that full cruise fares and air transportation will be reimbursed. Passengers who booked air transportation separately were advised to fill out a form and state their destination cities. Princess will arrange flights for Friday and Saturday.
Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association’s response was that a smoldering cigarette was suspected as the cause of the blaze. This was reported to have been said Horace Peterkin, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, who toured the ship after it docked.
The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched investigators and fire engineers to help determine the fire’s cause and whether the ship was seaworthy, Coast Guard Petty Officer James Judge who was reported to have said that teams were expected to arrive and the number one concern right now is safety.

Timing:
Press Releases were issued to the media within hours on the same day as well as on the day after the incident by representatives from the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association, Princess Cruises and the Jamaica Constabulary Communication Network. Passengers who survived the fire were immediately communicated to and reassured by the Princess Cruises Staff and offered hotel accommodation. On the following day, letters were given to the passengers confirming reimbursement of cruise fares and air transportation return tickets to their destination cities.

Technique:
There was face to face verbal communication between Princess Cruise’s Management and the surviving passengers to reassure them and make arrangements for hotel accommodation. Letters were issued by hand to all the affected passengers addressing the situation.
In the press release issued to the media, the company statement gave descriptive information saying that two passengers suffered “significant smoke inhalation injuries” and nine others had “minor complications.”
During the press conference held, Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises, which is owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp said that passengers grabbed life jackets and raced to “muster stations” after the fire started about 3 a.m. The crew put out the fire, then did a cabin-by-cabin search to check for victims and make sure everyone else was safe, she said.

Tone:
The tones identified in the various responses were:
Explanatory – explaining what happened, how it happened, contextualizing the details
Compassionate – use of reassuring, comforting words
Authoritative – using authoritative jargon like statistics, expert advice, referring to authoritative data.

Discussion:
The crisis was handled well from beginning to end. The underlined statement about the captain coming on the intercom to reassure passengers was particularly commendable. In the midst of crisis, the first response of the company involved is what should contain what is known as the key message, this is explored further in the analysis and discussion section. In this case the message was reassuring and comforting to frightened emotional passengers.
The fact that Princess Cruise did not cover up the tragedy and was honest about what may have caused the fire was also commendable. Princess Cruise became human (a concept further explored in the analysis and discussion section) by their comforting reassuring gesture of accommodation and reimbursement. The spokesperson’s account of the incident gives the impression that the must important concern of the cruise line is the safety of its customer. It is that kind of positive messaging and gesture that deflects negative attention from being cast on a company’s reputation. Also, it was clear that only one spokesperson was appointed to speak on the company’s behalf.