“To provide authorization for nonpecuniary damages in an action resulting from a cruise ship voyage occurring on the high seas.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section amends 46 U.S.C. 30307 under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA)—which governs wrongful death actions for incidents more than 3 nautical miles from U.S. shores but limits recovery to pecuniary losses absent specified exceptions—as follows: (1) revises the section heading to "Limitations in certain cases" (from one referencing commercial aviation accidents) and makes a conforming change to the table of sections for chapter 303; (2) defines "cruise ship" as a passenger vessel (other than a federal or state vessel) authorized to carry at least 250 passengers, with onboard sleeping facilities for each, on a voyage embarking or disembarking passengers in the United States but not engaged in a coastwise voyage; and restates the definition of "nonpecuniary damages" (i.e., damages for loss of care, comfort, and companionship); (3) in subsection (b), expands availability of additional compensation for nonpecuniary damages—while barring punitive damages—to deaths from commercial aviation or cruise ship voyage accidents on the high seas more than 12 nautical miles from the U.S. shore (previously only aviation); and (4) in subsection (c), expands DOHSA's nonapplicability to such accidents occurring 12 nautical miles or less from shore (previously only aviation). (Thus, for qualifying cruise ship voyage accidents within 12 nautical miles, state law or other federal remedies may apply instead.)