Last year, a fire onboard a river vessel that was chartered by International Expeditions resulted in the deaths of two passengers. Last week, ABC turned a spotlight on the story during "Good Morning America" and again during a more in-depth "Nightline" segment.
Yikes, I thought. This isn't good publicity for International Expeditions, for Amazon river cruising, or for small-ship adventure cruising in general.
According to ABC, Larry and Christy Hammer both died in April 2016 after a fire broke out in their cabin on the La Estrella Amazonica, a vessel that International Expeditions charters. ABC cited other passengers having reported that fire alarms did not sound. The surveillance footage shows the crew repeatedly going to the cabin door but not going inside.
ABC reported that an investigation by the Peruvian navy found that it took nearly 21 minutes before the crew attempted to rescue the Hammers. Larry Hammer died in the cabin from smoke inhalation, and Christy Hammer died en route to a hospital.
ABC used the tragedy to highlight the Death on the High Seas Act, which limits the damages families can claim when deaths occur in international waters.
International Expeditions' ability to respond and/or to do damage control appears to be limited by the ongoing nature of the case.
"All of us here at IE continue to be deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life of two of our guests following a cabin fire last year aboard the La Estrella Amazonica, a vessel that we charter," the company said in a statement it sent to Travel Weekly in response to the ABC story.
"Given the pending legal proceedings in Peru we cannot provide specifics, but our highest priority remains the safety of our guests aboard our chartered vessels," IE added. "We continue to review our operations to ensure we have the right protocols in place."
International Expeditions had chartered the La Estrella Amazonica from Peruvian company Expediciones Amazonicas, which owns, operates and manages the vessel.
For the river cruise industry, this serves as a cautionary tale about the safety and security of the smaller ships that many reputable tour operators and river cruise lines often charter, especially on rivers such as the Amazon, Mekong, Nile and Ganges. When customers are in far-flung locales, their lives are in the hands of the local operator. But it's the reputation of the tour operator or river cruise line that sent them there that is ultimately on the line.