The capsizing of the Eastern Star last week on China's Yangtze River, in which more than 400 people are believed to have been killed, inevitably placed an international spotlight on safety conditions for cruise ships that sail the third-longest river in the world. But officials for Yangtze river lines that serve the U.S. market assert that the standards for hardware and safety embraced by the Eastern Star do not measure up to what the vast majority of U.S. travelers will encounter on the river.
"The Eastern Star is a local passenger ship, which is much lower than the Century fleet in terms of shipbuilding standards, service quality, etc.," said Richard Xie, director of marketing and sales for Chinese river cruise operator Century Cruises, which provides charters for several U.S. river cruise companies and tour operators, including Viking River Cruises, Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection and Avalon Waterways.
The Eastern Star was a much smaller vessel compared with most of the ships operated by Century and Victoria Cruises, the two main river cruise lines that serve the U.S. market in China. And yet, it was carrying more passengers than any vessel operated by Century and Victoria, which are up to five times its size.
The Eastern Star, at 2,200 gross tons, was carrying 458 people when it capsized, according to news reports, and has an official capacity of 534 passengers. By comparison, the smallest vessel in the Victoria fleet is the 198-passenger Victoria Grace, which is 3,868 gross tons, and the largest ship in the fleet is the 378-passenger Victoria Jenna, at 10,680 gross tons. The smallest vessel in the Century fleet is the 186-passenger Century Star, at 4,255 gross tons; the two largest vessels in the fleet, the 398-passenger Century Legend and Century Paragon, are 12,516 gross tons.
While investigators last week were still trying to determine the cause of the Eastern Star capsizing, with reports of inclement weather possibly being a factor, Victoria Cruises executives said the tragedy underscores the need for higher safety and inspection standards on the Yangtze.
The company said in a statement, "despite heavy rain and wind, Victoria Cruises' fleet had not experienced out of the ordinary navigation issues. The Victoria Sophia, which was downstream from the Eastern Star in nearby Wuhan when the tragedy occurred, is sailing on schedule and reports manageable conditions."
The Eastern Star had been sold as part of a low-cost travel package predominantly targeting Chinese retirees, news media reported.
"This particular cruise offered twin rooms at a price equivalent to $383 per person and a berth in a six-people, bunk-sharing room at about $183 per person," said Mei Zhang, founder and CEO of Beijing-based China specialist tour operator WildChina, information he said he obtained from China's Xinhua news agency.
Zhang, whose Asia travel packages geared toward Western travelers have a much higher price tag, noted that his father often books travel packages such as the one that was sold to the Eastern Star passengers.
"It scares me to even imagine my father buying another low-cost journey [such as that one]," Zhang said.
He noted that the Eastern Star capsizing is likely to make Yangtze River cruising safer in the future.
"I can imagine some immediate tightening on safety standards across the board on all cruises," Zhang said. "It'll probably be safer to travel after this accident, but it's an awfully high price to pay for upping the standards."