Cruise line taps former FBI honcho for security

Jun 6, 2006 3:43 PM

Miami-based Royal Caribbean Cruises has hired a former top FBI official to monitor and improve security across its 29-ship fleet, The Miami Herald reports.
Gary M. Bald, who last week stepped down as director of the FBI's National Security Branch -- the agency's no. 3 post -- will carry the title of vice president for global security at Royal Caribbean, a new position with broad responsibilities.
"Thanks to Gary's leadership, our country is much better prepared in terms of security, and I am fully confident, given his resume and resolve, that he will lead our company to even greater advances in our preparedness and security systems," Royal Carribbean CEO Richard D. Fain says.
Bald will have responsibility for maintaining security aboard 29 ships across the company's two brands, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises.
Royal Caribbean has faced scrutiny in the past year for mysterious passenger deaths, namely that of Connecticut honeymooner George Smith, whose disappearance last July from the Brilliance of the Seas has the FBI investigating the possibility of murder.
A Congressional subcommittee held hearings on cruise ship safety in December and March, largely in response to Smith's disappearance.
Last month, a 21-year-old Ohio man disappeared from Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas after the ship left Port Canaveral for the Bahamas. Daniel DiPiero of Canfield, Ohio, went overboard after a long night of drinking with friends, Royal Caribbean said. His parents have since criticized the company's handling of the incident.

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