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Responding to renewed calls for a UK police investigation into the disappearance of Rebecca Coriam, who allegedly fell overboard from the Bahamas-registered Disney Wonder in March 2011, Nautilus International general secretary Mark Dickinson said:
 ‘The disappearance of Ms Coriam is just one of a number of crimes at sea which fail to be properly investigated due to the complex nature of jurisdiction in the global maritime industry, which is made worse due to the lack of regulatory control by some ship registers including many Flags of Convenience.
Nautilus International, the trade union for maritime professionals, believes that the UK police should be required to investigate all serious criminal incidents on UK registered ships wherever they are; on all ships in UK waters; and any serious criminal incidents involving UK citizens at sea.
‘In America, the FBI must be informed about any maritime incidents, in any jurisdiction, which involves US citizens, no matter where a ship is registered. We support Lord Prescott’s call for this kind of legislation to be introduced in the UK.'
Mr Dickinson added that the UK can, if it wants, investigate crimes on UK ships in any waters but this does not always happen.
‘In June 2010, South African cadet Akhona Geveza died after falling overboard from the UK-registered containership Safmarine Kariba off the coast of Croatia,’ he said.
‘On the morning of her death Ms Geveza was due to meet with the ship’s captain following allegations of sexual assault onboard. She never made it to that meeting and we have never been convinced by the Croatian authorities investigation which concluded that Ms Geveza committed suicide. The UK police were ready to investigate but they were never asked to do so.
‘Despite the incident taking place on a UK-registered ship, and following repeated calls from the Union, the UK government claimed it had no jurisdiction to launch a separate investigation.’
Source: Nautilus
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