Man gets prison time for dropping cruise ship's anchor

[Swelldame]

What not to do on formal night:

 

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2012/mar/06/martinis-cruise-ship-anchor-4-month-sentence-ar-366343/

[Cruising-along]

What not to do on formal night:

 

http://www2.tbo.com/news/politics/2012/mar/06/martinis-cruise-ship-anchor-4-month-sentence-ar-366343/

 

Doesn't sound like they threw the book at this idiot, but at least he didn't get off with a hand slap either. I don't agree with the 2 months of home confinement, it should be all prison time IMO.

 

I hope the alcohol program helps him, this guy has some serious issues. :mad:

[HealthyTouch101]

Alcohol mixed with a sleep aid....not a good plan.

[sail7seas]

What with prison overcrowding and the cost per day to support prisoners, I am not totally opposed to the short prison term and home confinement combination but think it should have been longer. There isn't room enough in the prisons we have to house all who probably should be sentenced there and no one wants new ones built in their back yard.

 

Hopefully this idiot learned his lesson. He isn't likely to do anything that stupid again, let's hope. He was a very lucky fool....... the damage could have been horrific.

[isujim]

I can't believe it.............I don't even know what to say, but I'm also glad he didn't get a slap on the wrist.........

[KirkNC]

Glad to hear they gave him some prison time, this could have been much more serious.

[Viesczy]

2 months in a minimum security federal slam & 2 months home confinement & 3 years probation, that's more than enough for the incident.

 

The fine should've been enough IMO.

 

We Americans are too quick to over criminalize everything.

 

Derek

[Essiesmom]

I would bet that whatever he does in the future, it won't be on a Carnival Corp. family of ships...EM

[RuthC]

Two months? TWO MONTHS IN JAIL!!!!! :eek: That's outrageous.

For those who are saying at least it's not a slap on the wrist, I disagree. That's about all it is. This man should be doing some real jail time, and a large fine---not the peanuts he was given. From the sounds of it, his on-board bar bill was more than that.

My only question is how did he drink that much, and take Ambien, and stay upright. :rolleyes:

[jtl513]

I hope he's been banned forever from CCL ships.

[sail7seas]

I would bet that whatever he does in the future, it won't be on a Carnival Corp. family of ships...EM

 

I hope he's been banned forever from CCL ships.

 

 

I agree.

One would hope his name lives in infamy in the computers of all Carnival Family of Ships reservation agents.

 

He should never be permitted to even look at a Carnival Family ship again.

IMO

 

[Randyk47]

He wasn't drugged and drunk enough not to realize he needed to put on gloves. :rolleyes::) He got off pretty light in some respects. This could have been so, so much worse and I guess you can't sentence somebody on "what-ifs" and "might have" but his behavior beyond words that I can type here.

[Sea42]

I think the prison time was necessary in this case so this man could not just buy his way out of the trouble he caused but I would have thought the fine would be much larger.

[iancal]

I have to wonder what happened at the cruise line? This individual not only got into a restricted area but it appears that he was able to have the anchor dropped with relative ease.

 

Makes you think twice about security on the ships

 

Makes you think twice that if any old dog's body can get into a restricted area(and in a state of intoxication) and be able to push a button and lower an achor, exactly WHAT else could a sober person with malice of forethought be able to accomplish???

 

It speaks volumes about ship security and passenger safety and does not make me feel very good.

[Cruising-along]

I hope he's been banned forever from CCL ships.

 

I would be even happier if he was banned from all cruiselines.

 

As for whether this was a slap on the wrist or not, that's relative I guess....considering some people get away with murder, I had my fears that he would get much less than he did. :( But I agree, he should have gotten much more. The fact that nobody was injured or killed was just chance.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

I have to wonder what happened at the cruise line? This individual not only got into a restricted area but it appears that he was able to have the anchor dropped with relative ease.

 

Makes you think twice about security on the ships

 

Makes you think twice that if any old dog's body can get into a restricted area(and in a state of intoxication) and be able to push a button and lower an achor, exactly WHAT else could a sober person with malice of forethought be able to accomplish???

 

It speaks volumes about ship security and passenger safety and does not make me feel very good.

 

It would be relatively easy, with forethought and malice, to hijack a vessel from the inside.

 

Security is very lax, and to be honest I feel like cruise travel is waiting for a major security breach prior to tightening up, which in all honesty is not how it should work.

 

Yes, they may catch you and me... but if someone truly works on destroying a vessel, there are many ways to load weaponry, learn the deck plans, etc. Keep in mind that cruise vessels are, under the vast majority of flags, not allowed to carry any armament.

 

Just like the tons of drugs that get smuggled on vessels, other things can be too- and with bad intent, it can be a disaster of very large proportions.

[serendipity1499]

2 months in a minimum security federal slam & 2 months home confinement & 3 years probation, that's more than enough for the incident.

 

The fine should've been enough IMO.

 

We Americans are too quick to over criminalize everything.

 

Derek

 

You don't think this was a criminal act?:rolleyes::(

What if the anchor had punctured a hole in the ship..He endangered all the passengers & crew!

Not only that, the man broke into one of the the Ryndam's liquor cabinets after the bar closed & stole a bottle of grey Goose!:mad: He was Drunk! The cruise was delayed for over three hours & all the passengers & crew had to be awakened in the early hours of the morning to go to their muster stations since he threw a life preserver overboard..

IMO anyone who drinks like that is a disaster waiting to happen & he got off easy..:mad:

He should never be allowed to board a ship again!

Betty

[Himself]

That was rather stupid. He deserved some time in prison for doing something so stupid.

Alcohol loosens the inibitions and this is not always good.

[iancal]

On a positive note, this individual could have done us all a favor by proving just how lax security really is on a cruise ship.

 

By shining a light on the issue it may force the cruise lines to put effective measures in place-and not just in places where it is obvious to the cruisers in order to create a feel good environment.

[jtl513]

I have to wonder what happened at the cruise line? This individual not only got into a restricted area but ...

 

It speaks volumes about ship security and passenger safety and does not make me feel very good.

 

On a positive note, this individual could have done us all a favor by proving just how lax security really is on a cruise ship.

 

By shining a light on the issue it may force the cruise lines to put effective measures in place-and not just in places where it is obvious to the cruisers in order to create a feel good environment.

The door can't be locked because it is an emergency exit for the A deck. This is it, taken a couple of months after the incident. I didn't try opening the door because I thought it might be alarmed. However, I think the anchor releasing mechanism should be padlocked.

 

[Dive Master]

I hope this IDIOT really enjoys vacatoning in one of the RV's on his sales lot. I can't imagine he would ever be let on ship,plane,or train again.I think every passenger that was on the Ryndam that night should file a class action suit against this NUT---just to let him have to spend his cash fighting it.

[lawyerrose]

2 months in a minimum security federal slam & 2 months home confinement & 3 years probation, that's more than enough for the incident.

 

The fine should've been enough IMO.

 

We Americans are too quick to over criminalize everything.

 

Derek

 

As a criminal attorney, I say AMEN, Derek!!!

[Seavoyage]

"Ehlert, who owns an RV dealership in California –

For this extrapolation let’s assume this Eh-lert guy weighs around 200lbs…

started drinking around 9 p.m. the night of the incident

he drank three or four glasses of wine. Estimated BAC .05 after dinner

Later he drank a wine glass full of vodka Estimated BAC .17

Estimated BAC .055 cumulative

(given absorption and elimination)

then took Ambien (the depressant will make the alcohol effect even stronger)

11 p.m. a martini then four single martinis and a double.

Estimated BAC .27 + the Ambien

.27 is about 3.5 times most state’s legal limits (typical is .08)

After he broke into a liquor cabinet took .....

two-liter bottle of Grey Goose vodka, drinking about a quarter of the bottle.

Assuming it is a 2 liter bottle that would be about a pint

New Estimated BAC .32

Add .27 to .32 = .59 less estimated metabolized alcohol elimination would estimate him at

.53 BAC.

This would make almost anyone unconscious – even a workaholic businessman on vacation…

Further at .40 and above most people would be in danger of unconsciousness even perhaps leading to death

The story goes on that - Ehlert was "intoxicated to the point where he was not functioning in a rational and coherent manner," wrote his attorney, William Mallory Kent, who describe Ehlert as a "successful, workaholic businessman on vacation, his first real vacation in years."

at .40 even a 200lb man should be unconscious given the typical pharmacology of alcohol.

However this guy walks around and performs irrational and incoherent acts…BRAVO Mr. Kent......Must have given em' the old razzle dazzle……

Obviously missing variables here but there has to be more to this story - other than - well ...this story...

What a TA RAH RAH GOON DE EH-LERT. Thank goodness no one was hurt or killed by this so-called successful workaholic businessman on vacation!!

[world~citizen]

I don't understand sentencing at all. This time is seems reasonable (to me). He isn't being sent to a country club. There is the fine and he will have to deal with substance abuse issues and submit to psychological evaluation. I doubt he will sail on another line again.

 

If all we want is for him to "get the message" I think its fine. I'll bet lines have made adjustments that will make replication of this kind of nonsense unlikely, and in that sense, as Iancal noted, some good came out of this.

 

Smooth sailing...

[Amuse Bouche]

He's from CA. We can't even put our violent criminals in jail. The prisons and jails are so overcrowded, even hardened criminals are being let out early or not convicted at all.

 

I hope HAL slaps a huge civil suit on him. I'm sure they will. Bye bye RV dealership.