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the cruise vessel vacationers get to the port of 
safety safely. The cruise liners must exercise 
the highest degree of care to protect 
passenger carried for hire against physical 
injuries and other types of harm .... The 
special relationship between a common 
carrier of passenger and its hire comes from 
the fact that the passengers are entrusting 
themselves to the cruise ship company's 
protection and care .... A cruise ship 
corporations [sic] has a duty of safe 
transport. 30 
Under the new EU rules, the claim for damages per 
incident and per victim is limited to 250,000 Special Drawing 
Rights ("SDR"), 31 which is equivalent to 351,862.50 USD. 32 
This sum may seem small given that it is the maximum 
amount that can be claimed in the event of the death of a 
passenger, until it is contrasted with the current legal 
standard in the United States. 
The Death on the High Seas Act ("DOHSA") is 
significantly more restrictive than the new EU rules. 33 While 
DOHSA gives claimants a right to action in U.S. courts 
regarding "the death of a person ... caused by wrongful act, 
30 Ehline Law Firm P.C., Cruise Ship Strict Liability Law (Nov. 10, 2011), 
http://cruiseshipaccident.ehlinelaw.com/stricthability/ (citations 
omitted). 
31 The current value of an SDR can be checked at 
http:/ / www.imf.org/ external/ np/fin/ data/rms_sdrv.aspx. 
32 See Int'l Monetary Fund, 
http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/rms_sdrv.aspx (last visited 
Aug. 27, 2015) (allowing one to calculate the current value of an SDR). 
33 46 U.S.C. §§ 30302-30308 et seq.