Assistance to victims of crimes on board certain passenger vessels

(a) Authority To provide assistance to victims of crimes on board passenger vessels Chapter 161, as added by section 101 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 16106. Assistance to victims of crimes on board certain passenger vessels (a) Purpose The purpose of this section is to provide to an applicable passenger who is an alleged victim of an incident described in section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i)— (1) a written summary of rights described in subsection (e); (2) a primary point of contact within the Federal Government; and (3) a means of obtaining immediate, free, and confidential support services. (b) Director of victim support services (1) Establishment There shall be a director of victim support services of the Office. (2) Designation; public outreach (A) Interim director Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2025, the Secretary shall designate an employee of the Department of Transportation as the interim director of victim support services, who shall serve in such position until a final designation or appointment is made under subparagraph (B). (B) Final designation and public outreach Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2025, the Secretary, in consultation with the Department of Justice and other relevant Federal agencies, shall— (i) appoint an individual to serve as the director of victim support; and (ii) determine an effective way to publicize the toll-free telephone number under subsection (c) and the availability of support services under this section. (3) Responsibilities The director of victim support services shall— (A) be responsible for acting as a primary point of contact within the Federal Government for any applicable passenger described in subsection (a); (B) coordinate with one or more nonprofit organizations or other entities that can provide the types of support services described in subsection (d); (C) establish a process for an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) to obtain the appropriate types of support services described in subsection (d); (D) recommend a process for an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) to obtain an appropriate continuum of care; (E) recommend a process for an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) to obtain information on the status of any related criminal investigation; (F) develop guidance, consistent with the purpose of this section, for the security guide under section 3523(c)(1), including a process to ensure that an owner of a passenger vessel provides a copy of the security guide to an applicable passenger immediately after the vessel is notified that the passenger is an alleged victim of an incident described in section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i); (G) periodically update that guidance, as necessary; and (H) be the primary liaison between an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) and— (i) the owner of the passenger vessel; (ii) any relevant Federal agency; (iii) any relevant United States embassy or United States consulate; and (iv) any other person that the director of victim support services considers necessary to carry out the purpose of this section. (c) Toll-Free telephone number The Secretary shall establish a toll-free telephone number, available 24 hours each day, that an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) can call to initiate the process under subsection (b)(3)(C). (d) Support services The director of victim support services shall determine the types of support services that an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) can obtain, such as— (1) directions on how to report an incident described in section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i) to appropriate authorities; (2) an explanation of, or assistance completing, necessary forms to report an incident described in section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i); (3) an explanation of how, or assistance to, obtain support services under this section; (4) arranging, if appropriate, for mental health and counseling services; (5) arranging, if possible, for education regarding and advocacy during applicable criminal justice proceedings; and (6) communicating with that applicable passenger as to the roles of the organization or entities described in subsection (b)(3)(B), government agencies, and the owner of the passenger vessel involved with respect to the incident and the post-incident activities. (e) Summary of rights Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2025, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant General Counsel and in consultation with the Department of Justice, other relevant Federal agencies, nonprofit public interest groups with expertise in victim assistance, and such other persons that the Secretary considers necessary, shall— (1) determine what rights an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) may have under law, such as the right to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation to report the crime, the right to contact the director of victim support services, and the right to speak confidentially to Federal law enforcement, the director of victim support services, and any other third-party victim advocate without any representative or employee of the passenger vessel present; (2) develop a written summary of those rights; and (3) establish a process for an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) to receive the written summary of rights as soon as practicable after an alleged incident described under section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i). (f) Guardians and relatives If an applicable passenger described in subsection (a) is deceased or is a minor, or under such other circumstances that the director of victim support services considers necessary, the director may provide support services under this section to a guardian or relative of that applicable passenger. (g) Use of passenger vessel resources As appropriate, the resources of the passenger vessel shall be used to the greatest extent possible to carry out the purpose of this section. (h) Statutory construction Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the obligations that an owner of a passenger vessel may have in providing assistance to an applicable passenger who is an alleged victim of an incident described under section 3523(g)(3)(A)(i). (i) Availability of incident data via Internet (1) In general The Secretary, acting through the Assistant General Counsel, shall maintain a statistical compilation of all incidents described in section 3523(g)(3)(A) on an internet website that provides a numerical accounting of the missing persons and alleged crimes duly recorded in each report filed under section 3523(g)(3). Each incident described in section 3523(g)(3)(A) shall be included in the statistical compilation irrespective of its investigative status. (2) Updates The Secretary shall ensure that the data described in paragraph (1)— (A) is updated not less frequently than monthly; (B) is aggregated by cruise line; (C) identifies each cruise line by name; (D) identifies each crime and alleged crime as to whether it was committed or allegedly committed by a passenger or a crew member; (E) identifies each crime and alleged crime as to whether it was committed or allegedly committed against a minor; (F) identifies the number of alleged individuals overboard; and (G) is compiled on the internet website in a user-friendly format. (3) Access to website Each owner of a passenger vessel shall include a prominently accessible link to the internet website maintained by the Office of Maritime Consumer Protection under paragraph (1) on each internet website that the owner maintains for prospective applicable passengers to purchase or book passage on the passenger vessel. (j) Regulations The Secretary shall issue such regulations as are necessary to implement this section.. (b) Study Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Assistant General Counsel for the Office of Maritime Consumer Protection and in coordination with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Attorney General, and heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall— (1) conduct a study to determine the feasibility of having an individual on board each passenger vessel, or certain categories of passenger vessels, to which chapter 161 applies to provide victim support services, including the support services under section 16106(d) of title 46, United States Code, and related safety and security services, which includes consideration of the cost, the benefit to passengers, jurisdiction, and logistics; and (2) report the findings of the study conducted under paragraph (1) to Congress.