Rocking the Boat: Controversy over the Carnival Cruises and FEMA Contract
September 28, 2005
Now that Katrina is gone, a new storm has arisen over what many consider the most controversial aspects of the relief effort: FEMA's no-bid contract with Carnival Cruises to house victims of the storm in three of their ships. With fewer people onboard the vessels than FEMA anticipated, as well as a price tag that, by some calculations, would be less if the government had actually sent the victims on a real cruise, many question the practicality of the agreement between the feds and the largest cruise line in the world.
Politicians, Democrats and Republicans, are questioning the sense "and the cost, $236 million" of the contracting of three Carnival Cruises ships, vessels that were commandeered to house close to 10,000 people, but now rest in harbors in the Gulf coast region with way less than half that number. The controversy over this contract highlights a double edged sword that plagued much of the government's response with Katrina: how delay and haste can hinder a relief effort.
It seemed like such a good plan at first. After all, it may seem ironic, but if you have to be near the coast, cruise ships are one of the safest places to be during severe weather (since they can take to the seas and get out of the way). So, to house the victims whose homes were destroyed or flooded in the cabins of cruise ships—vessels that can not only provide food and shelter, but also transportation—seemed to be an inventive temporary solution. And that's just what FEMA thought, as well, quickly moving to seek out the ships after the hurricane had passed.
But when offered the prospect of being surrounded by water yet again, many of Katrina's victims decided that they'd rather chance it on dry land. Now, the mostly "empty ships sit idle in ports in Mobile and New Orleans. Only 625 victims out of 2,544 who first registered boarded Carnival Cruises' Ecstasy; Sensation had about 820 instead of the anticipated 2,579. Carnival Holiday" Only 342; although, more evacuees are expected to board the ship after reaching Pascagoula, Mississippi this week.
So instead of housing victims of Katrina, the Carnival Cruises Ecstasy and Sensation have become the homes of New Orleans first responders who have stayed to help with the ongoing relief effort. At the peak, the ships housed around 2,000 such workers and their families, certainly a welcome help to workers under the strain of rebuilding a sodden city. "They are bending over backward for us," said Captain Bryson of the New Orleans police of Carnival Cruises Lines. "They are treating us like we're on a cruise."
Indeed, argue many critics of the no-bid contract, when looking at the terms of the contract, the government might as well have paid for real cruise vacations. According to calculations by aides to the Republican Senator from Oklahoma, Tom Coburn, if the Carnival Cruises ships had reached the anticipated capacity of 7,116 evacuees, for six months (the length of the contract), the price per evacuee would total $1,275 a week. A seven-day western Caribbean cruise out of Galveston can be had for $599 per person (for an interior cabin), complete with onboard entertainment, stellar cuisine, and Caribbean destinations.
"When the federal government would actually save millions of dollars by forgoing the status quo and actually sending evacuees on a luxurious six-month cruise, it is time to rethink how we are conducting oversight," said Coburn and Senator Barack Obama, D-Ill., in a joint statement Tuesday calling for a chief financial officer to oversee Katrina spending.
Still, the contract with Carnival Cruises, which totaled $192 million over six months, plus $44 million in reimbursable expenses, such as port charges, fuel, food and docking costs, will ensure only that Carnival Cruises breaks even when it pulls three ships from holiday operations. "In the end, we will make no additional money on this deal versus what we would have made by keeping these ships in service," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman. In fact, because of Katrina, Carnival Cruises had to shuffle about 100,000 cruise passengers who were scheduled to sail, many of whom canceled their cruises rather than change them.
Regardless of the financial outcome with Carnival Cruises, the contract has undoubtedly provided a great service to those who needed it, relief workers and victims of Katrina, alike. The question is, however, did the benefits equal the cost to the American taxpayer. But in the end, as many people will probably agree, hearing news of another example of government overspending is no more unusual than hearing news about the weather.
