White Island eruption claims only valid on home soil

Royal Carribean Cruises is insisting that any legal action taken against the company over the White Island volcano disaster needs to be heard in an Australian court.

White Island in New Zealand. Picture: Getty Images

A Federal Court judge has conceded it is about “as clear as mud” which Royal Caribbean entity had oversight of the ill-fated cruise trip to New Zealand’s White Island last summer when the popular destination’s volcano erupted.

Passengers affected by the disaster continue to be tied up in complex legal argument about which company they are able to sue over the tragedy and in which jurisdiction.

Royal Caribbean, the world’s second-largest cruiseline, is trying to prevent an Australian family and other passengers from progressing with a lawsuit against the firm in the US.

Marie Browitt, of Melbourne, lost her husband Paul and daughter Krystal after the ­island’s volcano exploded during a shore trip on December 9, 2019, killing 22 and severely injuring 25 others.

Ms Browitt and her daughter Stephanie have tried to lodge wrongful-death lawsuits against Royal ­Caribbean in Miami, claiming the firm breached its duty of care by arranging the tour despite alleged warnings of dangerous volcanic activity on the island, 50km off North Island.

Royal Caribbean barrister Catherine Gleeson told the Federal Court on Friday that the family was trying to sue the wrong company and that their fares had been paid for through the Sydney office of the firm’s sister entity, Royal Caribbean Limited, and that the matter needed to be heard in a NSW court.

Justice Angus Morkel Stewart said there was evident confusion about which company had carriage of the cruise. “It’s clear as mud really who the contracting party is or who is the provider of this cruise,” he said, adding he would take time to consider the legal arguments ­before making a decision as early as next week.