Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) last week said he would introduce legislation to oversee passenger safety on cruise ships after another federal hearing on the issue. Kerry chaired a hearing Thursday on cruise ship safety for the Senate's Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Sub-Committee. He said current statutes do not require cruise ships to report crimes that occur in international waters to U.S. authorities. Previous hearings in the House were held by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). Kerry said in a statement that he decided to hold hearings in the Senate after meeting Ken Carver, whose daughter Merrian disappeared on a cruise in 2004. Merrian was a resident of Cambridge, Mass. <br /><br />&quot;Passenger safety should be the top priority for the cruise line industry, and it's clear that they have work to do,&quot; Kerry said. &quot;It's just plain wrong that disappearances and serious crimes can occur aboard these ships that are not reported, investigated, or prosecuted. Shifting legal jurisdictions are no excuse for endangering the safety of cruise ship travelers. Ken Carver's tireless commitment to reforming safety regulations sends a crystal clear message-cruise ships need to take care of their passengers. I'll be introducing legislation in the coming weeks to make these ships safer and hold the industry accountable.&quot;<br /><br />CLIA President and CEO Terry Dale testified that passenger safety is the top priority for CLIA's 24 member lines. CLIA lines voluntarily reported 489 crimes between April 1, 2007, and April 30, 2008, including one suspicious death, eight cases of missing people and 83 reports of sexual assault, the Sun-Sentinel reported. 