Carnival Corporation has announced that they have been granted approval to screen passenger documents against INTERPOL’s I-Checkit global security system in a move that will strengthen security across their 10 cruise brands.
Carnival received approval today to integrate its global passenger check-in process with INTERPOL’S I-Checkit system, a secure method for screening travel document information against INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, containing over 69 million records from 175 countries.
This approval is a maritime first and the world’s largest travel and leisure company will roll out the enhanced global standard for screening to all 101 cruise ships across their 10 cruise lines. Carnival ran a three month pilot program on four different Princess Cruises ships. During the test, over 34,000 travel documents were successfully checks against the SLTD database to show the system’s ability to enhance cruise security.
The full results of the pilot program were presented to INTERPOL’s General Assembly today prior to its member countries passing an official resolution that enables Carnival Corporation to expand its I-Checkit deployment among its 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Its brands include Carnival Cruise Line, Fathom, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation and retired Vice Admiral of the U.S. Navy, gave the following statement: “One of our top priorities at Carnival Corporation is the safety and security of our guests, our crew and our ships.
As the world’s largest cruise company carrying hundreds of thousands of daily passengers, having a highly effective and efficient security screening process is a crucial part of how we serve our guests every day. Partnering with INTERPOL enables us to seamlessly enhance security across our global fleet while also maintaining our commitment to providing our guests with a great vacation experience. This is another important step for our company and industry as we continue taking proactive measures to enhance the safety and security of our passengers and crew members.”
As Carnival Corporation expands I-Checkit globally, the company’s brands will be able to automatically query the SLTD database before and during the boarding process to see if any passenger travel documents have been reported lost or stolen. To ensure privacy and security, no personal data is accessed or transmitted in this process.
