U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller has written a letter following the Carnival Triumph incident to the U.S. Coast Guard:

“This horrible situation involving the Carnival Triumph is just the latest example in a long string of serious and troubling incidents involving cruise ships. Safety must be the No. 1 priority in any transportation industry. It is time that the cruise line industry — which earns more than $25 billion a year — pays for the costs they impose on the government since it’s the Coast Guard that comes to the rescue every single time something goes wrong on a cruise ship.”

Rockefeller, of course, was extremely critical of the cruise industry following the Concordia incident in hearings early in 2012.