A PUBLIC investigation into a string of disappearances aboard luxury cruise ships was opened by the US Congress yesterday.

Spurred to action by the case of George Allen Smith IV, whose disappearance from a cruise ship on July 5 has all the ingredients of an Agatha Christie whodunnit, a congressional committee will hear evidence about at least 12 people who have vanished from liners in the past five years.

“We want to know how often this kind of thing happens,” said Christopher Shays, chairman of the National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations committee looking into cruise ship safety.

Four days ago Jill Begora, 59, a Canadian travelling with her husband on a Royal Caribbean cruise, vanished as the ship was approaching Nassau, in the Bahamas. There is no evidence of foul play. But Mr Shays, a Republican from Connecticut, is worried by the number of disappearances aboard cruise ships since being lobbied by Mr Smith’s family and friends.

Mr Smith, 26, from Greenwich, Connecticut, vanished in the early hours from the Royal Caribbean ship Brilliance of the Seas in the Mediterranean, between Greece and Turkey.

Eleven days into his honeymoon, Mr Smith was seen that night drinking heavily and gambling with his bride, Jennifer Hagel-Smith, and passengers.

At some point after 4am he vanished — but not before people in nearby cabins heard thuds, male voices and furniture being moved in the newlyweds’ quarters. Ominously, a big bloodstain was found early the next morning on awnings above lifeboats two levels below his ninth-deck cabin.

A teenage girl took a photograph of the bloodstain, giving the FBI, which has been investigating Mr Smith’s disappearance, vital evidence. A bloody handprint was also found but soon after the ship docked, it was cleaned and painted over.

Brett Rivkind, the lawyer for Mr Smith’s family, say the disappearance was also suspicious because of bloodstains found inside and outside the cabin. The family is accusing Royal Caribbean of trying to cover up a murder to avoid bad publicity and are suing the company.

“We believe [Royal Caribbean] deliberately and intentionally released information to try to create an impression this was just an accident due to George’s fault,” Mr Rivkind said. The FBI said that Mrs Hagel-Smith is co-operating and her lawyer says that she is not a suspect. She has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to arrests.

Royal Caribbean said: “We do not know what happened to George Smith, only that he tragically disappeared from a cruise. But we continue to co-operate fully with the FBI in the hope that the agency will be able to provide some solid answers.” And suggestion of a cover-up was denied.

Another lawsuit was filed last month against Carnival Cruise by the family of Annette Mizener, of Wisconsin, who vanished on a cruise a year ago. They say that the crew could have prevented her death if they had paid attention to a security camera near where her purse was found.

The FBI is notified when a US citizen is missing but in international waters who is in charge of an investigation is open to question.

LOST AT SEA

Amy Lynn Bradley, 23, disappeared March 1998 from Rhapsody of the Seas before docking in Curaçao

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