Royal Caribbean Cruises is taking legal action to prevent some victims of the White Island volcano disaster from suing for damages in the US. The cruise line applied to the Australian Federal Court to halt the lawsuits which the cruise line claims can only be heard in an Australian court due to a clause in the cruise ticket purchase contract.

So far, at least two lawsuits have been filed in the US one by Americans Paul and Ivy Reed, the other by Australians Marie and Stephanie Browitt.

A lawyer for the Australians said that the allegation that Royal Caribbean provided the Browitts with a contract that said all pursuits have to be litigated in New South Wales is simply not true and maintains they never received such a contract.

The White Island eruption in New Zealand killed 22 people and severely injured several survivors, many of whom were passengers on Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.

The lawyer claimed that there were numerous indications in the weeks, months and years leading up to 9 December 2019 and that this was literally a volcano ready to erupt.

New Zealand has charged at least 10 organisations over the tragedy which includes two government agencies.