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Cruise ship owner: Facing the Heat

Carnival CEO Micky Arison at Tuesday’s game in Miami between his team, the Heat, and the Portland Trail Blazers.ANDREW INNERARITY/REUTERS

While passengers on the Carnival Triumph were enduring tropical weather without any toilets or air conditioning, and sleeping on deck in improved tents made out of laundry, Carnival CEO Micky Arison was also paying attention to the heat — the Miami Heat, at whose basketball game he was spotted courtside on Tuesday. Arison is no stranger to the Heat — he owns the team — but he’s likely to face some for failing to make a show of concern for the 3,200 passengers stranded for five days at sea.

In Japan, such a disaster is an occasion for the CEO to step down in a demonstration of shame and accountability. In the United States, apparently, it’s an occasion for the CEO to push his senior VP out in front of the cameras, as Arison did. (Does the annual bonus cover the cost of humiliation?)

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Arison was similarly absent when the Costa Concordia, owned by a Carnival subsidiary, ran aground off Italy, killing 32 people. Luckily for Arison, no one died on the Carnival Triumph. And the Miami Heat beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 117-104.