The cruise industry will be required to institute a host of new safety features and procedures as part of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act signed into law on Tuesday.

Under the new rules, cruise lines must contact the FBI and Coast Guard as soon as a suspicious death or passenger assault is reported. They'll also be required to notify the agencies after a U.S. national disappears from a ship. In addition, sexual assault victims must be given immediate access to a national sexual assault hotline, plus a sexual assault forensic exam and medications to prevent STDs.

Other provisions include the following: Peepholes will be required on all cabin doors, there must be on-board video surveillance systems and 42-inch railings must be present on all ships.

Many cruise lines were already complying with some of these measures, but the new law simply codifies them across the industry. The changes will be phased in over the next year.

A lot of these rules seem like no-brainers. But the industry had some problems in the past where certain cruise lines were outright hostile to the victims of on-board assaults.

Going forward, any non-complaint ships will face significant fines. Clark believes the cruise lines who don't comply should have their right to port in the United States revoked. But that's another story. In fact, he doesn't expect any lines to flout this new law because its changes are so basic, decent and overdue.