The Costa Concordia tragedy

[bobso]

Looks like the massive cruise liner Costa-Concordia is lost---how could this happen with all the electronic navigation aids used nowadays.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086527/Costa-Concordia-Massive-evacuation-underway-cruise-ship-starts-sinking-Italian-coast.html

[Matteo 91]

The italian cruise ship Costa Concordia (114.000 tons) is now aground near the Giglio island, 4 dead ... an incredible tragedy!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16558910





and is now sinking:




It's UNBELIEVABLE! It remembers me just this:

[Pat Curry]

The unthinkable but not the unsinkable.
Utter misery for the shivering survivors. 
We all hope for no further deaths.  

[Matteo 91]

The question is, how could it happen!? 

A modern and safe ship (built in 2005) in calm water in the Mediterranean at night ... it seems just impossible!
The ship is unlikely to be saved: she is now resting on the sea floor (part of her is emerging because of the shallowness of the seabed) and the hull now has a 70 meters long hole, caused by the rocks as she was sinking.

It's incredible and unexpected.

[Twynkle]

Thoughts and prayers go out to the the ships company as well as passengers, their friends and families.
The BBC reported this news from AFP at midnight last night.
This morning, it's reported at as she began to list very rapidly; it was impossible for people to walk anywhere on the ship, to join the tenders.
Currently, there are 'at least 3 people feared dead'.
There was no wind, and no other reasons yet for the grounding ans subsequent state of the ship.
It was first reported to Italian coastgurds  at approx 8.30pm (utc) yesterday evening with over 4,000 people on board.
Costa Concordia has been the flagship of the Italian fleet.
The Porto de Giglio webcam on this page shows the ship in situ.
http://www.alltravels.com/italy/tuscany/giglio-porto/webcams-742288

[Louis De Sousa]

The question is, how could it happen!?

I have said its so many times with cruise ships going bigger and bigger and tragedy is about to happen one day.It happened now luckily close to land next time it willl in the middle of open water, then how do you evacute 5000 people? Taliking about the list after the struck the ship listed to 20 degress so says reports.Does this mean that so close to land the Watertight doors were not closed?

I was on QE2 when we ran ground in 1992 the ship hardly listed and the watertigt doors were closed.

[Louis De Sousa]

More photos here

http://mikeyscruiseblog.com/2012/01/13/breaking-news-costa-concordia-rams-into-pier-killing-2/

[Lynda Bradford]

I can only imagine the panic that ensued as the passengers realised the gravity of the situation. 

My thoughts and prayers go out to passengers and crew who have been involved in this tragic incident. 

[Andy F]

Given the loss of lives involved & that this remains an ongoing situation then it would be wholly inappropriate to speculate as to the possible cause at this time

[Louis De Sousa]

First passengers reports saying that things were not run well.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRZIWyfwdsvTEhuf_9HxHti8joaw?docId=0b26cb0e5bba4c7b9162bc08c8a93490

[Louis De Sousa]

Photos here from the hole on the hull

http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/ausland/der-riss-im-rumpf-der-costa-concordia-1.2672901

[Rob Lightbody]

In the most recent photos, the damage to her port side below the waterline looks incredible.  There is even what appears to be a huge rock jammed into the side of her hull.   However thinking of the ship lengthwise, the majority of it (which is visible) is still undamaged.

Does the fact that she listed to starboard, imply that there was even greater damage on that side?

The stabilisers are out, which I presume means that she was at reasonable speed at the time.  If a stabiliser fin hits an immovable obstruction, is it designed to 'fail safe' and break off or something, or would it do a huge amount of damage?

And my final question - do ships actually have accurate equipment that identifies underwater obstructions, or do they still rely on accurate charts?  This particular accident is reminding me a bit of Louis Cruises' Sea Diamond sinking a few years ago.

[Rob Lightbody]

One other thing - why on earth are lifeboat drills not held BEFORE the ship and her new passengers sails?  People who boarded the ship yesterday, were not due their drill for nearly 24 hours!  If a drill is required, then it is required immediately I think.

  On my QE2 trips this was done before the ship sailed - what is the practice now?  What is common practice on Cunard cruises these days?  I'm guessing the drill is still before sailing in Southampton?  But what about if you're joining the ship elsewhere?

[Lynda Bradford]

My experience on Cunard ships is that the lifeboat drill takes places before sailing.  If passengers join the ship at a later port in the cruise then they are instructed to take part in emergency drill specifically for new passengers before the ship leaves the port where they joined the ship.  

I am always of the opinion that the lifeboat drill does not reflect the real thing, which is evidenced in this instance.  Reports of people still in their evening wear would suggest that they have time to go back to their cabins for warm clothing.  The ship listing to the side making movement around the ship difficult.  How difficult it must have been for passengers in wheelchairs and less mobile passengers.  

[Louis De Sousa]

Rob the question is why are the stabiliser out the seas were calm and the ship really does have that much of a great speed.I woulld presume at the time the ship was sailing somewhere between 16-20 knots.

As for the boat drills it must be done before the ship sails, this is a MUST.Sadly even when this takes place some passengers take it as a joke or simpling dont do it.Remember when going on future cruise DO THE DRILL IT MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS.

I wonder way also the quick list the ship?it is going past a set of island the WTDs below waterline have to be closed.Can it be that the water tanks were empty? the next days hopefully a few questions will be answered.

[QE2forever]

Right now I'm thinking of the people who lost their lives and their families.

Let's hope there are no further casualties.

It must have been very scary for everybody on board, including the crew who had to face a sudden and overwhelming flow of panicked passengers to handle, on a heavily listing ship.

So, despite unavoidable mistakes and omissions in such circumstances, and before most media start spitting on the crew and officers' behaviour - like they usually do - , I think we should be immensely grateful to everybody involved in evacuating and rescuing more than 4,000 people from a rapidly capsizing cruise ship.

Not an easy job at all, but the Costa crew seem to have done it tremendously well.

[Twynkle]

One other thing - why on earth are lifeboat drills not held BEFORE the ship and her new passengers sails?  People who boarded the ship yesterday, were not due their drill for nearly 24 hours!  If a drill is required, then it is required immediately I think.

  On my QE2 trips this was done before the ship sailed - what is the practice now?  What is common practice on Cunard cruises these days?  I'm guessing the drill is still before sailing in Southampton?  But what about if you're joining the ship elsewhere?

Rob, as Louis writes, on Cunard's ships, Muster Station drills (with life-jackets on) as well as the Captain's (live) message and explanation re. the whistle, warm clothing and medication, are definitely compulsory for any new passengers joining the ship - anywhere in the world.
However, in exceptionally few cases, when the ship was late leaving a port (QM2 WC 2011), the safety drill for those very few, who had just joined (crew and passengers) happened at 10.00 am the following morning.
A weekly safety drill for crew members also takes place - life jackets worn when necessary, and no crew-member involved is allowed off the ship until this has been completed.
During the WC, as well as talks in the Illuminations auditorum, there were also demonstrations relating to safety and fire-fighting on Deck 1, run by the Chief Officer and the safety crew.

As you mention, there are some reports online that the drill for passengers joining in Civitavecchia wasn't due to take place till 17.00hrs today. If this is the case, it will be another issue to be taken seriously into consideration by the IMO et al.

Interestingly, our sail in to Civitavecchia last April was delayed by almost a couple of hours. Locally there was a stiff breeze, the waters were disturbed. Queen Elizabeth was due in port before QM2, we watched her struggling a bit while Commodore Warner turned QM2 into the wind and sailed her out to sea. We circled and waited, until it was our turn to take a couple of tugs into the port.
We were followed by a Thomson ship (if I remember correctly) - this ship was having a really difficult time - with wind across her beam, she was really struggling.  A week or so later, Commodore Warner said that this situation had been worrying at the time, he'd feared that we wouldn't make it into the port.

[Matt]

So sad to hear of this event, hope all the missing are/were found fit and well, and everyone recovers from injuries!

Would i be right in saying this ship would be pretty unsalvageable now?

[Matteo 91]

Would i be right in saying this ship would be pretty unsalvageable now?

I believe so: she is now half submerged and has a 70 meters long hole in the hull. She can't be towed away in these conditions, I think she's going to be scrapped right there. She was only 7 years old 

[Louis De Sousa]

UPDATE: WE HAVE NOW LEARNED FROM A PASSENGER ON BOARD THE COSTA CONCORDIA LAST NIGHT, THAT THE CREW AND CAPTAIN DIDN’T WAN’T TO EVACUATE THE SHIP. SHE SAYS THAT THE CREW AND CAPTAIN KEPT TELLING THEM THAT EVERYTHING IS OK, WE ARE FINE. SHE ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE CREW DIDN’T DO ENOUGH TO INFORM THE PASSENGERS ON PROPER EVACUATION PROCEDURES, AND THAT THE FATALITIES COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE CREW HAD DONE A BETTER JOB EVACUATING.

DIVERS ARE EXPECTED TO ENTER THE COSTA CONCORDIA FROM UNDERNEATH THE WATER TO CONTINUE SEARCHING FOR PASSENGERS. THESE MISSIONS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR 2-3 DAYS. THE SHIP IS NOW EXPECTED TO SINK ANOTHER 230 FEET. THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP IS CURRENTLY BEING QUESTIONED IN GIGLIO. WE WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED ON THESE NEW DEVELOPING DETAILS.

More here http://mikeyscruiseblog.com/2012/01/13/costaconcordia/