Costa Concordia SINKING

[cubella59]

Don't think that was Concordia. Don't remember any public space loking like that.

 

 

Oh my gosh, that YouTube is very scary with all the furniture flying around.

[ObscureAllure]

Interesting, I was always under the impression they would be lowered then boarded from the Promenade Deck. That's how it's done on HAL's ships and they are newer.

I know the ship is a sister class to the conquest - my grandfather went two weeks before us and they actually had to get in the lifeboats because of a random emergency drill in addition to the muster. I'll have to ask tomorrow where theirs were loaded. From what I could tell, you could walk right on the same deck there they were housed (ours was deck 4 - Atlantic - as seen here http://www.cruisecritic.com/carnival-conquest-deck-plans/dp/?shipID=262&deck=4 ) ... but again I didn't actually go through the drill - I'd have to ask them.

 

 

EDIT: Actually, as you can see from this picture I took of our ship, you can actually see where the gates would open so that you could walk right on. Again, this is a sister class but is slightly different from the Concordia - may be different on there.

 

[xxoocruiser]

As tragic as this is, it does bring up a point that has been discussed at the Maritime Academies. There are NO major cruise lines that operate under the US flag.

 

 

This is not an accurate statement. NCL's Pride of America is registered in the USA and sails under the USA Flag.

[tntornadox]

I knew the Carnival Conquest class typically boarded lifeboats from the Promenade Deck, I didn't know it was possible to board them from where they are stored. Learn something new everyday.

 

Thanks for the picture, by the way.

[ObscureAllure]

I understand your concern but according to many news reports there was plenty of time to lower the boats before the ship began to list so badly. Many of the passengers reported that they were screaming at the crew to lower the boats and some even said that crewmembers called HQ to ask how to lower the boats because they didn't know how.

 

 

If they are crew members that are in any way involved in the muster drill, this can't be true because ALL ships are randomly ordered to go through a drill in addition to the muster drill that requires you to actually get on board the lifeboats and have them lowered, to which I just described having been recently done on board the Carnival Conquest. If they didn't know how, they couldn't pass the drill. (Now, if it were crew members that were in now way involved in the muster, I could understand it... so I guess it depends on which crew members they were.)

[kath00]

It will be very interesting to get the official reportings and facts. Besides the loss of life, I'm still most upset on the Captain leaving the ship if this is in fact true. That alone, even if all the rest was proven to be mechanical, accident, etc., just totally amazes me and he should definitely lose his career over that and be held accountable for abandoning his crew and passengers.

 

So true. I am sure he abandoned ship because he realized that the ship was going to sink and he was afraid to die. I realize the captain/pilot are supposed to always be the last to go, but a small part of me says that it's human nature to not want to sit there till the very end and face death...

 

Katherine

[kruzerci]

It would probably be rebuilt to another line's specifications and sent to another Carnival Corp. line under a new name. Most people would never know otherwise.

 

If it is rebuilt, I highly doubt it returns to Costa.

 

Could go to Carnival as a second Splendor Class

[deckofficer]

But why would he do that? Seriously - do you have any thought on why he would leave the ship like that?

 

Some confusion, I wasn't addressing why he left the ship before the last passengers and crew, I have no idea. I was responding to BalconyBumz's statement that the Captain should lose his career over this, and I said he has already.

 

New topic, I am hearing reports from so many guests that during the dinner hour "the lights flickered or went out first, followed by a boom. This might help the Captain in his claim of electrical failure combined with my repost from my maritime forum about the condition of harmonic issues with the generating diesels. You have to remember, electricity travels at near the speed of light, while sound travels at 340 meters/second at sea level. Sure explains why the passengers saw the lights flicker before hearing the boom.

[ObscureAllure]

I knew the Carnival Conquest class typically boarded lifeboats from the Promenade Deck, I didn't know it was possible to board them from where they are stored. Learn something new everyday.

 

Thanks for the picture, by the way.

No prob. I actually almost went to the wrong floor because previous cruises were always on the promenade deck, but for Conquest it was the Atlantic (deck 4). That's the only reason I remembered it, tbqh, because the whole cruise I made a point to remember that it was NOT on promenade this time.

[cubella59]

Sadly, that might not be a bad idea. I'm of those people that just got off looking for others and quite frankly, am sick of Deck Officer's inane posts

 

I think we should also be mindful that there could/would be people who know someone on the ship - or about to join the ship - or left the ship prior to it's current sailing - and could be looking through the threads for any information they can - and get upset at some of the speculation/facts - which we all know -sadly get intertwined. We all have our opinions - perhaps a totally new thread for "finger" pointing or debate -could be opened. For all involved it is tragic - and will have far reaching effects for a long time to come. My thoughts ....along with everyone else the world over...are with everyone affected by this terrible tragedy.

[judybee]

This shows the Promenade deck of the Concordia with the lifeboats above.

[ObscureAllure]

So true. I am sure he abandoned ship because he realized that the ship was going to sink and he was afraid to die. I realize the captain/pilot are supposed to always be the last to go, but a small part of me says that it's human nature to not want to sit there till the very end and face death...

 

Katherine

I'm sorry to say it but I think I wouldn't be able to stay if it were me. Then again, that's part of the reason why I could never, EVER be a captain. I'd be terrified for my own life, who knows what I'd do to save it. I'd like to THINK I'd stay until the last moment, but I'd probably panic and run away. I'd be terrified and fight or flight would have totally kicked in. (not justifying his actions AT ALL. I think he should have stayed, personally, because he's supposed to be that type of man. I just can't claim that I am that good of a person. )

[ObscureAllure]

This shows the Promenade deck of the Concordia with the lifeboats above.

that doesn't look like the same deck as they were loading in the video - but it could be and just be in a different location.

[BugsyCruiser]

If they are crew members that are in any way involved in the muster drill, this can't be true because ALL ships are randomly ordered to go through a drill in addition to the muster drill that requires you to actually get on board the lifeboats and have them lowered, to which I just described having been recently done on board the Carnival Conquest. If they didn't know how, they couldn't pass the drill. (Now, if it were crew members that were in now way involved in the muster, I could understand it... so I guess it depends on which crew members they were.)

 

Just going by what was said in the news reports. The passengers said the crew was confused and many did not know how to lower the lifeboats. Seems to me there was a complete breakdown in communication because after the initial impact the crew kept telling passengers "it's an electrical problem, go to your cabins." But we can speculate on what happened and the news reports will all vary it seems so I'll be curious to see what the official investigation concludes which I am sure will take a lot of time and understandably so.

[ObscureAllure]

I have to tear myself away from the Twitter and Youtube feeds now. My heart goes out to everyone affected and I hope that we get more good news over (US) night about more survivors found.

 

Cubella59 - I hope that you and all of yours are safe. Good luck in finding everyone safe and sound.

[glrounds]

So true. I am sure he abandoned ship because he realized that the ship was going to sink and he was afraid to die. I realize the captain/pilot are supposed to always be the last to go, but a small part of me says that it's human nature to not want to sit there till the very end and face death...

 

Katherine

 

How horribly PRESUMPTIVE :eek: . . . I can't believe someone would say such a thing. How could you possibly know what the Captain was thinking ?

 

[tntornadox]

I think there is a smaller deck above the main Promenade where they were loading from.

[DocF]

Is it not the case that the bridge was under the direct command of the third officer(s)? That would normally be the situation at that time of night. Which might explain why the Captain was on the bridge.

 

Anyway, years of reading reports of marine disasters tells me that more often than not, the third officer is in command of the ship when it gets in trouble.

 

Doc

[notjaded]

I guess I'm just shaking my head reading in various places the muster drill the muster drill the muster drill. Like it would have made any difference if they had it. I believe they are important, yes, very important, but that helps the people out when a ship is just floating straight up and people know where to report to, but they are not instructed what to do in different scenarios like your ship tipping sideways. Then all info is pretty much useless.

 

Actually, the lack of a muster drill reflects a corporate culture of lack of training/caring/ safety. I was on the Serena last month, going from Rome to Savona, and we had no muster drill either. I've not been on any other ship that failed to have a prompt and thorough muster drill.

 

But enough about the muster, for those of you who have experienced Costa, the lack of staff training throughout the line is quite evident, from the reservation office, to on-ship demeanor.

 

Despite these failures, I'm sure there was plenty of heroism by staff and passengers, as so many thousands made it out alive. A job well done by those who performed well under the toughest conditions.

 

I hope that the rest of cruise industry learns from this disaster.

[EddiesToys]

WOW. Great narrative. You should write books. As a laywoman I could actually visualize it and it makes sense.

An interesting scenario. But he would not have had his stabilizers out if he was going to "dock".

rEddie2go

[luckybogey]

Morgan:

 

The marine traffic website tracking the Costa Concordia shows the vessel moving northwest however it does not track through the small islands approximately a half mile from Giglio port.

 

The Turkey SeaNews website may be wrong on the AIS positions. I do not believe the Costa Concordia would have gone in between those two rock islands as they are less than 200 feet apart.

 

Time (UTC) Vessel's Name Position Type Port Area Latitude / Longitude Speed Course

2012-01-13 21:02 COSTA CONCORDIA Midnight position Mediterranean 42.3717 10.92602 1.1 13

2012-01-13 20:21 COSTA CONCORDIA In Range Mediterranean 42.32781 11.06087 15.7 278

2012-01-12 23:48 COSTA CONCORDIA Midnight position Mediterranean 40.86274 12.21922 16.9 339

2012-01-12 23:48 COSTA CONCORDIA In Range Mediterranean 40.86274 12.21922 16.9 339

2012-01-12 13:58 COSTA CONCORDIA Midday position Mediterranean 38.26645 13.40233 16.9 339

 

 

MMSI: 247158500

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/datasheet.aspx?datasource=ITINERARIES&MMSI=247158500

[cubella59]

Bravo!

 

funny you should say that. You see, before ever taking my first cruise, i worked with the uscg doing enoads for ships entering the port of new orleans. (cargo, tanker and even cruise ships) i have had many discussions with both foreign crew and officers as well as the uscg about the rules and regulations (as well as studied many of them myself to better perform my duties) as well as safety on board. Before i would step foot on a cruise ship, i had full lengthy discussions about the safety standards of other countries. So yes, i have some idea of how "those italians" you claim are so lacking run their ships as i dealt with them on a daily basis. They were no less professional or safety conscious than any other crew or captains i met from any other nation, including this one. In fact, considering that safety of the vessel includes the captain, officers and crew just as much as it does the passengers, i'd say they were pretty damn safety conscious, if you ask me. Sure, accidents happen, but they do with anything and accusing the captain of fault because he's italian is asinine. So no, we won't "learn the truth and agree with you" because this didn't happen because the captain is italian. Period. End of discussion.

[JLC@SD]

Some reports said he was trying to take off with money and ordered the crew not to abandon the ship(which begs the question if a Captain told you that would you really heed that ridiculous order?) but I have seen a few reports of Captains doing this(not very often thank heavens) but I know one such news report where the reporters were asking the Captain why he left when there were so many passengers still on the ship(can't remember the ship that was involved) and he said point blank "in an event like this, they're on their own, I got my own hide to save." Makes me wonder how he even made it out of there alive after saying that

 

The Captain of Oceanos........Avranas stated, "When I give the order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people want to stay, they can stay.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTS_Oceanos

[cubella59]

It is legit. Recognized the guy working the front desk on the 5th floor. Unreal.

 

 

More video (reportedly) from onboard, this while loading and putting lifeboats into the water. They look to be wearing formal wear and the lifeboats say Concordia on them, so I have to assume it's legit, too. It actually seems pretty calm for what I assumed it would be from the reports. And I can hear announcements in the background pretty much the whole time, where as many reports were that there were none. (Although the ones I hear seem to be mostly in Italian from what I can decipher.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFRKLDolaCs

[glrounds]

I saw some questions on here in regards to the deck level of where passengers board the lifeboats on the Concordia. On the Carnival Destiny class ships (of which the Concordia is a cousin of) the lifeboats are tucked above the promonade deck. Therefore passengers board the lifeboats not on the promonade deck (like most ships) but on the deck the lifeboats are tucked in which would be the deck above the promonade deck. When the Carnival Destiny came out in 1996 I remember Carnival touting it as a very good saftey feature because passengers could just walk on board the lifeboats. They did not have to be lowered then boarded as on most ships of the time. Currently many new ships have this feature like the RCI's Oasis class, Celebrity's Solstice class and the NCL Epic.

 

Although it is "possible" to board the lifeboats when they are in their hoisted position, I have to greatly disagree with you. The lifeboats are directly above the muster deck and are LOWERED.

 

The lifeboats swing out and come down a runner from up above the muster deck (same deck where the ship is boarded) where gates in the railing are opened to allow passengers to step into the lifeboats. The whole reason for the muster occurring where it does ! :rolleyes:

 

I don't know what you mean by "cousin of the Concordia". The Concordia is a SISTER to the Carnival SPLENDOR (identical hulls). It is not a sister to the Destiny Class or the Conquest Class as some are reporting.

 

Incidentally, I have a zillion pics of the SPLENDOR in my WEBSHOTS below, as I've cruised her twice. With the exception of the names of the different public spaces and maybe even possibly the changing of the dimensions of the public spaces, these two ships, the Carnival SPLENDOR and the Costa CONCORDIA are identical.