Costa Concordia SINKING

[Irish1978]

Sky News reports also saying that the Italian Coastguard confirmed that the captain was on the dock before midnight while the evacuation did not finish until 3am.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9016772/Italy-cruise-disaster-captain-accused-of-abandoning-ship-before-passengers.html

 

Also some reports that he was in one of the bars with a female companion and not on the bridge but I havent seen these repeated in any credible media format

[Irish1978]

Rescue effort suspended after she began to move. A sixth body was also found inside earlier today

 

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16150043

[cdamion]

Did anyone hear the report this morning that another body was found?

 

Sadly yes. Another male passenger found with a life vest on in a lower deck that was not submerged.

 

CNN (very sketchy reporting) also just said that the search had been suspended because they though the ship may have slipped a bit.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

BBC are now reporting that '' the seas are choppy'' and the ship has slid slightly deeper into the sea, the live images they broadcast definitely showed more of her submerged. They also showed a press conference with Costa's CEO and then said that the rescue operations have been suspended as it is too dangerous for the divers to be in the wreck at this time.

 

This will not bode down for any survivors still in the wreck - I pray that those inside are safe and that the damage it does to the cruise industry isn't as bad as it is being made out to be.

[cruzan craze]

Wishing all the passengers and their familes peace after experiencing this tragedy. Here is a scenerio we NEVER anticipate while we all muster in an orderly fashion! HALF the lifeboats not accessible! And the half that are, nearly impossible to lower! Horrible. I wonder if the industry will address this design flaw.

[Hebersgyll]

If it can be determined that the Captain was negligent and he had done this particular action previously and the company knew about it but did not stop him, then maybe insurance won't pay out.

 

We heard here that a child was missing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

At a press confernce today the company alleges that the sail-past route deviation was 'unauthorised and unknown' to them and they point the finger at the captain. Were all previous sail-pasts 'unknown' to the company? Did they never look at the navigational trace of previous sail pasts? Did no one on the island ever point out (perhaps even complain) that a huge cruise ship sailing past, at speed, & blowing its klaxon, so close to the rocky shoreline, might be rather dangerous...not even the harbourmaster, pilots or other experienced mariners who live on that island?

 

As other posters have pointed out,a great deal of evidence could be aviable to Cruise Critic forum members who should send it to the relevant authorities. In pointing the blame towards the captain the cruise company may be hoping to avoid charges of corporate mansalughter if they knew of previous unsafe manouvres, took no action andd thereby condoned them?

 

As for the future, captains must always have the option of deviating from a pre-planned route for many kinds of reasons...... but it ought to be the simplest thing in the world for the cruise companies to monitor their ships routes in real time and to interrogate the ship's captain or navigator immediately if a significant and unreported route deviation from that planned and authorised occurs.

[jtwitch]

*delete*

[degarr]

At a press confernce today the company alleges that the sail-past route deviation was 'unauthorised and unknown' to them and they point the finger at the captain. Were all previous sail-pasts 'unknown' to the company? Did they never look at the navigational trace of previous sail pasts? Did no one on the island ever point out (perhaps even complain) that a huge cruise ship sailing past, at speed, & blowing its klaxon, so close to the rocky shoreline, might be rather dangerous...not even the harbourmaster, pilots or other experienced mariners who live on that island?

 

As other posters have pointed out,a great deal of evidence could be aviable to Cruise Critic forum members who should send it to the relevant authorities. In pointing the blame towards the captain the cruise company may be hoping to avoid charges of corporate mansalughter if they knew of previous unsafe manouvres, took no action andd thereby condoned them?

 

As for the future, captains must always have the option of deviating from a pre-planned route for many kinds of reasons...... but it ought to be the simplest thing in the world for the cruise companies to monitor their ships routes in real time and to interrogate the ship's captain or navigator immediately if a significant and unreported route deviation from that planned and authorised occurs.

Cannot argue with that logic

[demc7]

Last night I made an animated video about what seems to have happened, based on all the evidence I've read on this thread. See if it makes sense to you:

 

 

There's always a point with modern engineering that we realise it's sinkable after all. This is the first mega ship to sink. Just like when the first Concorde crashed, the first Boeing 777, that Airbus A380 that's practically written off. Modern engineering is the safest it's ever been, but it's still mortal, like Titanic or SS Normandie. Modern cruise ships were quietly assumed "unsinkable" all that changed are that the chances are way lower.

[Seago2]

We were on board and we survived, thank God! It was horrible but today finally Costa is helping us with travel plans and we are being looked after it seems. So thankful. Something we will never forget.

 

Bless you! Saw you on TV, don't know how you managed to sound and look so composed. Please start your own thread when you can and tell us more about your experiences. We have all been worried sick about all of you. Hope you can manage to put this behind you but I am sure this week will be a continuing nightmare.

 

If you do start your own thread, can you please post back here to let us know where to find it?

 

Please know how much we sympathize with you.

 

Carla

[Ultima Thule]

Here is a scenerio we NEVER anticipate while we all muster in an orderly fashion! HALF the lifeboats not accessible! And the half that are, nearly impossible to lower! Horrible. I wonder if the industry will address this design flaw.

 

The industry has been aware of that scenario since "Andrea Doria" 1956.

[run4rain]

Costa has to try to stop the press and their passengers from focusing on Costa's training, procedures, directives.... They paint a picture that everything corporate did was correct and this entire incident including the crew's lack of assistance was something caused by one "rogue" captain. The press release helps keep everyone's eyes on the captain as the "villan" in all this. As I said in a previous post, the investigators will find problems everywhere...who certified that the crew was safety trained? who specified the life boats on the ship? who approved the emergency plan? How does a waiter wind up trying to drive a lifeboat? Yes, the captain is responsible for everything, but he didn't write the books or design the ship or train the crew that had to be certified before boarding the ship.

 

At risk is more than the financial loss of the loss of the ship and compensation of the passengers. What if passengers cancelled their cruises on other Costa ships? That's one of the main risks they are trying to contain. The procedures, training and so on that applied to this ship likely apply to all the other Costa ships. If they have inadequate procedures, bad ship design, untrained crews then that points back to Costa HQ. Better that they point to the captain and hang him for everything in the public's eye.

 

Additionally, if they can show that the captain was acting frivolously, they may be able to avoid some significant liabilities and perhaps avoid insurance issues.

 

Totally agreed. I keep seeing this scenario play out in all sorts of financial (and physical) disasters and I wish the justice system and especially the media weren't so easy to buy off.

[vafatboy]

I have been reading this thread since it started. I would like to chime in on the door locks. I have never been on a cost ship, but I would guess they are similar locks to RCCL Ships.

 

I have worked in the hotel industry for the past 25 years and installed similar locks for years. Most of these work off of small batteries to move a mechanical pin to unlock the door from the outside. From the inside these locks are purely mechanical. Fire code requres these locks to be able to open without any power at all. Unless the door was in a bind from the ship twisting, the door would open from the inside even submurged.

 

This is such a terrible event.

 

Rob

[ZenInAustin]

At a press confernce today the company alleges that the sail-past route deviation was 'unauthorised and unknown' to them and they point the finger at the captain. Were all previous sail-pasts 'unknown' to the company? Did they never look at the navigational trace of previous sail pasts? Did no one on the island ever point out (perhaps even complain) that a huge cruise ship sailing past, at speed, & blowing its klaxon, so close to the rocky shoreline, might be rather dangerous...not even the harbourmaster, pilots or other experienced mariners who live on that island?

 

As other posters have pointed out,a great deal of evidence could be aviable to Cruise Critic forum members who should send it to the relevant authorities. In pointing the blame towards the captain the cruise company may be hoping to avoid charges of corporate mansalughter if they knew of previous unsafe manouvres, took no action andd thereby condoned them?

 

As for the future, captains must always have the option of deviating from a pre-planned route for many kinds of reasons...... but it ought to be the simplest thing in the world for the cruise companies to monitor their ships routes in real time and to interrogate the ship's captain or navigator immediately if a significant and unreported route deviation from that planned and authorised occurs.

 

roughly today at a news conference at 11:30 the Costa Crociere S.p.A. President and CEO of the company, Pierluigi Foschi, stated:

 

To the best of Costa Cruises knowledge, Costa had passed a ship inshore opposite the island of Giglio only once before, on August 9, 2011, for the festival of San Lorenzo. On that occasion both the company and the Coast Guard had approved the route.

 

link

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Here is additional info re all lifeboats on Starboard side being lowered:

 

"There were six crew and stewards left after us and there were no lifeboats for them, so they jumped into the water and one of them died."

 

from: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/two-aussies-missing-from-italian-ship-call-home/story-fn7x8me2-1226244915419

 

I really can't imagine the horror of going through that.

 

Me, either. I love cruising and the beach - I've been on many cruises and many beach vacations....but the truth is that I'm very much afraid of the sea. I'm haunted by the stories of people who had to take to the water to save their own lives and who drown waiting to be rescued. My heart goes out to everyone involved in this incident and I hope that somehow they will be able to find peace in their lives.

[Hector53]

I have to say that this terrible tragedy has shaken my faith in cruise ship safety.

 

I've lost count of the times I've countered friends arguments as to their fears about the safety aspects of cruise ships with 'oh they are totally safe.'

 

Not any more will I argue with those that are put off cruising by fear of sinking.

 

I'm seriously doubtful about cruising again whatever the cruise line. If I as a confirmed cruise lover am having doubts, what about others who have never cruised?

[mmhardky]

Video from onboard showing water flowing in:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-LMA5tbS4

[Thoie]

Just thinking out loud here, but how feasible would it be to have a card reader on the life boats that would read and register a manifest?

 

It would need to communicate with a central system, and obviously there'd always be people who wouldn't have their cards to hand, but the bulk of passengers and crew would have their passes with them.

 

Once the lifeboats had left the ship, people could start swiping their cards, so that by the time they reach land they'd be accounted for.

 

Problems I can see with the idea:

 

• The card readers would need to be battery operated (need to top up charges)
  
• They'd need a "SIM" card for mobile network communications - might be out of coverage.
  
• Where would the central list be collated during an emergency?
  
• Some people, as mentioned, wouldn't have their cards (lost, forgotten)
  

Benefits:

 

• Faster verification of who's accounted for
  
• Help to reunite families
  
• Easier than a roll call for 4,000 people - only need to roll call people without cards
  

[rnvattes]

So this might already have been shared here. But I read a news report this morning that the Maitr'd on Concordia is from Giglio, that the captain alerted the Maitr'd that they were planning to skirt really close by his island and to come see. The Maitr'd's sister posted it as her status on facebook:

 

From FB:

Patrizia Tievoli

Tra poco passerà vicina vicina la Concordia di Costa Crociere, un salutone al mio fratello che a Savona finalmente sbarcherà, per godersi un po' di vacanza!!!

 

 

 

""Shortly the Costa Concordia will pass really, really close, a big hello to my brother who will disembark at Savona and finally get to enjoy some holiday.''

 

 

Nice.

[tofubeast]

Chilling survivor account here off msnbc. This family experienced that there were NO officers to help them. I can't even imagine how it must have felt to be in a lifeboat and they could not operate it. So you had to wait for another lifeboat and get back on the ship.

 

http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/16/10164356-rescue-halted-as-crippled-italian-cruise-ship-moves

 

 

side note: I don't get why MSNBC appears to have used night footage of the Sea Diamond at the 1:36 point. It appears they kind of try and pass this off as the Costa ship.

[JJSMaine]

Main Entry: bravado  [bruh-vah-doh] Show IPA

Part of Speech: noun Definition: boastfulness Synonyms: blowing, bluff, bluster, boasting, bombast, braggadocio, bragging, bullying, crowing, fancy talk, fanfaronade, fuming, gasconade, grandiosity, guts*, hot air, pomposity, pretension, raging, railing, rant, selfglorification, storming, swaggering, swelling, talk, tall talk Antonyms: cowardice, fear, fearfulness, modesty, restraint

[mmhardky]

Video from onboard showing water flowing in:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC-LMA5tbS4

 

Are the guys on the video struggling to find a way to the life boats? ("we have to go down and then up"). If so, that is indeed scary as hell!:eek:

How many passengers must have been totally lost and without instructions?

[TLCOhio]

Watched for the third-straight day as this tragedy off the Italian Coast was the lead story on the 7 am NBC Today Show, interviewing those who survived, etc. YES, the lawyers have to be amazed by the way that the Carnival/Costa management has dumped on and distanced themselves from THEIR Captain. They, however, promoted him (rather quickly) to be in charge of a large ship like this one and should have been monitoring his performance.

 

From the respected Reuters newswire within 15 minutes ago this morning, they have this headline: "Carnival and cruise sector count cost of disaster" with these highlights: "The cruise ship industry faces an uphill task to restore confidence among customers spooked by spectacular images of the stricken Costa Concordia flipped on its side and could suffer a major hit to sales in a key booking period. Carnival, the owner of the cruise ship that capsized off Italy's west coast, said it alone expected to take a hit of around $90 million from Friday's accident just as a result of the boat being out of use for the rest of the year. 'The long-term consequences for the cruise industry could be significant. This accident could have a significant impact in terms of trading because we're in the peak-season for reservations,' said Natixis analyst Geoffrey d'Halluin. The first quarter is a critical booking period across the tourism industry and the images are unlikely to encourage holidaymakers already facing tough economic headwinds to opt for a cruise."

 

Interesting article with many good question for the overall industry. The media images for this tragedy are not pretty or re-assuring. This was a very modern ship with the latest in all of the navigation tools, etc. Being such a large ship, it should have had the "best of the best" for staffing, leadership on this ship.

 

Full story at:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/us-carnival-idUSTRE80F0SO20120116?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71

 

THANKS! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 56,960 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[Seago2]

So this might already have been shared here. But I read a news report this morning that the Maitr'd on Concordia is from Giglio, that the captain alerted the Maitr'd that they were planning to skirt really close by his island and to come see. The Maitr'd's sister posted it as her status on facebook:

 

From FB:

Patrizia Tievoli

Tra poco passerà vicina vicina la Concordia di Costa Crociere, un salutone al mio fratello che a Savona finalmente sbarcherà, per godersi un po' di vacanza!!!

 

 

 

""Shortly the Costa Concordia will pass really, really close, a big hello to my brother who will disembark at Savona and finally get to enjoy some holiday.''

 

 

Nice.

 

Her FB page is wid open and I just scrolled back and found that. Unbelievable.

[rubrrick]

On your charting, what measurement is used for the depth marks? Feet, Meters, Fathoms?

 

I don't know whom you are asking this questions of, if it's to deckofficer, it came off of a ECINS simulator. The charting is from the Coast Guard, and the ship is overlayed, via GPS. Hence the chart, is normally read in fathoms. However, not all of the world is yet standardized, so making a statement of these particular depth marks is over my head.

 

I'm also sad to see that someone is using a simulator, when within days, the correct information will be fed into a computer system, to show exactly what happened.

 

The speculation of some is interesting. Deckofficer now states that he is not familiar with modern bridges. So, I'm not sure why he would want to share a system that he himself is not totally familiar with.

 

Again, there are still people missing, and that should be the main point that everyone is striving for.......to account for the missing, hopefully alive and not dead.

 

Rick