Costa Concordia SINKING

[Dawn1004]

Wow, this is a huge post - and reading through the pages with much interest. Amazing how this all played out.

 

Have come across this article in the paper which may be of interest.

 

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/costa-concordia/captain-drove-cruise-ship-costa-concordia-like-a-ferrari/story-fnbvduqy-1226247219959

 

Thought it interesting the remarks from his previous Supervisor.

 

I imagine this article may be in other papers as well, as the link above is from an Australian paper.

 

I hope that they are able to get some more survivors off the ship and hope that they locate all the deceased persons also, as horrible as that may be.

 

Kudos to all those officers, crew and other passengers that assisted with the rescue and showed untold bravery, and kudos to the actual rescue team as well.

 

One thing I was thinking, just how slippery would that side of the ship have been to have to scale down and into the lifeboats/inflatable rafts, given that alot of that side would have been in the water originally, you kind of think (well I do) when on the cruise ship that if there is an emergency, the access to the boats will be from the deck not from climbing down the side of the boat (one of my worse nightmares I think).

 

However, I will continue to cruise, and am looking forward to our NCL cruise to Alaska in May.

[fin]

Question. If they are worried about it shifting position, why do they not secure it now, securely, with whatever cables are needed to solid points on land?

[Racer02]

Forgive me if these points have already been raised, I have tried to follow this thread from the beginning but may have missed some posts. I have two questions.

First, in the aerial video that has been referenced several times allegedly from the Coast Guard it clearly shows what I think are the life vest strobes flashing (passengers on the side of the ship making their way down the rope ladders). I thought the life vest strobes only flashed after coming into contact with water. PLEASE do not assume that I am questioning the validity of the video, (I am not) but wondering if all of those poor souls actually came into contact with the water prior to scaling the side the of the ship to be rescued.

Thoughts?

Second, and more complicated to ask (and I apologize for my ignorant terms); is about the final resting place of the ship versus the apparent "hole" that caused the event (which is exposed on the outer "port" side of the vessel). I have tried to follow the tracking, from the strike to the out and back circle to the anchor drop / spin around maneuver "beaching" but one thing escapes me that I haven't heard discussed or been able to reconcile in my head. The final series of events as the ship approached the shallow waters off the coast must have included a very violent and deadly shift from a port to starboard list that must have claimed many lives. Am I completely misinterpreting the data or was there one hell of a shift from port to starboard as the ship beached?

[sproonee]

This first-person youtube video shows lifeboat footage and some aftermath...

 

It's a nice addition to the other videos that have been posted here; as far as I can tell, and given the low hit count, it has not yet been posted in this forum:

 

 

I think after all of this, I dislike that song even more than I did before. :rolleyes:

 

It is an interesting video though - although it does seem very disorganized, everyone seems fairly calm?

 

Jamie

[baldercash]

Read these 2 reports and they explain what transpired and time lines.

They ship hit the rock just before passing the port.

They also have a recording of the Coast guard requesting the Captain to go back to the ship. It appears the captain is a bold faced liar.

I am sure there are those who say we are jumping to conclusions about the Captain and they likely believe OJ was innocent as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16563562

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16604154

[Loonbeam]

More than you would think (with the cap its actually water resistant, mine has been 'dunked' a few times - I use it for work.) - But like I said its not what I would choose. But you could put it in a ziplock snack bag in your emergency kit and it would be fine.

 

Is it also waterproof? If you have to swim to shore how useful is it? Does it have a landyard to tie it around your neck so you have it 24/7? :)

[dwaynesworld]

You're welcome. I will try to update should I see any new info that does not make it out of local press into world press.

 

thanks for posting. this seems quite plausible but where does this come from?

[grneyedmustang]

This first-person youtube video shows lifeboat footage and some aftermath...

 

It's a nice addition to the other videos that have been posted here; as far as I can tell, and given the low hit count, it has not yet been posted in this forum:

 

 

This was really eye opening. Thanks for posting.

[SomeBeach]

Second, and more complicated to ask (and I apologize for my ignorant terms); is about the final resting place of the ship versus the apparent "hole" that caused the event (which is exposed on the outer "port" side of the vessel). I have tried to follow the tracking, from the strike to the out and back circle to the anchor drop / spin around maneuver "beaching" but one thing escapes me that I haven't heard discussed or been able to reconcile in my head. The final series of events as the ship approached the shallow waters off the coast must have included a very violent and deadly shift from a port to starboard list that must have claimed many lives. Am I completely misinterpreting the data or was there one hell of a shift from port to starboard as the ship beached?

 

I believe and I base it on what a physics major explained to me that the shift was caused by air displacement. When the ship made that turn it probably allowed more air to get in where the hole is and that forced the water not only to the opposite side but also allowed much more water to flow that way.

[Ozcruiser1]

There has been much conversation/ posts regarding the actions of the Captain/ senior officers and all of it has been most informative and interesting. My focus has been on the reaction/action of the passengers involved in this tragic event. I wonder what I would have done as a passenger? Would I have done as I was instructed, would I have panicked, would I have a fight or flight instinct?

I have made an two earlier post #808 page 41 and # 2126 page 107 on my emergency preparation. But I thank Thoie post #2456 page 123 for the information pointing to a book The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley.

The reviews of this book .... reveals how human fear circuits and crowd dynamics work, why our instincts sometimes misfire in modern calamities, and how we can do much, much better.

http://www.amandaripley.com/reviews

 

This could be a very interesting read on the "sea days" sector of my next cruise.

Would love to hear from more of the passengers and their responses.

[SomeBeach]

This first-person youtube video shows lifeboat footage and some aftermath...

 

It's a nice addition to the other videos that have been posted here; as far as I can tell, and given the low hit count, it has not yet been posted in this forum:

 

 

Thank you for sharing this.

[SomeBeach]

I am afraid to ask - but what did I miss today? I heard the tape with the captain - wow, I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but it's sort of hard to now - but anything else?

 

I'm wondering the same thing

 

Five bodies were discovered, 4 men and a woman. They blew open a few areas to see if they could get in and find anyone else.

Time is not on their side as the weather is expected to change.

[Racer02]

I believe and I base it on what a physics major explained to me that the shift was caused by air displacement. When the ship made that turn it probably allowed more air to get in where the hole is and that forced the water not only to the opposite side but also allowed much more water to flow that way.

None the less, wouldn't there have been a violent shift from port to starboard? (I hope I am doing this right).

[chabre]

I found this video, I think is new to this post.

 

Part of the video from the stairs flooding, someone here said it was another cruise, some problems with the pools I think??

 

you can see how much the ship has listed when the water is coming inside the ship from the glass.

 

Another interesting bit, the PA is announcing only a problem in the electricity and the situation is under control, but the crew already has his life vest.

 

But it seems the first crash felt so hard, the passengers have already the lifevest on. Also you can see how much the ship is listing, you can see that walking was already hard, way BEFORE any emergency or abandon ship alarm.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxws3SctvQg

[SomeBeach]

None the less, wouldn't there have been a violent shift from port to starboard? (I hope I am doing this right).

 

Not sure what you mean about violent shift. From very early pictures we could see the aft starboard side going down but the water had the length of the ship to spread to. The more it rose and spread, the weight finally caused it to capsize.

From what I understand, the ship is/was on a rocky ledge. The tides and worsing weather conditions that are predicted could cause it to slip more.

Sorry, I'm probably not explaining this very well. You might want to find a physics major to better explain it. ;)

[Davyjonesrugrat]

None the less, wouldn't there have been a violent shift from port to starboard? (I hope I am doing this right).

To try and explain the basic pricipals of stability I have put forward a suggestion on what might have occured.

 

When alongside a ship whilst loading has to ensure that the weight is evenly distributed, care is taken make sure both sides receive the same weight at appx the same time. . In the case of the Concordia, a sudden and drastic breach occurred whilst undertaking a sail past of the island of Giglio. The breach on the port side allowed an ingress of water into the ship into what may have been the Engine room, the generator room and the engine control room (As indicated by the officer sent by the Capt to see what damage has been caused by the contact)

 

The ship was now beginning to list to port, how much the water tight integrity had been impaired I cant say but to possibly try and compensate for the ingress of water from the port side and to stabilise the ship tanks on the starboard side might have been flooded to try and level the ship out. The next problem may have arisen when they dropped the anchor and stopped the forward movement of the ship and to both turn the ship around and prepare for abandoning the ship.

 

With the ship now swinging around the water inside the vessel is now moving from the port side to the starboard side, this with the additional tanks flooded caused the vessel to start listing on the starboard side.

 

The Engine room, as far as I can gather (On most ships) covers the ship from side to side, if this is flooded then its the full compartment. If you look at some of the pictures taken when the boat is still afloat you can see that the concordia is well down at the stern, you can see this by following the line of Port holes/scuttles aft and see how they disappear underwater. Water must still be entering the ship into compartments that have not been sealed. Only a full report by the salvors or the dockyard would be able to confirm this.

 

A lot of this is conjecture but these are normally the steps that are taken in maritime circles when loading ships or moving ships in ballast.

 

The ship at present is now partly resting on the bottom and its starboard side is resting on some rocks on the foreshore. With the increased choppy seas the ship is moving, this is due to some bouyancy remaining in the vessel. If and when they decide to remove the contents of the fuel tanks (17 Different tanks) the are going to have to replace the contents with something that shares the same approximate weight otherwise buoyancy would be affected and she could end up slipping down the seabed into deeper water.

 

Hope this helps somewhat.

rgds

[BalconyBumz]

I am a little concerned that people may take the advice posted earlier and carry around all of their passport and credit information on a flash drive, which could be easily stolen, lost, etc. Am I wrong in thinking that this might be a dangerous thing to do? (I don't know that much about computers, but don't think the average person has a way to do a foolproof (if there is such a thing) encryption of the data.

 

Advice/opinions from some of you computer experts?

 

Yeah, upload it all to your email and you can access that from any computer. I don't agree with the flash drive either.

[EddiesToys]

To try and explain the basic pricipals of stability I have put forward a suggestion on what might have occured.

 

When alongside a ship whilst loading has to ensure that the weight is evenly distributed, care is taken make sure both sides receive the same weight at appx the same time. . In the case of the Concordia, a sudden and drastic breach occurred whilst undertaking a sail past of the island of Giglio. The breach on the port side allowed an ingress of water into the ship into what may have been the Engine room, the generator room and the engine control room (As indicated by the officer sent by the Capt to see what damage has been caused by the contact)

 

The ship was now beginning to list to port, how much the water tight integrity had been impaired I cant say but to possibly try and compensate for the ingress of water from the port side and to stabilise the ship tanks on the starboard side might have been flooded to try and level the ship out. The next problem may have arisen when they dropped the anchor and stopped the forward movement of the ship and to both turn the ship around and prepare for abandoning the ship.

 

With the ship now swinging around the water inside the vessel is now moving from the port side to the starboard side, this with the additional tanks flooded caused the vessel to start listing on the starboard side.

 

The Engine room, as far as I can gather (On most ships) covers the ship from side to side, if this is flooded then its the full compartment. If you look at some of the pictures taken when the boat is still afloat you can see that the concordia is well down at the stern, you can see this by following the line of Port holes/scuttles aft and see how they disappear underwater. Water must still be entering the ship into compartments that have not been sealed. Only a full report by the salvors or the dockyard would be able to confirm this.

 

A lot of this is conjecture but these are normally the steps that are taken in maritime circles when loading ships or moving ships in ballast.

 

The ship at present is now partly resting on the bottom and its starboard side is resting on some rocks on the foreshore. With the increased choppy seas the ship is moving, this is due to some bouyancy remaining in the vessel. If and when they decide to remove the contents of the fuel tanks (17 Different tanks) the are going to have to replace the contents with something that shares the same approximate weight otherwise buoyancy would be affected and she could end up slipping down the seabed into deeper water.

 

Hope this helps somewhat.

rgds

Very probable explanation, rgds. Add to that the sea motion which would naturally roll the hull over toward the shore. Then perhaps the starboard stabilizer would hold the ship as it rolled to starboard. The ship may have rolled on it side when that starboard stabilizer collapsed. The Monday "shift" may have been caused by the crushing of the once proturding starboard bridge wing.

 

I wonder who of us would not get out of a wrecked car to examine the damage? Reports seem to tell us the Captain was doing just that at the time the Coast Guard phoned him directing him to reboard via the pilot ladder on the port bow. I don't see such a ladder and most pilots board midships to aft...aft of the stabilizers. A recent youTube sited above shows how dark the ship was when the power went off. The night vision video shows a single aft ladder jammed with panic sticken evacuees. I doubt that any Captain, or Coast Guard officer in charge could have convinced those guests not to continue their escape while that officer attempted to reboard.

[EddiesToys]

Yeah, upload it all to your email and you can access that from any computer. I don't agree with the flash drive either.

E-mail is not known to be "secure".

 

Personally, I carry a photocopy of my passport front page in my billfold. I also carry my bank and AMEX customer service phone numbers.

[BalconyBumz]

E-mail is not known to be "secure".

 

Personally, I carry a photocopy of my passport front page in my billfold. I also carry my bank and AMEX customer service phone numbers.

Generally, it is, and the chances of someone hacking your email in a week that you are gone is near zero. Remove the email when you get home.

 

Carrying it with you is a bit silly, it still can be lost or stolen. If you are uncomfortable sending it to your email account, then sign on to one of those secure data storage companies online and store important back up of information there. I'd rather have it on my email account or a data storage account than on me, because that can be lost or destroyed.

 

You'll have a better chance of losing it and having someone find it if you carry it with you than having your email account hacked in a week. ;)

[Beachgal528]

E-mail is not known to be "secure".

 

Personally, I carry a photocopy of my passport front page in my billfold. I also carry my bank and AMEX customer service phone numbers.

 

 

Thats not going to do you a whole lot of good if you're stranded in a foreign country without your billfold. The idea behind this is so that it is able to be accessed from anywhere.

[BalconyBumz]

Thats not going to do you a whole lot of good if you're stranded in a foreign country without your billfold. The idea behind this is so that it is able to be accessed from anywhere.

 

Exactly. To say an email account isn't exactly "secure" is a bit ridiculous IMO. Still paranoid? Change your password to something really difficult before you leave and be sure to remember it, or maybe you could write that down and put it in your billfold. LOL :D

[BalconyBumz]

To be honest, I never have really thought about doing the email thing on any of my trips, but you know, I'm most certainly going to do that for now on whenever I travel. Passport, driver's license, copy of a visa card, medical insurance card and anything else I can think of. I think it's a really smart thing to do. People making copies of this stuff and carrying it with them in a plastic bag or water proof container or billfold, just really isn't bullet proof. I say put it on your email or secure storage company and that way you have access to it anywhere no matter what.

[Leadft]

About how fast is 15 knots in miles per hour? Tying to get a sense of how fast they were headed toward land, using the only reference I know -- my car. Thanks!

[EddiesToys]

About how fast is 15 knots in miles per hour? Tying to get a sense of how fast they were headed toward land, using the only reference I know -- my car. Thanks!

15 knots = 17.3 mph