Costa Concordia SINKING

[jules1121]

Ahhhh, thank you.

I haven't checked since this morning. (I left home "with suitcases" during the afternoon but have since sneaked back in via the back door. ;))

 

 

It was this article that says elderly woman. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9035691/Costa-Concordia-16th-body-found.html

[Feelin' Nauti']

Captain Coward's wife (Fabiola Russo) interview

 

Vous vous dites très en colère. Pourquoi ?

Fabiola Russo. Je ne devrais pas ? Mon mari est au centre d’une affaire médiatique sans précédent. Je n’ai le souvenir d’aucune tragédie aérienne ou navale dont le responsable ait été traité avec autant de violence. C’est une chasse à l’homme. On cherche un coupable, un bouc émissaire, un monstre.

You say very angry. Why?

I should not? My husband is in the center of a case unprecedented media. I have the memory of any air or naval tragedy whose head has been treated with such violence. It's a manhunt. We look for a culprit, a scapegoat, a monster.

Quel homme est Francesco Schettino ?

Le contraire de ce que j’entends aujourd’hui. Quelqu’un de décidé, ferme et lucide. Il sait analyser les situations, les comprendre, les gérer. A la maison, il est ordonné, méticuleux. Sinon, c’est quelqu’un de sympathique et drôle, qui emporte l’estime des autres. C’est un passionné de la mer. Dans ses veines coule de l’eau salée. Il ne se contentait pas de tenir la barre, il étudiait la construction navale.

What man is Francesco Schettino?

The opposite of what I hear today. A determined, strong and lucid. He knows how to analyze situations, understand, manage them. At home, it was ordered, meticulous. Otherwise, he's a friendly and funny, which carries the esteem of others. He is passionate about the sea in his veins flows of salt water. He was not content to take the helm, he studied shipbuilding.

 

Est-ce vrai qu’il ne veut plus remettre les pieds sur un bateau ?

Non ! Si cela ne tenait qu’à lui, il retournerait à bord dès demain. C’est sa vie ! Il ne restera loin des bateaux que si on le lui impose.

Is it true he does not want to set foot on a boat?

No! If it were up to him, he would return on board tomorrow. It's his life! There will be far from the boat if it is imposed.

 

My husband is at the center of an unprecedented media storm. I cannot think of any other naval or air tragedy in which the responsible party was treated with such violence ... This is a man hunt, people are looking for a scapegoat, a monster.

[Feelin' Nauti']

 

I can now very vividly picture this man climbing up any obstacles to help in the evacuation!!

 

As the Captain waved farewell :cool:

 

[IRL_Joanie]

This is on Costas' Web Site:

 

Tuesday, January 24th 2012

 

Time 3.00 pm (CET)

 

With reference to news reports on discounts and promotional offers, Costa Cruises asserts that the company has never offered any discount on future cruises to guests who were on board the Costa Concordia for the cruise of Jan. 13, 2012, and involved in the accident. The information published by a newspaper and reported in various news outlets is unfounded, as is confirmed by the English passenger who was quoted by the newspaper.

 

Costa Cruises reiterates that after the tragic accident the company’s priority has always been to provide the maximum possible assistance and solace to the people involved. From the outset the company has been fully aware of and saddened by the suffering and hardship endured by guests and crewmembers and has acted with this firmly borne in mind.

 

On a joint basis with rescue teams, the Company worked to provide evacuated passengers and crewmembers with all the necessary assistance to ensure they were able to return home. Subsequently, it contacted guests by telephone after they had returned home to check on their physical and emotional wellbeing, and to confirm that they will receive a refund for the cruise and all material expenses related to it.

As previously announced, the company welcomes discussion with its guests and all consumer-protection associations to determine indemnity for the hardship endured, with the support of tourism-sector trade associations with which it has been in contact for days.

Driven by its sense of ethics and the values of fairness and responsibility that guide it, the Company also has given all customers with bookings for future Costa cruises the opportunity, if they feel hesitant to cruise, to cancel their cruise booking by no later than Feb.7, 2012. All travel agents who work with the Company were informed of this days ago.

 

Costa Cruises would also like to clarify that starting on the day after the accident, all advertising initiatives planned were cancelled out of respect for those affected by this tragedy. The Company was unable to stop only one postal promotion, which had already been sent to some customers at the end of December.

 

Costa Cruises is incredulous at the disgraceful and unfounded assertions made about the Company without any form of verification.

 

(I broke it into separate paragraphs to make the reading easier)

 

Here is their direct Link: http://www.costacruise.com/B2C/USA/Info/concordia_statement.htm

 

Joanie

I just posted this on the HAL boards under the Costa Concordia Sinking Thread.

[greg-nc]

He did not use a ship's lifeboat - despite reports saying this. He went out in a boat from the town that had several other people on it according to his own words. He is just one of several who boarded the ship from multiple rescue boats.

 

I take my words back based on this new account from the Spiegel article:

 

Giovanni Rossi, the man who had been looking forward to thunderstorms when the Concordia went aground, was standing on the pier, staring incredulously at the wreck. He and Pellegrini, the deputy mayor, jumped into the first lifeboat that arrived. The name, "Concordia 1," was painted on the bow. It was a white boat with a yellow superstructure.

Two kitchen helpers from the cruise ship were steering the lifeboat. They are among the low-wage workers from developing countries that cruise ship guests rarely see, because they are supposed to remain as invisible as possible while they do their jobs.

 

Of course, the two kitchen helpers had never steered a boat in their lives, which Pellegrini recognized immediately. He took the tiller and, together with Rossi and the kitchen helpers, drove the boat back out to the wreck. When they reached the Concordia after a few minutes, Pellegrini moored the boat to ropes dangling from the side of the ship. People were gathering above, getting into the boats.

 

Pellegrini and his friend Rossi escorted their first 40 passengers to the safety of the harbor, where half of the island's residents had already gathered. The women brought hot tea in thermos bottles, and the men brought warm blankets.

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810761-3,00.html

[Feelin' Nauti']

I just posted this on the HAL boards under the Costa Concordia Sinking Thread.

They are really sticking it to the passengers aren't they?

 

Surviving Passengers just get a refund, while those with bookings after the incident get a refund PLUS 30% discount.

Costa Clarifies Policy

 

After some confusion about exactly what it was doing for customers onboard the Costa Concordia’s accident cruise, as well as those on future cruises, Costa Cruises put out a statement last evening to reiterate its position on Costa Concordia passenger refunds.

 

For all guests who sailed on Costa Concordia’s Jan. 13 voyage, Costa Cruises will refund the full cost of the cruise, either directly or through their travel agency.

 

The company also will reimburse all travel expenses incurred both reaching the port of embarkation and on the homeward journey, including any independent arrangements made for transfers.

 

Any onboard expenses also will be refunded, and any credit card charges will be credited to the account and any cash deposits will be refunded. Costa Cruises also will reimburse any medical expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

 

Every effort will be made to return the valuables left in the cabin safe. Information on the return of personal belongings and other forms of compensation will be communicated.

 

A 30 percent future cruise discount is, essentially, not for guests on the ill-fated Jan. 13 cruise, as some media reports suggested.

 

Instead, Costa said that 30 percent discount and a full refund is only “for guests scheduled to sail on Costa Concordia from Jan. 14 onward.”

[IRL_Joanie]

I take my words back based on this new account from the Spiegel article:

 

Giovanni Rossi, the man who had been looking forward to thunderstorms when the Concordia went aground, was standing on the pier, staring incredulously at the wreck. He and Pellegrini, the deputy mayor, jumped into the first lifeboat that arrived. The name, "Concordia 1," was painted on the bow. It was a white boat with a yellow superstructure.

Two kitchen helpers from the cruise ship were steering the lifeboat. They are among the low-wage workers from developing countries that cruise ship guests rarely see, because they are supposed to remain as invisible as possible while they do their jobs.

 

Of course, the two kitchen helpers had never steered a boat in their lives, which Pellegrini recognized immediately. He took the tiller and, together with Rossi and the kitchen helpers, drove the boat back out to the wreck. When they reached the Concordia after a few minutes, Pellegrini moored the boat to ropes dangling from the side of the ship. People were gathering above, getting into the boats.

 

Pellegrini and his friend Rossi escorted their first 40 passengers to the safety of the harbor, where half of the island's residents had already gathered. The women brought hot tea in thermos bottles, and the men brought warm blankets.

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810761-3,00.html

Thank you for finding this report!!! I thought that we'd be hearing of even more locals helping on board the ship. And this would explain so much fopr many, if not all of us with questions.

 

Joanie

[IRL_Joanie]

If you go to the first video on the left side of this page and watch this video in full screen mode, can you see what I see?? It appears to me that about 90%, if not more, are men:eek: This would lend credence to reports of men shoving women and children out of the way to gain the life boats for themselves:(

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/24/world/europe/italy-cruise-main/index.html?section=cnn_latest

 

Joanie

[shipfriend_max]

http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,810925,00.html

 

http://translate.google.de/#de|en|

 

The ship is stable - the pumping out proess is prepared currently and the process starts at Saturday! :)

 

The Italian Civil Defense has given the green light for pumping the fuel from the crashed "Costa Concordia". But the recovery has yet another victim of priority. Again, two bodies were recovered in the wreckage. A Hungarian woman reported as missing is apparently dead for three years

Info

 

Giglio - The preparatory work for pumping the 2,400 tons of fuel from the damaged cruise ship "Costa Concordia" should be taken from Tuesday. This was announced by the Dutch salvage company Smit with. In the tanks of the ship, mostly heavy oil. This needs to be heated first before it can pump out.

 

DISPLAY

The action was approved, said chief Franco Gabrielli authorities on Monday on the island of Giglio. What was new was the risk assessment of the civil defense chief: the situated off the coast of Tuscany, on the island aisle was "stable", there is no danger that slide in the depth, Gabrielli.

 

The search for other victims of misfortune, however, has priority and should be continued. On Monday afternoon, two women's bodies were found near the internet cafes on board the "Costa Concordia". Thus, the number of deaths rose to 15 Meanwhile it was announced that among the missing passengers of the cruise ship apparently crashed but is not Hungarian. The wanted woman, who phoned from aboard the ship and her family was not on the passenger list was, for three years of death, the Italian Civil Defense said Monday, referring to with Hungarian authorities.

 

Before the island of Giglio was already spotted the first oil spill, such as Italian newspapers reported on Tuesday. Residents had discovered about 300 by 200 meters big film on the water. The authorities confirmed that was leaked in recent days, oil. The regional environmental organization in Tuscany ARPAT was charged with the analysis of water samples, said the crisis team.

 

The capsized cruise ship had slipped again into the night Sunday. Previously had been feared that this could drop lying on a rocky promontory ship up to 70 meters depth. In the wreck on the 13th January is a rock overflowed luxury liner is about 2400 tons of fuel.

 

On the tenth day after the wreck of the "Costa Concordia" divers had at first the way to inaccessible areas of the free-blown to the side in the water wrecks. The forces of the Italian Navy opened somewhere between the fourth and fifth deck with access to the restaurants, where suspects are still victims of the disaster. told the Coast Guard on Monday on the island of Giglio. So far, 13 deaths are confirmed, some 20 people are still missing. Originally, the experts had to do with it last weekend. Because the search for missing persons on the cruise ship but they postponed the work.

 

Special to The Dutch company Smit received field on Monday an oil tanker with special equipment near the accident spot, the spilled oil with suction devices and barriers. Also expected on Monday which is equipped with special instruments oceanographic naval ship "Galatea" was. It will scan sonar with a south of the wreck on the seabed missing and debris from the damaged ship.

 

It is believed that more could have been stowaways on board, including illegal workers from the Philippines and Indonesia. Unauthorized had had too many in the critical period before the collision to the bridge entrance, Italian newspapers on Monday quoted from the interrogation records of the officers. "The captain was distracted by the talk," the officer should have said Silvia Coronika.

 

Wanted by the police will also a laptop is supposed to have been under house arrest the commander Francesco Schettino disembark. The computer could not be found, might have passed him Schettino after the accident on Giglio, a blonde woman told Milan's "Corriere della Sera". Open whether the computer could be important data for the investigation.

 

Schettino are accused of multiple manslaughter, accident and left his vessel during the evacuation. Threaten him with a conviction of up to 15 years in prison, the captain had the company Costa Crociere for his risky maneuvers and failed blamed.

 

Costa Crociere outraged survivors with painful range

 

While the divers in icy waters off the island of Giglio are still searching the wreckage, the fight for compensation has begun.

 

According to the British "Telegraph," the owner of "Costa Concordia" have announced the survivors - are likely to have, understandably, is currently little interest in cruises - to offer a discount of 30 percent for future trips with the company. A slap in the face to the survivors of at least 13 dead and those who worry about the still missing. "An insult" and then called the proposal a British passenger. A strange form of customer loyalty, "for all who want to remain loyal to us," as one company spokesman put it, according to the sheet.

 

DISPLAY

The "Telegraph", according to British and American passengers, the Carnival Group, sue the Costa Crociere is, moreover, the Costa Crociere itself, it would go to claims up to a million pounds, it said.

 

Shortly after the accident, about 70 passengers had declared their intention to file a class action against the cruise company Costa Crociere. They called at least 10,000 € in damages per head - "for the pecuniary damage, the fear endured, the ruined holiday". The Italian consumer association Codacons had initiated the action.

 

Even a French survivor of Bordeaux has already expressed, to want to file a claim against the shipping company. "What would have happened, may never happen," said Olivier Carrasco of the newspaper "Sud Ouest".

 

[BalconyBumz]

I had wondered that too this morning since what I read didn't mention more info than "a body". But I think somewhere else since then I have seen it reported as an older woman?

 

I've seen it reported as an older woman, which could possibly be the Minnesota woman I'm thinking.

[Milaandra]

I've seen it reported as an older woman, which could possibly be the Minnesota woman I'm thinking.

 

There's a heck of a lot of women on the missing list. I thought it was odd that they were finding just women recently, but then I checked the list again.

[BalconyBumz]

There's a heck of a lot of women on the missing list. I thought it was odd that they were finding just women recently, but then I checked the list again.

 

There are, but there weren't a lot of "older" women that I saw.

[jules1121]

If you go to the first video on the left side of this page and watch this video in full screen mode, can you see what I see?? It appears to me that about 90%, if not more, are men:eek: This would lend credence to reports of men shoving women and children out of the way to gain the life boats for themselves:(

 

Joanie

 

:mad::mad:

 

 

I saw it referenced by the ship doctor in his interview that the moms were staying calm and the dads were freaking out. This surprised me to read but maybe mama lioness instincts were kicking in?

[Enigm@]

It was this article that says elderly woman. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9035691/Costa-Concordia-16th-body-found.html

 

Thank you again.

 

I also found this.. http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://corrieredelmezzogiorno.corriere.it/foggia/notizie/cronaca/2012/24-gennaio-2012/costa-concordia-identificata-altra-vittima-si-tratta-siciliana-luisa-virzi-1902992817139.shtml&ei=a_0eT5jeAYmChQeq_eGHDg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CFcQ7gEwBA&prev=/search%3Fq%3DLUISA%2BVIRZI,%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DWC7%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26prmd%3Dimvnso

 

I suspect an earlier victim, not of course to-day's.

[IRL_Joanie]

I have not read all of this yet, but this, to me, is the way journalism should be in the heat of a tragedy. God Bless MARKUS DEGGERICH, FIONA EHLERS, ÖZLEM GEZER, CLEMENS HÖGES, SIMONE KAISER AND JANKO TIETZ and Der Spiegel The News agency!! and last but definitely not least, the translator: Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810761,00.html

 

Joanie

[PizzaJohn 7]

I just wonder if the Captain took the laptop off Concordia because it holds emails that prove that:-

 

The route taken was at the orders of Costa

He had requested that the Black box be replaced

[reallyitsmema]

They are really sticking it to the passengers aren't they?

 

Surviving Passengers just get a refund' date=' while those with bookings after the incident get a refund PLUS 30% discount. [/size']

Costa Clarifies Policy

 

After some confusion about exactly what it was doing for customers onboard the Costa Concordia’s accident cruise, as well as those on future cruises, Costa Cruises put out a statement last evening to reiterate its position on Costa Concordia passenger refunds.

 

For all guests who sailed on Costa Concordia’s Jan. 13 voyage, Costa Cruises will refund the full cost of the cruise, either directly or through their travel agency.

 

The company also will reimburse all travel expenses incurred both reaching the port of embarkation and on the homeward journey, including any independent arrangements made for transfers.

 

Any onboard expenses also will be refunded, and any credit card charges will be credited to the account and any cash deposits will be refunded. Costa Cruises also will reimburse any medical expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

 

Every effort will be made to return the valuables left in the cabin safe. Information on the return of personal belongings and other forms of compensation will be communicated.

 

A 30 percent future cruise discount is, essentially, not for guests on the ill-fated Jan. 13 cruise, as some media reports suggested.

 

Instead, Costa said that 30 percent discount and a full refund is only “for guests scheduled to sail on Costa Concordia from Jan. 14 onward.”

I think this statement was made because of the uproar about the survivors only getting a refund and a 30 percent future credit. Costa has to know full well that insurance is going to be paying damages to all the survivors and the familes of those killed so they did not want it out in the media that these people are getting the same offer.

 

I would expect to see some kind of an insurance settlement offered to passengers in lieu of suing the cruiseline. It is too early in this process for a settlement to surviving passengers and the familes of those killed.

[Florida1947]

The following link is to an article in “The Telegraph” which has an actual computer generated track to plot the Costa Concordia’s final path. If correct it seems to answer a lot of questions on how she ended up on the rocks:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...tion-data.html

 

It looks like once the left side of the Costa Concordia hit the rocks at Punta Torricella, causing the gash we can see, the ship continued north and the captain tried to use his bow thrusters to change the ship’s heading from north to south apparently trying to reach the small harbor of Porto Giglio and then the ship no longer under power drifted sideways with the right side on to the rocks at Punta del Gabbianara. In another article the Captain says he hit the rocks known as “Le Scole.” If you Google “Le Scole” you get a link to a New York Times article on 1/19 that has a nice map with ship’s track.

[crusinpsychRN]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/costa_concordia_disaster_wealthy_russians_bribed_crew_with_fistfuls_of_cash_to_skip_lifeboat_queue_1_2073101

 

Looks like Domnica Cemortan was in the wrong place on the bridge. She could have speeded up transactions at the head of the lifeboat queue.

 

Very damning article if true.

[wishful thinking]

I have not read all of this yet, but this, to me, is the way journalism should be in the heat of a tragedy. God Bless MARKUS DEGGERICH, FIONA EHLERS, ÖZLEM GEZER, CLEMENS HÖGES, SIMONE KAISER AND JANKO TIETZ and Der Spiegel The News agency!! and last but definitely not least, the translator: Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810761,00.html

 

Joanie

 

I read this earlier. Brilliant piece of journalism. Kudos.

[IRL_Joanie]

If a picture paints 1,000 words, what is this one worth?

 

It plainly shows La Scole from a satellite image on the bottom left. Or should I say, What is left of it after a huge chunk broke off as it embedded itself into the hull of the Costa Concordia??

 

DPA/ DigitalGlobe

 

 

 

A sad picture

 

Joanie

[SomeBeach]

I have not read all of this yet, but this, to me, is the way journalism should be in the heat of a tragedy. God Bless MARKUS DEGGERICH, FIONA EHLERS, ÖZLEM GEZER, CLEMENS HÖGES, SIMONE KAISER AND JANKO TIETZ and Der Spiegel The News agency!! and last but definitely not least, the translator: Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,810761,00.html

 

Joanie

 

Very well written.

I think this part explains best why the Captain said there was no rock.

(Highlight in bold)

"Although the rock is clearly visible on traditional paper nautical maps, modern ship bridges are equipped with monitors that use the so-called ECDIS system. It combines electronic nautical charts with data from the satellite navigation receiver and the radar equipment. It also uses the ship's sonar and the relatively new AIS anti-collision system.

But the high-tech system is not perfect. "ECDIS representations are only as good as the data you enter. And there are serious problems with the user interface and the ergonomics," says Andrew Linington, a spokesman for Nautilus International, the union for maritime professionals. Sometimes the digital charts made by the various manufacturers are not 100 percent correct. For example, some errors only appear at certain magnification levels. The investigators will have to clarify this.

The equipment can also be set to issue alarm signals to warn against shallows, a ship deviating from its course, other ships or danger zones -- producing a cacophony of noise that encourages some captains to simply ignore the signals."

I recall on one of my Bridge tours a Captain saying they use charts and ECDIS, not fully wanting to rely on only the tech data. It was on an RCI ship because that was the line involved in the charity auction (I had winning bid) that allowed me to attend a Captain Training Center. We got a little more involved in talking about charts and navigation on ships.

 

[Uniall]

Ok how about Colin Ferrell playing the wreckless Captain Schettino......and Sam Elliott playing the highly agitated Commandant De Falco. Ok I can't imagine Sam Elliott with an Italian accent either....but he'd NAIL the highly agitated part!!! :)

 

I just watched an interview with a couple from my home town in San Diego who were on the Concordia. They said that they immediately knew that something was very wrong and headed to the lifeboats after going to get their life jackets.

 

They said the crew was clueless, even as the ship was listing heavily. The man in the interview opened the door to the lifeboat and started piling people in. 2 crew members came to him and started yelling at him to GET OUT and forced everyone back on the ship. They crew members stood at the lifeboat gates and blocked people from getting into any of the boats.

 

It wasn't until some 30 minutes later that they allowed these poor people to get on the lifeboat and start evacuating, and that was because the ship was listing more and more as time went on and it was almost capsized!!! I could NOT believe it. The man and woman had a video of all of this captured on their camcorder. He said it was a "miracle" that they were able to evacuate anyone at all because the crew were literally BLOCKING people. Incredible!

 

I really, really hope that cruise lines look at all these interviews and home video footage to identify these types of problems. Granted the crew had no direction from the captain until the very end, BUT people have got to be able to use their heads and common sense. Then the ship is listing and almost capsized, it is NOT an electrical problem!

 

I am furious after listening to this interview and watching this couple's home made video!

 

Katherine

 

http://www.scotsman.com/news/international/costa_concordia_disaster_wealthy_russians_bribed_crew_with_fistfuls_of_cash_to_skip_lifeboat_queue_1_2073101

 

Looks like Domnica Cemortan was in the wrong place on the bridge. She could have speeded up transactions at the head of the lifeboat queue.

 

Maybe the best insurance to gaining a spot on a life boat is to be with Domnica or have plenty of Rubles in your pocket or both?

 

Come to think about it, isn't Domnica Russian and a Russian translator? Is there a possible connection?

[Feelin' Nauti']

If a picture paints 1,000 words, what is this one worth?

 

 

DPA/ DigitalGlobe

 

 

 

A sad picture

 

Almost looks like it was superimposed.

[Uniall]

On the NBC Today Show this morning, they indicate that the sixteenth body has been found in Italy at the Costa wreck site and detailed the challenges for divers to be search the sunk hulk of this ship. Sad!!

 

From Monday's Wall Street Journal, they have this headline on a comprehensive story: "Carnival CEO Lies Low After Wreck" with these highlights: "The leaking, submerged Costa Concordia represents the stiffest challenge yet for the 62-year-old Mr. Arison, who over more than three decades has quietly built Carnival into the world's largest cruise-ship company. Today it boasts a stock-market capitalization of $18 billion and annual revenue of $16 billion, more than twice as large by both measures as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., the next-largest company. Images of the massive shipwreck and transcripts of the chaotic evacuation threaten an industry that has enjoyed a reputation for safety and few major accidents. Cruise operators, in the midst of what traditionally is their heaviest booking season, already have been grappling with high fuel prices and Europe's weakening economy. By maintaining a low public profile during the Costa Concordia crisis, Mr. Arison and Carnival also might limit the focus on the parent company and its other cruise lines. Of Carnival Corp.'s 101 ships, only 15 sail under the Costa brand."

 

This detailed analysis looks closely at the mega cruise giant and their big owner/CEO. Clearly the "PR play" is to keep Arison out of the spotlight and lessen the "splash-back" on the Carnival name and its various cruise brands. Not everyone can get the full Wall Street Journal stories, but it is a very insightful journalistic piece on Carnival and the overall pressures in the cruise business. Looking at the longer-term view, Carnival has had big revenue growth, but its shares have struggled in recent years. They had dropped 28% in the 12 months before the Costa accident. They have been impacted by industrywide concerns about fuel costs and the European economy. Profits have tightened as vacationers resisted price increases in the wake of the recession. Carnival shares closed Friday at $31.56, down from $52.39 five years earlier. Since the accident, most of the quick, first-two-days loss has been recovered.

 

From the Business Week Bloomberg newswire this morning, they have this headline: "Italy Urged to Curb Cruise Ship Routes After Concordia Accident" with these highlights: "Pressure mounted on Italy to ban cruise ships from passing too close to coastlines more than a week after Carnival Corp.’ Costa Concordia capsized off the Giglio Island, killing at least 15 people. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, yesterday urged the Italian government to restrict access of large cruise ships near “culturally and ecologically important areas.” Italy’s Environment Minister Corrado Clini is working on new rules for routes along coastal areas and plans to meet cruise companies on Jan. 26"

 

Full stories at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177131752006116.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-24/italy-urged-to-curb-cruise-ship-routes-after-concordia-accident.html

 

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 59.302 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:

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

 

 

Great Post. There was a similar story on Fox Business News today with mcuh the same info. It also indicated that Carnival's Arison is more that a CEO, he personally owns 30% of the stock. The Carnival Public Realtions Firm is starting to get involved now because they tried to insolate themselves from Costa but it isn't working.