A Concordia Crew Member Posts on Facebook

[Traveling Bob]

I can help remarking that they did not save 4,000 people. Many felt that had to jump overboard when there were no lifeboats for them to get into. These people made their own way to shore. In addition, tragically, some people did not make it to shore.

 

I don't know if the captain went ashore early or not, but this is the first report that claims he didn't.

 

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT AT THE TIME SHE LEFT, THE CAPTAIN WAS STILL THERE. But, by her own admission, she left after only 2 hours. As a crew member, she should also have still been on board helping the remaining passengers. From all accounts, after 2 hours there were still many passengers left on board... apparently without the captain or this crew member.

[ltalessi]

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT AT THE TIME SHE LEFT, THE CAPTAIN WAS STILL THERE. But, by her own admission, she left after only 2 hours. As a crew member, she should also have still been on board helping the remaining passengers. From all accounts, after 2 hours there were still many passengers left on board... apparently without the captain or this crew member.

 

i believe, in my opinion, that it would require someone to operate the lifeboat, or maintain order etc. On the three cruises i have been on i received no training on the operation of a life boat and assumed at least one of the employees of the ship would be delegated to do so.

does anyone know?

[sam1148]

I wonder if this is the Russian woman, reportedly seen having drinks with the Captain earlier? (If those accounts are true)

[OccRNcruiser]

I understand the logistical problem with multiple ports of embarkation. However, drills could still occur within hours of each and every embarkation by requiring those who had just boarded to appear for a mini drill. These drills could be focused and all passengers boarding at a given port could be assigned the same muster station.

 

This would require changing the muster station instructions on the back of the cabin doors but every passenger would have the drill in a timely manner.

[stuttgart]

I ran across this today on Facebook...

 

 

"Unfortunately I don't have my nametag to photograph, because I lost at sea, along with my camera! My name is Katia Keyvanian, I am The GSM (Guest Service Manager) embarked on the 13th of January to substitute my colleague on the Concordia. I can write only a few lines, as I have a train to catch to go home! I would love to be invited by Giletti, Mentana, Vinci and all the other journalists, who without knowledge of the facts and who without verifying their sources, only write nonsense! I wish I could respond to the flood of nonsense and lies that have been said! But for now, until I can say more I can only say this; 'We evacuated 4000 people in the dark, with the ship inclined on it's side, in less than two hours! Those who are "incompetent" are not able to do this.

It is not true that the captain was first to leave the ship. I was on the last boat and he remained attached to the railing of deck 3, while the ship was sinking. Shame on you incompetent journalists who wrote that he was the first to leave! I was on the lifeboat, that was sailing away and about to be crushed by the hoist of the sinking ship, which was about to break through our roof. We pulled a lot of guests into the lifeboat who had ended up in the sea, and as we undressed a girl in wet clothes to cover her with a blanket, a guest filmed us with his phone! Shame on you!

We executed a rescue operation at sea, and as we pulled another gentleman out of the water, me with a rope tied around my wrist for more strength to pull him up, another man was taking pictures! Shame on you! we had to manage a flock of sheep in jeopardy and then are told that we were incompetent?! Shame on you! While I was inclined to release people who were pushing and screaming, one by one into the boat, a large man who was obviously a passenger smoked a cigarette. When I asked "What the **** are you doing smoking a cigarette in this state, in the dark, with fuel that could come out of the boat?!" and his response was "I need it for stress.

I have one thing more to add, before I miss my train ......... We worked for the guests, to save them, to take them to safety, if they are saved, it is only thanks to us alone, all the crew, who did everything. We do not want to be thanked, NO, we have only done our duty, but we do not want to hear all the nonsense, lies, and more lies, just to give you the "scoop" of these so called broadcasts.

4000 PEOPLE IN TWO HOURS, IN THE DARK ... with the ship tilted, we took them WE, THE STAFF CONCORDIA TO SHORE. They did not go themselves in buckets and shovels themselves to the shore! We brought them!!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the residents of Isola del Giglio, the mayor, who came on board, to verify the situation, (not knowing who he was because he did not have a life jacket!) Thank you with all my heart all, al...l the islanders who worked for all of us, with maximum availability, giving us their colorful blankets, some even knitted of crochet, looking for cell phone chargers, and so much more. Thanks to all of them. Now I'm off to catch a train and go home. See you soon. Oh, I forgot .... one more thing I would like to say "Shame on you!!""

 

If all of this is true and comes out through the investigation it will be very interesting. But we already know that all the passengers were indeed NOT rescued in 2 hours. There are charges the Captian didn't stay until the end and so much more. But I thought it was interesting to hear from another point of view. Thoughts?:confused:

 

I am thanking you for your statement. I am glad that you are ok and you helped the people as much as you can. I also feel very sorry for the families who lost their love one. May God give Strength to them to over come this difficult time!

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

I understand the logistical problem with multiple ports of embarkation. However, drills could still occur within hours of each and every embarkation by requiring those who had just boarded to appear for a mini drill. These drills could be focused and all passengers boarding at a given port could be assigned the same muster station.

 

This would require changing the muster station instructions on the back of the cabin doors but every passenger would have the drill in a timely manner.

 

That creates a situation where, in a real muster, passengers with cabins on the same corridor end up going to multiple muster stations. It's better to have everyone on a particular corridor traveling the same path to the same destination. Nonetheless, there does have to be something figured out to drill the passengers and show them to their muster stations before the ship sails.

[Taxguy77]

If you log onto Facebook and search "Crew of Costa Concordia" you will be able to read the posts from crew members. I for one think the crew on any cruise ship is amazing and considering that very few lives were lost, I would say that they did what they could and that saved lives. The posts I read last night are interesting, ranging from anger to sadness and most of all pride in themselves and their ship. BTY, most of the posts are in Italian but no worries, you will see the word "translate" under the post and it will translate it to English.

On the other hand, the captain bailed and if its true that he was caught by the coast guard trying to leave the scene then he set himself up for people to speculate that he was drinking. It happens all the time with car accidents, a person under the influence hits a pole, runs off the road etc. leaves the scene to avoid being tested for alcohol or drugs.

 

Don't all Italians have wine with their meals? That would not indicate he was impaired.

It's going to be a while before all the speculation dies down and we begin to learn the FACTS of that night.

[kazbar]

Don't all Italians have wine with their meals?

 

 

The population of Italy is 61 million. You cannot really expect to make a single sweeping statement, that covers them all, surely?

[oskidunker]

I did a search as suggested and nothing comes up

[OneLuckyMom]

I have been on two Carnival cruises and we went to the muster stations in the drill. I have also been on two Princess cruises and both times we went to a designated lounge during the drill. I am on a 5 day Carnival cruise next week. I think the muster drill will be spot on and no messing.:)

 

On Disney and NCL, we have had to go to the muster stations, neither one did the lounge thing, at least not on my sailings. Disney made us bring life jackets (this was a couple of years ago, not sure they still do that). NCL didn't make us bring the jackets, but they were QUITE strict on making sure everyone was checked in, quiet, and payed attention to all directions. I am satisfied with both lines treatment of it all, but I have to say NCL really impressed me, they really expected everyone to take it very seriously.

[Misten]

Released - names of those still missing:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/names-missing-costa-concordia-shipwreck-released-article-1.1008009

 

 

 

 

[cruiseagent007]

I saw that same article that the crewmember posted, I honestly do think the crew did a good job, I mean 4,000 people and although ~30 are missing/lost, that is a huge margin of success.

 

Some will say the evac was unprofessional, unorganized, and that the Costa workers did not do their jobs, but for a ship being wrecked, it could have been much worse

[cruiseagent007]

IT WOULD APPEAR THAT AT THE TIME SHE LEFT, THE CAPTAIN WAS STILL THERE. But, by her own admission, she left after only 2 hours. As a crew member, she should also have still been on board helping the remaining passengers. From all accounts, after 2 hours there were still many passengers left on board... apparently without the captain or this crew member.

 

 

Cmon now, 4,000 passengers onboard, the crew sees new faces go on and off the ship every few days, what do you expect them to do memorize everyone and know who is who and who is still left onboard? My guess is that in a chaotic situation like that, the crew evacuated as many passengers as they knew of, the last few people who were missing, well those crew members probably didn't know they were missing until after they left the ship anyway.

 

Put yourself in their shoes; you helped get everyone off the ship and into lifeboats; there are no other passengers lingering on the decks. Do you stay onboard as the ship is slowly tilting over or, since the majority of people have been evacuated, do you get yourself and your crew members off the boat?

 

The captain staying on is one thing- regular crew members should act sensibly though, them staying onboard would have only caused more casualty. There was no way they could ahve known weather people were missing or not, what do you expect them to do, try to dive into the cabins and check? That's absurd. They did the best that they could I trink they did a pretty good job

[Capricruiser]

As I stated in one of the earliest posts on this thread, Katia exists and is for real. I met her in 2009 when she was the Concordia's reception desk manager. As I recall from the assistance she gave me on that cruise, she was a very capable and efficient junior officer.

[mama02girls]

CruiseAgent-

 

I agree with you, and think many people either haven't been on a ship and have no idea of the vastness, or just aren't thinking straight.

 

Crewmembers are responsible for their own muster station. Think of the position of the ship. For those of you who have stood next to a ship think of the vastness. With the curvature of the ship the way it was listing, crewmembers have no idea what the other muster stations look like. Especially since many of them had to climb or slide down the sides of a ship to reach the water. To expect that they would then climb or somehow get themselves back up to the ship is unreasonable. We all know now that the ship came to rest, and did not sink. At the time, however, the ship had listed, then listed again, and they had no idea if the next move was for the ship to sink into the ocean.

 

I used to work for an airline and have experiences in emergencies. I would have secured my area and then if danger was eminent, I would have exited myself. It is the captain's job to stay on the vessel, checking multiple muster stations, and search for survivors.

[Mercury]

Cmon now, 4,000 passengers onboard, the crew sees new faces go on and off the ship every few days, what do you expect them to do memorize everyone and know who is who and who is still left onboard? My guess is that in a chaotic situation like that, the crew evacuated as many passengers as they knew of, the last few people who were missing, well those crew members probably didn't know they were missing until after they left the ship anyway.

 

Put yourself in their shoes; you helped get everyone off the ship and into lifeboats; there are no other passengers lingering on the decks. Do you stay onboard as the ship is slowly tilting over or, since the majority of people have been evacuated, do you get yourself and your crew members off the boat?

 

The captain staying on is one thing- regular crew members should act sensibly though, them staying onboard would have only caused more casualty. There was no way they could ahve known weather people were missing or not, what do you expect them to do, try to dive into the cabins and check? That's absurd. They did the best that they could I trink they did a pretty good job

 

No-one expects the crew to remember each and every passenger. That's not the point at all. The point is that if it were not for Coast Guard boats and helicopters, there would have been MANY more fatalaties. When she left, she says the captain was still there, but as has emerged with the recordings of his conversations with the coast guard commandant, there were many passengers still on board who were awaiting rescue (AFTER he left).

 

How she can keep saying "shame on you" in her FB post is astounding. The facts speak for themselves: MANY people were saved either because they swam to shore or were rescued by helicopter or coast guard ship.

[ltalessi]

I'm going to tell everyone here a secret.

 

A ship, when it sinks will not take hours with lots of warning. It will not settle to the bottom upright as it sinks. I'm sure initially no one thought the boat would sink. Then there was a point where it was believed it could, then that it would. What are those time frames? I do not know.

 

 

It will list, or sink at one end. The lifeboats do not launch like ejection seats from a fighter plane. They are lowered by gravity. They adhere to the laws of physics.

 

As it sinks some people will scream, some will cry, some will freeze and some will run. Many people will do what they must to survive. Some people will be villains and some heroes.

 

I want to remind people that there are friends of all of ours who are incapable of driving a car in the snow, or rain, or clear day and have lived in those areas all of their lives.

 

People are people. Some times life is bad

[Misten]

Things are, maybe, not as black and white as they have been presented?

 

Satellite evidence shows that last August the ship passed even CLOSER to the island that it did last Friday.

 

"The Costa Concordia sailed closer to Giglio island last August than it did on Friday, according to satellite tracking information given to the BBC by the shipping journal, Lloyd's List Intelligence.

 

Lloyd's List told the BBC's Newsnight programme the vessel passed within 230m of the island on 14 August 2011 to mark La Notte di San Lorenzo - the night of the shooting stars festival on the island."

 

 

See the plot of both last August and last Friday compared side by side in this BBC video:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16607837

[Misten]

The ship last August had passed SO close to the point of the incident (see satellite plot in last post) that perhaps the Captain was right that there shouldn't have been any rocks there? And that maybe the Captain had NOT made an error of judgement by saluting the island? There has been an appalling amount of media 'feeding' frenzy over the last few days.

 

Re the captain:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16619604

[celle]

Currently, most get on at one particular port where they hold the main muster drill. Then at the other embarkation ports where fewer passengers board, they do a smaller 'safety briefing' whatever that is.

 

Should they do a full muster every time passengers embark? That would be the safest, but I think people would complain.

 

It's a long time ago now, but when I emigrated from the UK to New Zealand, I went by ship.

 

We had to attend a lifeboat drill (muster) and put on our lifejackets as we left every single port. Yes, for those of us doing the entire journey it was a bit of a pain, but you would be surprised how many people embarking at intermediate ports had no idea what to do. Had there been a major emergency, I am sure that these musters could have saved some lives.

[Misten]

http://74.84.198.233/headlines/archives/2012/01/18/costa-concordia-captains-hometown-comes-out-to-support-him/

 

"... “Anyone who knows Franco knows that he is a great, great sailor, a great commander and a loyal employee. He is a professional man and would never knowingly have put the lives of his passengers in danger.”

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16607837

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16619604

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/9022832/Concordia-disaster-Should-a-captain-go-down-with-his-ship.html

[LINGBER]

The ship last August had passed SO close to the point of the incident (see satellite plot in last post) that perhaps the Captain was right that there shouldn't have been any rocks there? And that maybe the Captain had NOT made an error of judgement by saluting the island? There has been an appalling amount of media 'feeding' frenzy over the last few days.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16607837

 

 

All those reports saying Costa does not allow its ships to sail so close to shore and then this one shows they sanctioned the Concordia to sail the same route last August. It looks like it was pure luck the accident didn't happen last August!

[OneOneNiner]

The ship last August had passed SO close to the point of the incident (see satellite plot in last post) that perhaps the Captain was right that there shouldn't have been any rocks there? And that maybe the Captain had NOT made an error of judgement by saluting the island? There has been an appalling amount of media 'feeding' frenzy over the last few days.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16607837

 

 

All those reports saying Costa does not allow its ships to sail so close to shore and then this one shows they sanctioned the Concordia to sail the same route last August. It looks like it was pure luck the accident didn't happen last August!

 

That was a planned route which they had verified and allowed.

This time the captain was even closer and didn't had approval.

[Cruzer Two]

 

That was a planned route which they had verified and allowed.

This time the captain was even closer and didn't had approval.

 

CNN is reporting that the ship came even closer to the shore back in August. It was a miracle that "bow" didn't end in disaster. This time not so fortunate.

[sfwriter]

We were on a cruise last June and they made an announcement that they would be doing a drill with the crew members - so people wouldn't panic. They actually put crew members - not passengers - into a life boat and lowered it. I recall one of the crew telling us that they do it periodically, so they know what to do beyond showing up at the muster station.

 

When I was crew (20+ yrs ago), we did exactly that.