Costa ship Mediteranean Hits Pier 4 hrs ago

Costa abandonds ship Sharmelsheikh Egypt large hole in ship taking on water... all passengers required to pack their bags and wait on pier... been waiting now 4 four hrs all 1400 passengers are safe and unharmed.... Costa still has not advised them of what will happen next.

Costa abandonds ship Sharmelsheikh Egypt large hole in ship taking on water... all passengers required to pack their bags and wait on pier... been waiting now 4 four hrs all 1400 passengers are safe and unharmed.... Costa still has not advised them of what will happen next.

Costa Mediterreanea is currently in the Caribbean (on it's way to St. Lucia).

The Costa Europa is in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Webcams were last updated at 20:14 GMT 25th. February. Found nothing in the news as yet.

Ron

News is now coming through.

Say 3 crew members died and 4 passengers injured.

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/35623

Ron

It's got to be the Costa Europa, not the Mediterranea. Terrible news. Every couple years or so a cruise ship captain manages to crash his ship into the dock somewhere. Now we have three dead and four injured. Let's hope the final talley doesn't increase. Poor Costa Europa - I've always loved that ship, and a little over two years ago I was on her when she docked at Sharm!

It is the Europa, details are still sketchy to say the least.

My thoughts to the families of the 3 crew members.

Edit : http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2869843/Brits-hurt-in-Egyptian-boat-crash.html

Ok it's the Sun, but still very clear photos.

Two photo's of the damaged Europa are in this report...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2869843/Brits-hurt-in-Egyptian-boat-crash.html

This could delay her transfer to Thomson...she is in a bad way.

Sympathies go to those killed & injured & their families.

You do have to wonder if the captain was transferred from the parent, Carnival, and was responsible for the recent Carnival ships...Ecstacy, Miracle & Splendor...which belted quaysides resulting in holed ships and quay damage over the last few weeks.

Something is very wrong if these ships are belting quays so often and so close together too (timewise).

Bad weather shouldn't be that much of a problem and if the winds are so high, then it begs the question why go ahead and try to berth. captain or pilot...someone has questions to answer on this one (and all the others in the last couple of months).

The other ships "kissed" the piers, looking at the pictures, the dame to the Europa is on a whole different level.

Costa Mediterreanea is currently in the Caribbean (on it's way to St. Lucia).

 

The Costa Europa is in Sharm El-Sheikh, the Webcams were last updated at 20:14 GMT 25th. February. Found nothing in the news as yet.

 

Ron

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8538505.stm

The other ships "kissed" the piers, looking at the pictures, the dame to the Europa is on a whole different level.

Carnival Miracle's thud was more than a kiss...it was around 15ft long & went into the superstructure below the hull...

Still makes me wonder if there is some sort of pressure on the captains/pilots to get the ship into port and the guests onto ship shorex at all costs...afterall cancelled shorex means refunds and that equals less income from that port. Cynical way of looking at it but something must make them try and berth in bad weather rather than say 'no, not today' and sail past.

Oh I agree, the Miracle was a little more than a kiss, but still not in the same league as this hit.

Sorry for the ship mistake.... it was really late my sister on that sip she texted me and i got the ship name wrong.... however it is a very unfortunate accident and our hearts go out to all of the families who lost their loved ones.

Guests have been moved to resorts in the area and they await further information from Costa... will try to get more for everyone later:(

Costa are in the process of arranging flights home from Sharm for all guests. The cruise has been halted as a result of the accident...which is fair enough considering there have been fatalities on board.

I don't think anyone can (or should) complain about the cruise being cut short...but knowing this industry (as in the tourist industry) as I do, you can bet there will be a few people whinging and whining about it. Instead of moaning at the loss of a few days on the ship, they should be thinking about those lost and hurt in this accident but human nature being what it can be sometimes, it will be 'me, me, ME!' attitude from some.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2010/02/26/33138/three-killed-as-costa-europa-crashes-in-sharm.html

Sorry for the ship mistake.... it was really late my sister on that sip she texted me and i got the ship name wrong.... however it is a very unfortunate accident and our hearts go out to all of the families who lost their loved ones.

Guests have been moved to resorts in the area and they await further information from Costa... will try to get more for everyone later:(

You certainly have nothing to be sorry about, anything can happen in such circumstances, we have to thank you for for posting such important but sad news. Hope your sister is OK!

Ron

The Europa has done this cruise now several times recently.

What was different this time? Pilot, Captain, weather?

Looking at the photos that are available, the gash seems quite low down, about or below the water line. How did the crew members die, too near the gash, thrown about by the jolt?

Or maybe the old lady doesn't want to leave the Costa fleet.

Ron

What was different this time? Pilot, Captain, weather?

 

Could have been mechanical as well. Clearly for that amount of damage

ship's speed played a part.

Someone mentioned shore excursions...

Being in a hurry to tie up for the sake of shore excursions is a non-issue.

Safety first onboard.

The BBC web report says that the weather was bad at the time and Sharm does not have any shelter so perhaps the wind was the problem.

Another photo of her in Sharm. She is listing heavily but under control. The damage is on the starboard side, despite listing to port, this is so the damage can be assessed and repaired above the waterline. Reports have stated elsewhere that the crew who perished were asleep in their cabins when the ship hit the pier, the area directly behind the damage was crew cabins.

The ship hit the dock at approxomately 4:20am their time. There was bad weather, strong winds and hail for the area. There was a warning for all driving in the area to use roads only of necessary. There was a ship advisory as well. it looks like they were trying to get to the port early as even the seas were rough.

That is all i know right now... and thank you my sister and her husband are fine.. a bit shaken up but certainly thankful it was not much worse.

The tear in the hull was in the crew area of the ship and that is all that they know right now. It was an all call to abandon ship they were taking on water, it is listing at present and the crew are trying to keep it afloat, using all bildge systems:(

I just read the bulletin issued at 16:04 today by the Italian news agency ANSA which reports the captain's testimony: "Heavy seas and strong winds pushed us against the edge of the dock." The report indicates that the crew members killed were asleep in their cabins when the ship struck. One Italian passenger who sustained trauma to his hand has already been released from the hospital while another elderly man who had chest pain is still undergoing checks. All the uninjured passengers are presently housed at Costa's expense in seven hotels at Sharm and will be repatriated between Sunday and Tuesday as soon as charter flights have been arranged. Costa CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said that following the incident the passengers were disembarked in total safety and arrangements were made with the local hotels to accomodate them. The dead crew members were all cooks' assistants, a Brazilian of 34 years, a Honduran of 50, and an Indian of 31.

Don't all ships use a Local Pilot when pulling in to port?

- CWipes

how sad. my heart goes out to the family and friends of the deceased.

Our thoughts go out to the family and colleagues of those who lost their lives.

This is so heartbreaking for the families of those killed, and our thoughts and prayers are with them all.

Also for the rest of the crew, who will be in shock.

Two weeks ago, we were on Thomson Celebration at Sharm, when Costa's brand new ship came and moored behind us. The contrast was vast, from such a beautiful, new ship going to her naming ceremony and a little, ex-HAL ship doing constant trips round the Red Sea. Obviously, there was much talk about the day in spring when Costa Europa was to join Thomson, and how many people had already booked on her.

Much in our thoughts tonight- jocap.

Since the Costa Europa is sailing under an Italian flag it will be the Italian equivalent 'Marine accident Investigation Bureau' who will be doing the investigation on it, in cooperation with the Egyptian marine agency.

For this all the crew on the bridge at the time, including the pilot will be interviewed to try and find out what happened. Every little action will be gone over to make sure lessons are learned. Since there were fatalities it means that someone could/might be held accountable.

However looking at the initial information coming from various sources it appears that it was caused by heavy winds blowing the ship sideways that it could be classed as accidental. This does not mean that the Captain will get off scot free as ultimateluy the buck stops there.

Because of the shape of ships nowadays the effect of leeway (drifting due to windage) some of the ships are nothing more than a hugh sail. These ships can and often do move a some speed when being pushed by the wind.

Im glad that the watertight intergrity system proved itself otherwise things could have been a lot worse, but still it was bad enough that they broadcasted 'abandon ship'.

My condolences to the families of the 3 crew members who died in their cabins.