Costa Concordia sinking (merged threads)

[kazu]

According to CNN there currently at least 3 dead and 70 missing:eek:

 

so very, very sad

[m steve]

due to the listing of the ship may revise how all ships will act in the future. It may become necessary for automatic response if the ship is listing so that passengers can immediately go to the muster stations and board the life boats.

I am surprised that no one has claimed that the captain and others on the bridge were smoking and weren't paying attention or acting fast enough.

[Jacqueline]

In this case, since they were not able to deploy the life boats and the ship developed a severe lisit quickly, many of the muster stations would be underwater, unless the used lounges, like princess. As important as muster drills are, in this case getting the nearest available life vest was about the most that could have been done.

 

It is a miracle that there were not more fatalities,

[2cruisecats]

Article in UK Sun with several pictures of ship (including damage) and the rescue. Thank heavens they were very close to land.

 

Hope this link works ...

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4061067/Cruise-ship-sinks-news-Eight-die-on-Costa-Concordia.html

[IRL_Joanie]

I am a firm believer in that "things" happen in 3's. Last week we had the MSC Poesia running aground at Half Moon Cay, I pray that Veendam hitting a crane as she was leaving port was the 2nd and now this.......

 

If the Veendam was not the 2nd mishap in the cycle of 3's......

 

Joanie

[bmartin71]

Very sad day... my toughts and prayers to all passengers,crew and their families.

 

:(

[TiogaCruiser]

So sad.

 

So if a disabled ship tips so many degrees, half the lifeboats are unavailable, and if it tips even more- they are not usable. That is sobering.

 

Just wondering when the lifeboat drill became optional as previous posters have stated.

[Seavoyage]

What a tragedy ...prayers to everyone invloved.

[Palmetto Lady]

I'm just surprised that something like this happens with a all the hi-tech navigational equipment onboard.

[kazu]

From CNN - apparently the waters are very clear here. They have sent divers down to search the waters and the ship to make sure there is no one trapped down below - have been down there most of the day - some discussion if the ship's officers were distracted due to the electrical issue or something wrong with the equipment.

 

Captain did not make a May Day call :eek: and the Manifest of the ship is incorrect - so now, there is a question as to how many are missing. there could be more and there could be less.

[DancingMike]

Terrible what has happen to the customers/passengers who rely on the judgement of Costa.

 

We were on Costa back in April out of Rome and the life boat drill was not until the next day in Savona. Thought then that was a bad decision for the 800 passengers who had boarded in Rome..we had no idea what to do if we had an emergency and we would have most likely sailed thru the same area.

 

Our 11 day cruise was good, but we have no plans to sail Costa in the future because of the customer service issues that we occurred on our sailing.

 

God bless those passengers and crew members who have suffered on this incident.

[jtl513]

- some discussion if the ship's officers were distracted due to the electrical issue or something wrong with the equipment.

Just speculating: maybe an electrical problem caused loss of directional control or positional information ...

[sail7seas]

Stuff happens.

 

Remember a ship no less venerable than the QE2 ran aground off the US east coast. As that ship was built literally to go to war (though I am sure some CC maritime experts would disagree), as serious as the damage was, she didn't sink. The rocks she ran into were charted and we learned a lot of new hydrodynamics after that.

 

<snip>

 

 

I well remember the QE2. She hit ground in the Cape Cod Canal, with a pilot aboard and most agree it was due to excessive speed. The obsturctions beneath the water were charted.

 

We saw QE2 in dry dock in Charlestown (section of Boston) having temporary repairs made so she could go to boatyard for her permanent repairs. It was shocking to see her that way.

 

 

 

 

 

[Linda VH]

The passengers who had just embarked had NO lifeboat drill as it was scheduled for the next day. Many did get on lifeboats (this is according to passengers on the ship) but they had to force the crew to deploy them as they said "they hadn't been told to do so" NOT that they couldn't. Later on, of course, they couldn't but the people who had noted their lifeboat station and went there immediately DID use lifeboats. This is according to several rescued passengers reports.

[sail7seas]

I was listening to a CNN reporter on the island where this event occured. She said her investigation has so far learned the cruise line is reputable. She made no mention of the fact it is part of the 'Carnvial Family of Ships' and is part of such substantial, industry leading company. When a report is so lacking in common known information, it makes me wonder what else is lacking in her reporting.

 

JMO......

[sail7seas]

How does one explain the ship made no May Day call? :confused:

 

[Sir PMP]

'ship may revise how all ships will act in the future'

 

These are not ships anymore but floating hotels with major problems as soon as a disaster like this happens...

[FrankNJ]

What a terrible tragedy. No doubt a string of events led up to this . Was the captain on the bridge or at a sailaway party ? Possibly an electrical problem knocked out navigation systems and while they were dealing with that they drifted out of the channel , or they were out of the channel and hit the rocks and that knocked out power , it certainly is obvious they hit more than a sandbar just by looking at the rocks hanging out of the gaping hole in the hull . Maybe a lack of power prevented a radio mayday , but I'm sure they have some handheld radios on the bridge .

I'm not happy to hear the captain got off before the passengers since he was the one ultimately responsible for what occurred . As a boater , I know it's very easy to think you are in the channel when you are not , especially at night , but I don't usually have over 3000 passengers .

[wrp96]

How does one explain the ship made no May Day call? :confused:

 

 

 

That's one of the things that concerns me. The only thing I can fathom is that if they were having electrical problems maybe the radios weren't working and they couldn't make the call. But still....

[cmdchiefthom]

I find it interesting that reports question the accuracy of the ship's manifest, so they're not sure how many souls were aboard with certainty. :confused: The same ship was involved in an incident, according to the Sun in Great Britain, the ship hit "the harbor wall" in Palermo Sicily four years ago, "seriously damaging the bow".:eek: My heart goes out to all survivors, and the families of the dead.

[sail7seas]

I heard some babble they had a crew changeover that day but it isn't possible they don't have records of who got on and who got off. That is inconceivable in this computer age; swipe your ID card off and on.......... If all the ship's computers were rendered out of use, the company has to have access to those records from their computers.

Every ship has crew get on and off on every embark/debark day. That is a usual event.

To not know how many people and who there are that were aboard is impossible to comprehend IMO

Boarding in a U.S. port, CBP would have a full manifest. The ships all have to transmit a complete Manifest before they sail. Maybe Italy does too? Probably not.

 

I had not heard Captain left the ship before his crew and guests did.

Lots of questions but I suppose way too early to have many answers.

 

 

[jtl513]

I was listening to a CNN reporter ... When a report is so lacking in common known information, it makes me wonder what else is lacking in her reporting.

 

JMO......

Her report was so full of errors that I couldn't listen any more, and switched channels. :)

 

edit: MSNBC just said it was "knocked on its side by a sandbar" :eek: :eek:

[sail7seas]

Her report was so full of errors that I couldn't listen any more, and switched channels. :)

 

 

I hit the remote as well. :D

No reliable information was going to come from those reports.

 

 

edit: Fox doesn't seem to have much to say about it.

[ASIWISH]

[Cindy]

I'm shocked and saddened by this tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with all those aboard the Concordia.

 

As a frequent cruiser, this hits close to home, and I'm having a hard time really believing it has happened. I've been on the Splendor...it's hard to imagine having to evacuate a ship that size. This is a sobering lesson for those who eat, drink, and joke their way through the muster drill.:(