Will the Grandeur captain lose his job?

[Hflors]

I read on another board that someone thought that RCCL would be looking for a new captain on the Grandeur, it seems to me it would be shame for a man to loose his job over a mistake like this. After all no one was hurt and a ship can be repaired. ANyway I just thought I would put the question out there to the "experts". Also do you think the NTSB will investigate? It happening in a foreign port. Oh well here's hoping he doesn't.

[yogimax]

Suppose this was an airline pilot who crashed his plane on landing because he couldn't manage the winds (BTW, wind is one of the most dangerous weather conditions for takeoffs and landings). I don't think you would be as forgiving. Maybe there were no injuries (thankfully) and maybe the ship can be repaired. But think of the financial loss to RCL and their insurance carrier and the inconvenience to all the passengers.

 

You get paid the big bucks, you better deliver!

[hardingk]

When the Monarch crashed back in 1999, that captain lost his job & bridge staff lost their jobs bc of it.

[CruisinMaterial]

I wouldn't know where to speculate on the captain losing his job after this incident. I would think that it was partially the fact that the ship turns into a gigantic sail when turned sideways and the fact that they are in the open waters when docking with a strong current. It's partially natures fault but I'm sure he'll be seriously reprimanded, if not fired. I doubt the rest of the bridge crew will lose their jobs because of it.

 

As for the NTSB investigating. The accident would have had to occur at a United States port for them to investigate. Since the ship is registered in a foreign country and not the US, they do not have jurisdiction over it. The country where the ship is registered could do an investigation but lets face it, they register it there so they don't get bugged by regulatory practices. The US Coast Guard might do an inspection when it comes back but they also do not have any jurisdiction over the incident itself because it happened in Mexico. It's up to the Government of Mexico to decide what to do and based on what we've seen so far, they appear not to care enough to send armed guards to the pier to protect the ship. All they had was the security from the ship!

[joeyancho]

I hope he doesn't. He is a nice fellow. He sang Happy Birthday to me on my 50th.

[Retired not Expired]

This non-expert wouldn't even hazard a guess since there's too many factors that hasn't been given. The Captain and the wind and sea conditions are just a couple. There's spotters passing info. There's thrusters. Could one have not been working properly? I don't know how they work on a ship other than using a jet of water to move. Therefore, there must be an intake for them. Could something had been sucked up against the intake and throttled it down? I'm sure there's a lot more factors involved. Even the experts may not know for sure. There will be an investigation, I'm sure. Then maybe the experts will tell this non-expert all the factors that cause the accident. Maybe the Captain screwed up and maybe he didn't.

[LindaO]

The captain may or may not loose his job... but I'm sure the pilot that was on board will never board another RCI ship!~

[trabucocruiser]

Fair or not, the captain is responsible for his ship, even if he is not in control of the winds and tides. Its been that way ever since their has been ships and its that way now.

[Coralc]

When we were on Song of America in 99. The ship had run into a sandbar in the Cabo San Lucas harbor 2 weeks prior to our sailing. They were stuck on the sandbar for close to 12 hours. (until the tide changed) That captain apparently liked to approach rather close to the port in order to facilitate the tender time. We learned on our cruise that the previous captain had been "replaced" by a new captain, who anchored almost a mile away from the dock. The crew was complaining about the tender time invoked by the new captain. It was before all of the internet access and message boards, so I have no idea if he was "fired" or not. :)

[skyking]

The captain was at the controls ( Even if he wasnt)....NOW I am sure he is looking for a job as a ferry captain. I cant see the pilot being in trouble, since he is required to be on the bridge and not at the controls of the ship. I agree 100% that he is responsible 100% for what took place.

 

Tim

[balconyonly]

The only hope for the Captain is if there was a mechanical breakdown. If not he will be looking for a new job. You get paid the big bucks to be in command. The docking is his responsibility. It's his job to guage the winds, assess the tides/currents etc. 15 knot winds is not that much, big ship or not. I see huge container ships and car carriers dock in higher winds almost everyday.

[yogimax]

I hope he doesn't. He is a nice fellow. He sang Happy Birthday to me on my 50th.

 

Maybe RCL should give him a job as a waiter!

[wwinfl91]

If the weather, wind and current, were too bad, they should have sailed away from the port. That is where the Captain is the one who is responsible for making the decision. Even if they had mechanical problems that actually caused the crash the Captain is also responsible for making sure things work although the Engineering staff should have warned him if there was a problem.

 

I agree with many of the posters and figure the Captain is probably going to be looking for a new job or making taking early retirement after this fiasco.

 

Have a great next cruise hopefully with a Captain who knows what he is doing.

[House_Atreides]

I don't really know the ins and outs of of the mechanical/human error things, but I suppose the poor chap will be looking for a new job. Ultimately everything onboard is the captain's responsibility, and perhaps if the winds and current were this bad...he should have elected not to stop in Costa Maya. I was on a ship that once cancelled a port because of rough seas/wind.

 

Better to be safe than sorry I guess. JMHO.

[Folgy]

How much should the Port Authorities shoulder in this. I know we got waved off at Grande Caymans for sea swells and had to return to Cozumel.

 

Why would they not have the forsite to wave off the docking of the Grandeur.

It was the Grandeur we were on when we missed out on Stingray City due to sea swells.

[caitlyn20]

I read on another board that someone thought that RCCL would be looking for a new captain on the Grandeur.

 

Don't know why I didn't consider the guy would get fired over this. I guess I figured if no one was hurt, they'd investigate and everything would go on. I really like the guy. He's got a sense of humor, and he's the only Captain I've ever seen just walking around the ship in the mornings.

 

Of course, being "nice" doesn't guarantee you keep a job when something like this happens.

[1corona4u]

My Guess- I'd say it depends on what's already in his "employee file folder", if anything. I'd hate to see him lose his job though.

 

I know when most companies have accidents, they do a drug test to see if the person was/is on drugs. I think that is required by the insurance companies though. I highly doubt he was on drugs, but I think this will be fully investigated by RCI, and I am just not sure what they willk do. This did cost them a lot of money.....:o

 

 

Maybe TJ can weigh in on this.....:confused: maybe she can't comment on this though....

[TrinaLC]

Wouldn't it be the harbor pilot at the controls and responsible? If not, why do they even board?

[yuyi64]

Wouldn't it be the harbor pilot at the controls and responsible? If not, why do they even board?

 

The harbor pilots acts an advisor to the captain; he/she does not physically steer the ship. It's the captain or another certified officer that would have been controlling the helm at the time of the accident.

[Reltco]

Wouldn't it be the harbor pilot at the controls and responsible? If not, why do they even board?

 

Not sure how the merchant marine (MM) works but in the US Navy the Captain has absolute resposibility. Regardless of who damages a Navy ship the Captain is responsible and when a collision is involved (with another ship, a pier, the ground...), he is usually relieved of command.

 

The pilot is onboard for his/her familiarity with the local waters and makes manuevering recommendations to the bridge team based on winds, currents, tides, etc. It's usually a good idea to have the local corperate knowledge onboard and in some places it is maritime law.

 

I would guess the same rules apply in the MM and that whether pilot crashes the ship, the 1st mate crashes the ship or the cabin steward crashes the ship, the captain is responsible and will probably be looking for work elsewhere in the near future.

 

JMHO,

Reltco

[Bette And Bill]

When we were on the Explorer during this past Thanksgiving, the seas were quite ruff as we were trying to dock at Costa Maya. When we approached our assigned docking space the ship kept getting slammed into the dock. We pulled out and attempted the docking in the other direction and it went fine. Two other ships were unable to dock that day. We spoke with the Staff Captain, who told us, he is the one who normally docks the ships under the direction of the Captain; however, on that day the Captain actually docked the ship himself. When he completed the docking he had one meter of water under the bow of the ship. Costa Maya also has a nickname by most of the staff, "Costa Maybe" Having been there and seeing the surf hit the shore I can understand the name.

[Globaliser]

When the Monarch crashed back in 1999, that captain lost his job & bridge staff lost their jobs bc of it.

If you read the formal accident report from that accident, you could understand why that Captain might have lost his job, if he did.

 

I think that RCI and we would both do well to wait until the investigation has tried to discover why this accident occurred, from which we might then have some idea about where the responsibility lies - including whether it lies on any humans at all.

[Rala]

I hope RCI takes into condideration the logistics of the Costa Maya port. We were just there on Splendour. We were docked paralell to the oncoming wind and waves which were very rough and it was a beautiful day and not terribly windy and certainly not stormy. It was the only time I have ever taken a seasick pill while docked in port because the ship was rocking so much. Also, when we were leaving, the captain made at least 2 or 3 attempts to get away from the pier because the wind and waves kept pushing the ship back. There is no protection from the open ocean at this pier. Whoever designed it must have gotten their degree from Sears!!

[Marykatesmom]

Let's turn this around for a moment. What if it was something outside of the Captains control but his excellent ability kept the damage to a minimum and prevented injury? What if it was a mechanial problem and his quick thinking prevented the ship from taking off the whole pier? Is that the man you would want to see fired?

 

Using the airline pilot metaphor, if a pilot lost his landing gear and through his fabulous skill landed the plane with no loss of life how would you feel? Isn't that exactly the pilot you WANT when you are flying?:)

 

Any company that fires a innocent and compentent employee doesn't inspire confidence in me.

[Fisherlady48]

Someone at RCCL said they considered this an act of God as it was a gust of wind that blew him in. Not a steady wind. I don't think he should lose his job.