Author Topic: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy  (Read 349307 times)

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #45 on: January 15, 2012, 07:32:17 PM »
"The theory being examined by prosecutors last night was that Capt Schettino's attempt to honour the Concordia's long-standing tradition of the Giglio salute could be to blame for the tragedy. Reports suggested that one of the ship's senior crew members has a friend in the Italian Merchant Navy who lives on the island, and wanted to get extra close before sounding the traditional greeting.

There were also claims that a similarly close "sail-past" last year had prompted the local mayor to send a congratulatory email to the captain for helping entertain the island's tourists.

Sergio Ortelli, the mayor of Giglio, explained: "Costa ships often pass close to the island – tourists and locals gather on the jetty to see the ships go by. We light up the Saracen tower [a stone tower built to spot pirate raids during medieval times]. It's a great sight."

But Italo Arienti, a 54-year-old sailor who has worked on the ferry service between Giglio and the Italian mainland for more than a decade, said: "This was too close, too close."

An Italian cruise ship captain, who did not want to give his name, said: "During the summer it is easy to see the rocks because they are illuminated by a small tourist resort. But in winter, all the lights are off."

Franco Verusio, the procurator of Grosseto who is leading the investigation into the disaster, said questions remained as to why the ship had been so close to shore. "It was a deliberate but carelessly clumsy manoeuvre," he said.

Some maritime experts also criticised the captain for attempting to turn the ship around and bring it into port once he realised the vessel was taking on too much water and could be in trouble. Within 15 minutes of the collision, the ship had started to list badly and Capt Schettino made the decision to change course and head into Giglio port. But before the ship was able to reach safety, the stricken Costa Concordia ran aground on a rocky shelf.

Modern design means that even if the vessel is holed beneath the waterline, it can still stay afloat. But in grounding the Costa Concordia, further damage to the hull appears to have been caused, resulting in the catastrophic capsizing.

However, Dr Richard Shaw, a specialist in Maritime Law at the University of Southampton, said the captain's actions could have helped save many of the 4,000 people on board. He said: "It looks like the captain has tried to beach the ship in shallower water. If the ship had not been brought into shallower water, there would have been a much greater loss of life."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9016774/Italy-cruise-ship-disaster-did-island-sail-past-put-ship-on-course-for-disaster.html   

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #46 on: January 15, 2012, 07:42:38 PM »

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #47 on: January 16, 2012, 08:14:13 AM »
"The ship was insured for €405m (£335m) with around a dozen companies, led by the XL Group, which operates in the Lloyd's of London market. Britain's RSA Insurance and Italy's Generali are also on the hook. RSA's exposure is thought to be for less than €10m. Aon was the insurance broker.

Carnival's cover includes hull and machine insurance as well as protection and indemnity cover for crew and passenger injuries, shipwrecks, damage to third parties and pollution. However, it has in the past, like many large companies, chosen to self-insure part of its cover – effectively taking on the risk itself. Filings last year suggest it did not have cover for the loss of revenues from an incident like the Concordia disaster."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/disaster-liner-was-insured-for-405m-6290244.html

"Carnival Corp. fell the most in more than 10 years in London trading after saying the grounding of the Costa Concordia off Italy’s Tuscan Coast that killed at least six people will cost the company as much as $95 million."

The insurance loss could be $500 million to $1 billion depending on liability claims, exceeding the loss from the Exxon Valdez disaster including pollution, said Joy Ferneyhough, insurance analyst at Espirito Santo Investment Bank."

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-16/carnival-falls-as-cruise-ship-disaster-may-cost-95-million.html

"U.K.-listed shares of Carnival (CCL: 34.28, -0.86, -2.45%) plunged almost 20% Monday morning as the markets fret about the financial impact of the Costa Concordia cruise-ship disaster off the coast of Italy over the weekend.

Analysts warned the disaster, which has caused at least six deaths, could hurt bookings, lead to a flurry of lawsuits and reduce the company’s ship capacity. Sixteen other people are believed to be missing."

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/01/16/carnival-sees-0m-impact-from-costa-accident/
« Last Edit: January 16, 2012, 10:47:52 AM by Host Mike »

Offline RichC

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #48 on: January 16, 2012, 08:26:36 AM »
"Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Francesco Paolillo says officers urged the captain, Francesco Schettino, to return to his ship and honor his duty to stay aboard until everyone else was safely off the vessel, but said Schettino ignored them."

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/story/2012-01-15/Prosecutor-says-captain-left-ship-early/52579406/1

Oh dear.  I hope this does not reflect badly on other Italian Captains/Officers employed on the ships, of whch Princess has many, as we all know.

But maybe too, pax might take lifeboat drill/emergency drills a little more seriously from now on. Many still try to dodge it, as we know. ???

We've seen that attending a muster drill still has no effect on the outcome under extreme circumstances, especially when the crew isn't fully trained to cope with the disaster. Everyone knew where to do and where to report with their life jackets and with the incompetent crew it still did nothing to help the situation. It was everybody for themselves as usually happens in situation like this. If this had occurred in open waters the death toll would have been in the hundreds for sure. 

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #49 on: January 16, 2012, 10:32:50 AM »
"The captain of the cruise ship that capsized off Tuscany made an unauthorized, unapproved deviation from its programmed course, a "human error" that led to the grounding of the vessel, the chief executive of the ship's Italian owner said Monday. At least six people died in the incident."

"Costa ships have their routes programmed, and alarms go off when they deviate, the chief executive said in a press conference.

"This route was put in correctly. The fact that it left from this course is due solely to a maneuver by the commander that was unapproved, unauthorized and unknown to Costa," he said.

Questions have been swirling about why the ship had navigated so close to the dangerous reefs and rocks that jut off Giglio's eastern coast, amid suspicions the captain may have ventured too close while carrying out a maneuver to entertain tourists on the island.

Residents of Giglio said they had never seen the Costa come so close to the dangerous "Le Scole" reef area."

http://www.newsday.com/news/world/costa-concordia-ceo-captain-francesco-schettino-made-unauthorized-maneuver-1.3454773

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #50 on: January 16, 2012, 10:45:37 AM »
"The search for 16 people still missing after the capsizing of the cruise liner Costa Concordia has resumed following an earlier suspension after the ship moved, according to a fire brigade spokesman.

The vessel hit an underwater reef off the coast of Tuscany on Friday, tearing a 70-metre hole in the hull and causing it to tip onto its side.

The Costa Concordia has been balanced on the rocks since the accident but the weather earlier took a turn for the worse causing it to begin to slip, fire brigade officials said.

However, as the weather improved, officials said their search could resume.

Uncertainty over the stability of the vessel means search operations will now only be conducted in daylight hours, fire service spokesman Luca Cari added."

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16150043

"Lodged on rocks yards from the coast, the vessel stands in 37 metres of water. But only 30 metres away the rock shelf drops abruptly, and the depth is 70 metres; there was a distinct possibility the ship might suddenly be dislodged off the shelf and plunge into the deep."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/16/costa-concordia-divers-search-life?newsfeed=true

« Last Edit: January 16, 2012, 11:03:27 PM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #51 on: January 16, 2012, 10:58:42 AM »
"Foschi suggested other officers and crew members of the ship didn't interfere with the captain's decision because it was not their place.

"The captain has the authority by law to take (a) decision on board," he said. "In this particular case the captain decided to change the route, and he went into water he did not know."


Foschi said the captain was on the bridge of the ship at the time of the accident along with several other crew members. He said the company is unable to give a timeline of what took place after that because Italian prosecutors have seized the ship's data recorders and other resources that would allow it to piece together a sequence of events."

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2012/01/costa-concordia-cruise-ceo-captain/604363/1

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #52 on: January 16, 2012, 11:08:41 AM »
"Mr Thomas said crew members assembled at emergency points as per their training but the ship's extreme tilt made it virtually impossible to follow the normal evacuation procedures.

"Once it became too much of a tilt to evacuate the ship that's when it went into chaos," he said.

"That's when the port side had to go starboard side and that's when it became a fight for your life basically."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-16576456

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #53 on: January 16, 2012, 11:16:03 AM »
"Foschi said 2,300 tonnes of fuel were aboard the vessel but that there was no sign of leakage so far, as concerns grew of an impending environmental disaster if the giant ship breaks apart.

He said removing such a big vessel from its rocky resting place would be "one of the most difficult things in the world."

The priority would be to seal any holes caused by the accident, and then the ship could possibly be lifted by giant balloons and towed away.

But he said he could not rule out that the ship would have to be cut into pieces in order to be removed from the scene.


Foschi said the accident would likely hurt the cruise industry in the short-term but did not expect a lasting fallout.

"We have one million loyal customers are hoping that the reputation of our company will be repaired."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/italy-ship-chairman-idUSL6E8CG2T620120116

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #54 on: January 16, 2012, 11:34:30 AM »
"The 290-metre-long ship is resting on an undersea ledge in 15-20 meters of water but salvage workers fear it could slip down the slope, which falls away sharply into much deeper water.

The ship shifted on its rocky ledge in worsening weather on Monday but after a brief suspension, rescue efforts resumed.

"We are now in the emergency phase of trying to prevent pollution," said Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of the ship's owners Costa Cruises, who said the disaster was due to "human error" by the captain.

The ship is carrying heavy fuel, or bunker fuel. Because of its density, it is harder to pump out unless it is heated or diluted."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/16/us-italy-ship-environment-idUSTRE80F14Y20120116

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #55 on: January 16, 2012, 10:45:55 PM »
"A state of emergency has been declared after an unidentified liquid began leaking from the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia.

Protective barriers have been put in place around the ship where 29 people are still missing, the Italian environment minister Corrado Clini said.

He told a news conference: "Monitoring is continuing to take the decisions aimed at
avoiding environmental risks."

Anti-spill booms were earlier being deployed to minimise the risk if there were a leak."

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16150043

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #56 on: January 16, 2012, 10:57:41 PM »
"The two Americans missing in an Italian cruise ship disaster were identified on Monday as a retired couple from Minnesota who had been eagerly looking forward to their European vacation.

Family members issued a statement on Monday confirming that Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, of White Bear Lake, a suburb of St Paul, are the two Americans missing in the wreck of the Costa Concordia."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/16/minnesota-couple-missing-costa-concordia


« Last Edit: January 16, 2012, 11:09:21 PM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #57 on: January 16, 2012, 11:21:03 PM »

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #58 on: January 16, 2012, 11:43:06 PM »
"The captain of a luxury cruise liner that capsized off Italy's coast may have steered the ship too close to shore so that its head waiter could salute his family in a pre-planned stunt that was posted on Facebook.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports that just minutes before the Costa Concordia struck rocks and began taking on water, the head waiter's sister updated her Facebook status to say: "In a short period of time the Concordia ship will pass very close. A big greeting to my brother who finally gets to have a holiday on landing in Savona."

Captain Francesco Schettino, 52, reportedly invited the head waiter, Antonello Tievoli, on to the bridge as he steered the vessel towards the coast of Giglio on Friday night.

"Come and see, Antonello, we're right in front of Giglio," the captain told Mr Tievoli shortly before the crash, according to the newspaper."

It also quoted witnesses who claimed the waiter had warned Captain Schettino just before the accident, saying: "Careful, we are extremely close to the shore."

Captain Schettino may have performed the sail-past also as a salute to an old colleague, a former admiral from the cruise line, who was not even on Giglio on Friday night.


http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/preplanned-cruise-stunt-flagged-on-facebook-20120117-1q3n7.html

« Last Edit: January 16, 2012, 11:49:19 PM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

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Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #59 on: January 17, 2012, 12:06:37 AM »
"Just what is Schettin’s culpability will be determined by the DVR (also known as the Maritime Black Box), which records and stores vital information of a ship’s journey.

It is required on all ships by the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency.

The DVR records the position of the vessel, date and time, the speed on water and over ground; all radio communications and the course of the vessel from a compass. It also measures the depth under the ship’s keel; whether any part of the hull is open and water is getting in, hull stressors, as well as propeller direction and how fast the propeller is turning.

The DVR records up to 12 hours of a voyage. The data can be downloaded to a personal computer or laptop for examination."

http://www.thestar.com/article/1116319--how-the-fatal-cruise-ship-grounding-will-be-pieced-together

« Last Edit: January 17, 2012, 12:08:15 AM by Host Mike »