Author Topic: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy  (Read 349262 times)

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #150 on: January 27, 2012, 06:45:22 AM »
"Carnival Corp. (CCL), the world’s largest cruise-line owner, was sued in the U.S. over the Jan. 13 wreck of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy, which killed at least 16 people and left the vessel half submerged on its side.

The complaint, alleging negligence and breach of contract, was filed yesterday in federal court in Chicago by crew member Gary Lobaton, who seeks class-action status to represent all victims of the disaster off Giglio Island. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been accused of causing the accident and abandoning ship.

“The defendants failed to properly and timely notify all plaintiffs on board of the deadly and dangerous condition of the cruise ship as to avoid injury and death,” Lobaton, who was living in Lima, Peru, said in the complaint. They “were abandoned by the captain.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-27/carnival-sued-in-u-s-by-crew-member-for-negligence-over-costa-concordia.html

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #151 on: January 27, 2012, 11:14:10 AM »
"The chief executive of Costa, Pier Luigi Foschi, told Italian lawmakers this week that “tourist navigation” wasn’t illegal, and was a “cruise product” increasingly sought out by passengers and offered by cruise lines to try to stay competitive."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/costa-offers-14460-per-passenger-in-deal-with-consumer-groups-for-ruined-cruise-trauma/2012/01/27/gIQAzQXrUQ_story_1.html

Offline Shygnome

  • First Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 5
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #152 on: January 27, 2012, 02:19:42 PM »
Curious what folks think will happen with this ship. When I first saw photos, my first thought was "hope everyone gets out". My second thought was "what are they going to do with that monster ship'?

So the options are:

1. Refloat
2. Chop
3. Sink

This ship appears to be sitting on rocks on a shoreline, with a deep sea floor on the other side
Past
Carnival Ecstacy - Miami, 1998
RCCL Sovereign of the Seas - Miami, 1999
Grand Princess - Galveston, 2006
Grand Princess - Galveston, 2007
Sapphire Princess - Los Angeles - March 14, 2009
Emerald Princess - Ft. Lauderdale - March 14, 2010

Future
Crown Princess - Ft. Lauderdale - March 12, 2011
Sapphire Princess - Los Angeles - November 19, 2011

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #153 on: January 27, 2012, 03:48:55 PM »
"Bern’s civil complaint against Costa Cruises and its operator, Miami-based Carnival Corporation, faces a major legal problem because of where the lawsuit is being filed, according to legal experts. Included in the fine print on the back of each passenger ticket voucher is a clause stating all lawsuits against the cruise liner must be filed in the country where the company is based. The headquarters for Costa Cruises is Genoa, Italy.

"The lawsuit really faces an uphill battle here in Miami, given the fact that the contract is enforceable," Jerry Hamilton, a Miami-based maritime attorney told FoxNews.com. Hamilton said the 120 American passengers on board the Costa Concordia "gave up their right" to where they can file a lawsuit when they boarded the cruise liner Jan. 13 in Civitavecchia, Italy.

"The accident occurred in Italy, the investigation is in Italy, the evidence and witnesses are in Italy and the majority of the passengers are Italian," said Hamilton. "The court will say that this lawsuit belongs in Italy."

But Bern claims the extraordinary nature of the accident off the Tuscan coast – which killed at least 16 people – should make the criteria on the ticket "null and void."

"You don’t expect that when you get on this Costa Concordia ship in Rome that you are about to become the next Titanic," Bern said. "Nobody signed a contract," he continued. "They got their ticket" and in doing so, "agreed to those terms and conditions of which they had no knowledge."


"Nobody says ‘OK, now before you accept this, read the back of the ticket to make sure you understand how your rights are being limited,'" he said. "I can’t image any are aware of the limitation imposed upon [them] on a ticket," he said. While Hamilton said there is nothing preventing U.S. passengers from filing suit in Italy, he noted that under Italian law there is a cap on the damages.

Other attorneys claim filing a lawsuit in Italy is complicated, and costly for the plaintiffs involved."

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/01/27/costa-concordia-civil-lawsuit-to-be-filed-in-miami-may-face-legal-hurdle/

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #154 on: January 27, 2012, 03:54:25 PM »
"But many passengers are refusing to accept the deal, saying they can’t yet put a figure on the costs of the trauma they endured. And lawyers are backing them up, telling passengers it’s far too soon to know how people’s lives and livelihoods might be affected by the experience."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/industries/uninjured-cruise-ship-survivors-offered-14460-in-compensation-and-many-say-its-not-enough/2012/01/27/gIQAvH7wVQ_story.html

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #155 on: January 27, 2012, 04:02:21 PM »
“If you consider that there were 4,200 people on board, you could say things went well, but if the captain hadn’t wasted a precious hour, it would have been comfortable,” Marco Brusco, head of the port captain’s service, a maritime authority, told a Senate committee hearing.

“The lifeboats could have been launched calmly, people could have been reassured. Instead of that, the first hour was lost, people were working under stress, he (Schettino) left and there were contradictory orders,” he said."


http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/26/costa-concordia-captain-wasted-a-precious-hour-before-evacuating-ship/

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #157 on: January 28, 2012, 05:53:06 AM »
"MIAMI — While the parent company of the owner of the stricken Costa Concordia is based in Miami, passengers who want to file a lawsuit in U.S. courts over the cruise ship disaster probably will face choppy seas.

Maritime law experts say that similar attempts to sue in the U.S. despite these clauses have been turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court and that the expense of filing a lawsuit in a foreign court has deterred many plaintiffs in the past.

“It’s well-settled law,” said Jerry Hamilton, a maritime attorney who regularly defends cruise lines against lawsuits. “The Supreme Court has said those clauses are valid clauses. They will be upheld.”

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120128/NEWS08/301280040/Cruise-disaster-lawsuits-must-Italy?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #158 on: January 28, 2012, 05:01:30 PM »
"An American Express mailer was recently sent out advertising a seven-night cruise touring Italy, France, and Spain for the tantalising price of $749.

The only problem was the ship to which American Express referred was the stricken Costa Concordia, which is currently half-submerged off the coast of Italy.

The mailer encouraged cardholders to ‘immerse yourself in a truly European experience.’

American Express spokeswoman Christine Elliot said: ‘The mailing was already underway when the accident occurred.


We apologise for any inconvenience to those who received it,’ she told the News.

According to Ms Elliot, production time for mailers is anywhere from six to eight weeks, meaning they were completed long before the accident."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2093127/Costa-Concordia-Embarrassment-American-Express-promotes-trip-doomed-liner.html?ito=feeds-newsxml



Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #159 on: January 28, 2012, 05:06:50 PM »
"Carnival’s Genoa-based Costa Crociere unit said that while a “touristic navigation” five miles from the coast of Giglio was planned for the Concordia on its cruise, it was up to the captain to ensure the safety of the route."

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-28/carnival-sued-in-miami-over-fatal-costa-concordia-shipwreck.html

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #160 on: January 28, 2012, 05:10:21 PM »
"ROME — Rough seas and strong winds forced salvage crews to suspend preparations to drain the fuel from a half-sunken luxury liner off the Tuscan coast on Saturday, and officials said the conditions might keep them from resuming work until midweek."


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/world/europe/stormy-seas-delay-fuel-recovery-from-costa-concordia-ship.html?_r=1
« Last Edit: January 28, 2012, 05:13:59 PM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #161 on: January 28, 2012, 05:17:51 PM »
"A Catholic priest who told his parishioners he was taking time off to spend a week at a spiritual retreat is going to have to explain to them how he came to be rescued from the wreck of Costa Concordia.

For Father Massimo Donghi had booked a cruise instead of locking himself away in prayer and meditation, and was caught out when his niece said on Facebook that he was among family members safe and well after the ship hit rocks two weeks ago.

"What do you want me to say?" the 41-year-old priest told an Italian news magazine. "I have nothing to add. I'm OK although I'm still a bit in shock. I will talk to my parishioners in church. The judgment of others is not important to me."

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/captain-greybeard/2012/01/day-of-reckoning-for-priest-wh-1.html

Offline NSWP

  • Captain
  • ****
  • Posts: 635
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #162 on: January 28, 2012, 07:15:12 PM »
Maybe the Priest got one of those 'free cruises' given to clergy, to say Mass on the ship.  One will never know.
CHEERS..Les from Batemans Bay, NSW, Australia

Princess Elite Cruiser, (480 days,) also cruised with Celebrity, P&O Australia and P&O UK, HAL, Carnival, Cunard and Sitmar. Plus Sydney Harbour Ferries !!

Offline baglad

  • First Officer
  • *
  • Posts: 44
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #163 on: January 29, 2012, 01:07:21 AM »
Maybe the Priest got one of those 'free cruises' given to clergy, to say Mass on the ship.  One will never know.
Good luck to them. Don't we all go on cruises as a retreat of some sort?
The recently retired Dean of Brisbane blessed our marriage on our 25th wedding Anniversary on the Pacific Princess a few years ago. My wife overheard him offering to hold a service on the Sunday whilst she was waiting at the reception desk and asked him if he would bless our marriage. He did not hesitate and performed a lovely service in his full regalia, that he just happened to have with him. This took place at the bottom of the grand staircase with our new Aussie friends, who we met on board, as witnesses. He did not ask for any reward but we gave him a bottle of a fine N.Z. Pinot Noir that we took on  board, at his dinner table. I would say that he paid for his own passage, or his parishioners gave it to him as a retirement gift, but regardless he was still doing the Lord's work. God bless him. We are coming up to our 33rd anniversary in March and are still best cruise mates.     

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #164 on: January 29, 2012, 04:11:10 PM »
"Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved an inch and a half over six hours, coupled with waves of more than three feet.

University of Florence professor Riccardo Fanti said the ship's movements could either be caused by the ship settling on its own weight, slipping deeper into the seabed, or both. He also could not rule out the ship's sliding along the seabed.

Experts have said it would take 28 days to remove fuel from 15 tanks accounting for more than 80 per cent of all fuel on board the ship. The next job would be to target the engine room, which contains nearly 350 cubic meters of diesel, fuel and other lubricants, Gabrielli said.

Only once the fuel is removed can work begin on removing the ship, either floating it in one piece or cutting it up and towing it away as a wreck. Costa has begun the process for taking bids for the recovery operation, a process that will take two months.

Mr Gabrielli said the actual removal will take from seven to 10 months – meaning that the wreck will be visible from the coast of the Italian island of Giglio for the entire summer tourism season.

Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can coexist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio's only harbour for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9047774/Costa-Concordia-will-take-10-months-to-be-removed.html

Slip sliding away, slip sliding away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away   Simon and Garfunkel