Costa Concordia SINKING

[Cuizer2]

A short video showing underwater footage of Costa Concordia including a peak into a balcony stateroom and her propellers

 

 

http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/nyheter/utrikes/article14250705.ab

 

Based on that video, the Costa Concordia does NOT have azipods.

[Cuizer2]

Before the rumours start, let's just point out that the article says she left the house and drove off with a friend.

 

As written, she might be going shopping or visiting.

 

Let's wait and see if there is any additional information.

 

Hard to say whether she "drove off with a friend" to do some shopping vs. leave her husband, but speaking for myself...I could never stay married to a man who had displayed such a fundamental level of disloyalty. (And I am not talking here about the accusations that he was involved with another woman.)

 

Okay, fair enough.

[dmwnc1959]

Some underwater pictures towards the bottom of this article including the bow and anchor

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/01/inside-the-wreck-of-the-costa-concordia/100229/

[SomeBeach]

Before the rumours start, let's just point out that the article says she left the house and drove off with a friend.

 

As written, she might be going shopping or visiting.

 

Let's wait and see if there is any additional information.

 

I was just about to say the same thing. Any number of reasons she could have left, doesn't mean she's not coming back.

It's been stated they have a child. It's possible the child is not in the home and she's gone to visit her. We could speculate on any number of reasons, doesn't make it so.

I am pleased to hear another missing person has been found. Another family can take a loved one home.

[Uniall]

Because of the woeful management of the evacuation of the vessel' date=' I wonder if Carnival will make changes in how they handle evacuations on main land.[/quote']

 

There's no doubt about it.

 

I think they will unleash a major public relations and advertising campaign to counter the adverse publicity. In my opinion, the question is will they make real changes or just use smoke and mirrors?

 

John

[jopocop]

I figured this was going to happen with people paying money for a carnival side show excursion not to mention boat owners becoming capitalists in activating their normally parked boats on cold January days.

 

After all, people flock to Pompei to see the remains of a once proud city, and so why not travel the few miles and see a once in a life time sight, a historic sinking that is maybe on par with the Titanic.

 

What separates this from the Titanic is that we have the modern day communications and media technology to allow everything to be seen, people with cameras, cell phones, electonics, TVs, computer websites like this, all providing visual and audio entertainment to the world over this disaster.

 

Sure, the Titanic was huge, but, the world could not see or appreciate it all. Many people in the world never learned about the Titanic or probably even cared for that matter.

 

Nowadays, just think about it, people are connected to the world news events 24/7 by their phones and computers and TVs, so that they can learn and watch these disasters almost immediately.

 

This is ultimately human nature, the looki-loos coming over to check out the scene and then take their own pictures and recount their own stories about this disaster.

[Uniall]

Before the rumours start, let's just point out that the article says she left the house and drove off with a friend.

 

As written, she might be going shopping or visiting.

 

Let's wait and see if there is any additional information.

 

I was just about to say the same thing. Any number of reasons she could have left, doesn't mean she's not coming back.

It's been stated they have a child. It's possible the child is not in the home and she's gone to visit her. We could speculate on any number of reasons, doesn't make it so.

 

I am pleased to hear another missing person has been found. Another family can take a loved one home.

 

 

Here's a perfect example of how posters from different backgrounds and experiences can reach differing opinions based upon limited information.

 

You guys are inclined to give others the benefit of the doubt until there's enough information to prove otherwise.

 

My background and experience leads me to "suspect" the worst until I garner enough information prove otherwise.

 

 

John :D

[Cuizer2]

Here's a perfect example of how posters from different backgrounds and experiences can reach differing opinions based upon limited information.

 

You guys are inclined to give others the benefit of the doubt until there's enough information to prove otherwise.

 

My background and experience leads me to "suspect" the worst until I garner enough information prove otherwise.

 

 

John :D

 

I have to say that they're right. I read too much into it.

[Milaandra]

Would you please post the source of the parents purchase of the ticket?

 

Bwah-ha-ha! :):):):):):)

 

(sorry, but I had a hard time finding it again and I'm so pleased that I did!)

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089052/Domnica-Cemortan-Was-Costa-Concordia-captain-Francesco-Schettino-trying-impress-ballerina.html

 

Her mother Vera, who lives with her in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, said the seven-day cruise was a birthday present.

 

I'm going to add another couple of links in case I need them again. (Discovered them again through the search)

 

[url=http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://www.adevarul.ro/international/Costa-Concordia-mystery-Schettino-captains_0_631137232.html&ei=lkYcT4PCLYjY8QOhuqynCw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ7gEwAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAdevarul%2BChisinau%2Bdomnica%2Bcemortan%2Bvideo%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1ACAW_ENUK463%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns][/url]http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://www.adevarul.ro/international/Costa-Concordia-mystery-Schettino-captains_0_631137232.html&ei=lkYcT4PCLYjY8QOhuqynCw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ7gEwAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAdevarul%2BChisinau%2Bdomnica%2Bcemortan%2Bvideo%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1ACAW_ENUK463%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns

 

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://www.adevarul.ro/moldova/actualitate/Marturiile_Domnicai_Cemortan-_-Schettino_este_unul_dintre_cei_mai_buni_capitani_0_630537324.html&ei=C2QZT7WfDMPqOZCRuJwL&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dadevarul%2Binterview%2Bdomnica%2Bcemortan%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1ACAW_ENUK463%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns

[Uniall]

...............I am pleased to hear another missing person has been found. Another family can take a loved one home.

 

Micki

 

Your post reporting the locating of another deceased missing person is good news.

 

It raises a serious, yet extremly sensitive, question. The cost of transporting an embalmed body is very expensive while the cost to return cremated remains is much less.

 

I checked my Medical Evacuation Insurance and discovered the surviving spouse is covered but not the deceased.

 

I wonder how most people would deal with the problem?

 

John

[Princess Patches]

Thanks. This confirms may original translation of the Repubblica articles. Do you have the original source/link for the Prosecutor's allegation of VDR tampering or is this only stated in the Court Magistrate's decision?

 

Here is a very good English translation of the full transcript of the Court Magistrate's decision:

 

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/284454/20120119/francesco-schettino-costa-concordia-transcript-captain-court.htm

 

I read it, but it is long. Towards the end, beginning with the paragraph "Coming to the danger of tampering with evidence" the magistrate talks about the prosecutor's accusation that Schettino tried to tamper with the voice data recorder, but she apparently does not believe the accusation and feels the prosecutor misunderstood something. She also talks in the same paragraph about how Coast Guard Commander De Falco (who ordered the captain back on board) ultimately decided to send another officer back on board, Deck Officer Martino Pellegrini, because De Falco had concluded Schettino "did not appear to be lucid".

 

Other interesting points in the Court Magistrate's Decision:

 

1. Magistrate concludes that Schettino and First Deck Officer Ciro Ambrosio, who were both charged, acted imprudently, negligently, and incompetently in causing the sinking and in the deaths of the three passengers known dead at the time of the hearing.

 

2. Concordia was sailing very fast for so close to shore, 15 knots, at time of accident. They were sailing by sight only at time of accident.

 

3. Captain was informed very swiftly by his engineers that five compartments of the ship's engine room had been breached and were flooded. Magistrate states "captain could not help being aware immediately of the seriousness of the damage produced both due to the ever increasingling more evident tilt of the ship and because advised by the crew of the huge amount of water shipped".

 

4. She finds that due to incompetence and negligence the captain "failed to notify the coastal authorities of the accident in timely fashion, reporting only that an electrical problem was involved without mentioning the impact that had caused the leak.

 

5. Captain lost control of the ship which had its engines off and was shifting position only by means of rudders and inertia. The captain alleged that he sent an SOS out 30-40 minutes after impact, but she finds no external alarm signal was given to the coastal authorities to make the gravity of the situation known at that time. Captain alleges he ordered anchors dropped which caused the worsening tilt to starboard side.

 

6. Magistrate finds that first abandon ship call came at 10:58 p.m., about 1 hour 20 minutes after impact. At this time, it is confirmed that Schettino first informed Coast Guard of the gravity of situation, but captain then abandoned ship himself shortly after the 10:58 p.m. abandon ship call and was not seen by anyone during the evacuation procedure that ensued thereafter. Captain was "accompanied in the debarkation by members of the crew".

 

7. Captain not found to be a flight risk because he did not try to flee Giglio island and he did not resist when Harbor Patrol boat came to pick him up and take him into custody. Also, not a flight risk due to stable family life and because he expressed some remorse over the accident.

[UMDCruiseProf]

It sounds like a much better scenario entirely!

 

So how long from the collision until the tugboats showed up?

 

Boats came over immediately... but it was a good 15-20 minutes for the tugs.

[Aplmac]

Sure, the Titanic was huge, but, the world could not see or appreciate it all.

The Titanic event was huge, and it still looms large in our minds

but in fact Titanic was physically far from titanic at a mere 46,328 tons.

She was just under 883 ft. long. Not big by today's standards at all!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic

 

If rebuilt today at 1:1 scale, it would shatter much mythology of how utterly 'gi-normous' she was

when in fact she'd look like very little alongside modern cruise ships of around 100,000 - 120,000 tons

and next to behemoths like Oasis and Allure...well they might just run her over in the night

were it not for modern navigation equipment on board.

.

[bobsig]

Yep...

 

In the early days of the Civil War, folks rode out from the DC area to picnic and witness the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). It was all fun and games until the cannon fire and bullets.

 

So Giglio will be a future Costa excursion? Could be a real money maker for Carnival....

[HelloHelloHola]

There's no doubt about it.

 

I think they will unleash a major public relations and advertising campaign to counter the adverse publicity. In my opinion, the question is will they make real changes or just use smoke and mirrors?

 

John

 

Canival Corp. has already announced that there will be a review and audit on safety and emergency response procedures across all it's cruise brands. Is this a 1st step in the right direction or smoke and mirrors?

[Charles4515]

I disagree with you on this. It is one incident. One incident does not make a trend.

 

 

 

Let me get this straight. I can't use 10 years but you can pick out one day? You can compare the last five year to the five years before that and see what trends there might be. But you cannot FAIRLY analyze a forty year old company (Carnival began business in 1972) based on what happened on one day.

 

This is the one thing you said that I agree with.

 

That is my point. If you can pick out ten years I can pick out one year or one day. If you go back thru Carnival's history there have been a bunch of mishaps. Starting with the maiden voyage of it's first ship which was run aground. Then there have been several fires including the one on Carnival Splendour.

[Uniall]

Bwah-ha-ha! :):):):):):)

 

(sorry, but I had a hard time finding it again and I'm so pleased that I did!)

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2089052/Domnica-Cemortan-Was-Costa-Concordia-captain-Francesco-Schettino-trying-impress-ballerina.html

 

Her mother Vera, who lives with her in the Moldovan capital Chisinau, said the seven-day cruise was a birthday present.

 

I'm going to add another couple of links in case I need them again. (Discovered them again through the search)

 

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://www.adevarul.ro/international/Costa-Concordia-mystery-Schettino-captains_0_631137232.html&ei=lkYcT4PCLYjY8QOhuqynCw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDoQ7gEwAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAdevarul%2BChisinau%2Bdomnica%2Bcemortan%2Bvideo%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1ACAW_ENUK463%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns

 

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=ro&u=http://www.adevarul.ro/moldova/actualitate/Marturiile_Domnicai_Cemortan-_-Schettino_este_unul_dintre_cei_mai_buni_capitani_0_630537324.html&ei=C2QZT7WfDMPqOZCRuJwL&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ7gEwAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dadevarul%2Binterview%2Bdomnica%2Bcemortan%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1G1ACAW_ENUK463%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D613%26prmd%3Dimvns

 

I read and reread the article and it indicates that Domnica was not on the ships manifest and she had been a former employee but not on this cruise. Later in the week, Costa Cruises changed it's report and said she had purchased a ticket to stay on board and her mother now says they bought the ticket.

 

 

An investigator or prosecutor would suspect an after the fact cover up. The failure of a cruise line to have every person aboard listed on the manifest is a BIG no no. Costa may be doing a CYA.

 

We are now hearing of other on board people who are not listed on the manifest. I'm beginning to suspect that Costa Cruises had a hidden plan that allowed employees to comp sailing with out being listed on the manifest (probably to save port charges, taxes, tips?)

 

I also suspect, that Costa allowed officers to bring "Friends" (Various catagories) and Family aboard without charge.

 

John

[Charles4515]

Canival Corp. has already announced that there will be a review and audit on safety and emergency response procedures across all it's cruise brands. Is this a 1st step in the right direction or smoke and mirrors?

 

I believe that there will be changes. Carnival can't afford not to make changes. I don't think it will be smoke and mirrors because this was a major disaster for not only the passengers and crew but for Carnival's business. They can't afford to lose 500 million dollar ships even as big as a the corporation is.

[SomeBeach]

Micki

 

Your post reporting the locating of another deceased missing person is good news.

 

It raises a serious, yet extremly sensitive, question. The cost of transporting an embalmed body is very expensive while the cost to return cremated remains is much less.

 

I checked my Medical Evacuation Insurance and discovered the surviving spouse is covered but not the deceased.

 

I wonder how most people would deal with the problem?

 

John

 

I would like to think that families won't have to worry about the cost because Costa will pick up the tab. Whether that is an accurate "assumption" remains to be seen.

As to seeing the worst until proven otherwise, I understand your point. I try to always look for the best in people and have many times been disappointed beause of that. Still, I hold out hope.

FNC is saying that Costa does not believe the number of unregistered guests is very big, maybe just 1 or 2 people.

An FYI: If you missed Geraldo last night the show will be repeated tonight. 10 p.m. Eastern Time

I am not what one would call a Geraldo fan but at least this show was a balanced account of the events of the last week.

[bobsig]

I believe that there will be changes. Carnival can't afford not to make changes. I don't think it will be smoke and mirrors because this was a major disaster for not only the passengers and crew but for Carnival's business. They can't afford to lose 500 million dollar ships even as big as a the corporation is.

 

Actually they can afford to lose the ship - it was insured (see link below). However, the bigger loss will be in the public's perception of Costa and Carnival Corp. which could result in fewer bookings...but most likely only over the short term. If I were Carnival, I would "rebrand" Costa in a few months.

 

http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/815097/000095014212000110/eh1200156_ex9901.htm

[kirsty_r]

I read and reread the article and it indicates that Domnica was not on the ships manifest and she had been a former employee but not on this cruise. Later in the week, Costa Cruises changed it's report and said she had purchased a ticket to stay on board and her mother now says they bought the ticket.

 

 

An investigator or prosecutor would suspect an after the fact cover up. The failure of a cruise line to have every person aboard listed on the manifest is a BIG no no. Costa may be doing a CYA.

 

We are now hearing of other on board people who are not listed on the manifest. I'm beginning to suspect that Costa Cruises had a hidden plan that allowed employees to comp sailing with out being listed on the manifest (probably to save port charges, taxes, tips?)

 

I also suspect, that Costa allowed officers to bring "Friends" (Various catagories) and Family aboard without charge.

 

John

Agree with this - news was saying they think there are more people to find than those reported... Incredible really! Hope they change their stance on not listing everyone on board. Only other thing could be they are illegals which sneaked onboard somehow, but i think that is less plausible.

[Princess Patches]

Here are some very compelling survivor stories printed in the The Telegraph yesterday:

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9029866/Costa-Concordia-the-inside-story-of-the-night-of-Friday-January-13.html

 

Survivor #10 is Andrea Carollo, third officer of the Concordia, who claims the captain was told within 15 minutes of impact that the engine rooms were flooded and the situation was beyond repair. He also claims he stayed on ship to the end, but the captain did not.

[PizzaJohn 7]

Before the rumours start, let's just point out that the article says she left the house and drove off with a friend.

 

As written, she might be going shopping or visiting.

 

Let's wait and see if there is any additional information.

 

I agree 100%. There are far too many people on here filling in gaps where there is a shortage of information.

 

Why can't people just wait for the full story to evolve?

[mcrcruiser]

Canival Corp. has already announced that there will be a review and audit on safety and emergency response procedures across all it's cruise brands. Is this a 1st step in the right direction or smoke and mirrors?

 

We hope it isn't smoke & mirrors .It seems to me that the entire cruise industry requires updated safety procedures;)

[PizzaJohn 7]

I believe that there will be changes. Carnival can't afford not to make changes. I don't think it will be smoke and mirrors because this was a major disaster for not only the passengers and crew but for Carnival's business. They can't afford to lose 500 million dollar ships even as big as a the corporation is.

 

I commented a few days ago that I would not be surprised if Carnival re-brand Costa however, I'm now becoming more convinced that the Carnival name will also disappear both from Carnival Cruise Line and Carnival Corporation.

 

It's not enough that we, on this forum, know the difference between these brands and, know that the possibility of this happening again is virtually impossible. But the public at large will associate both names with this tragedy and they must do everything/anything to protect their business