Off topic but: Thousands rescued as cruise ship runs aground.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Is this line owned by Carnival?

 

Yes . It sure is. The Costa Concordia was also a sister ship to the Carnival Splendor that lost power off the coast of Mexico.

 

[MMDown Under]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086527/Costa-Concordia-accident-Pictures-cruise-ship-sinking-coast-Italy-Titanic-like-scene.html

 

I was shocked by the size of the rock imbeded in the side of the ship.

[Debsta]

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John Heald

 

I wanted to share this with you all.

Carnival Corporation & plc Statement Regarding Costa Concordia

 

MIAMI (January 14, 2012, 3:45pm EST) - This statement is from Carnival Corporation & plc in Miami, FL. Carnival Corporation & plc is the parent company of Costa Cruises.

On January 13, 2012, Costa Cruises’ vessel, the Costa Concordia, departed from Civitavecchia, Italy with... approximately 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members on a seven-day voyage. At approximately 10:00pm CET, the vessel struck rock off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy and sustained significant damage causing the ship to list severely. The order was given to abandon ship and deploy the lifeboats.

Tragically, there are reports of some deaths and injuries. This is a terrible tragedy and we are deeply saddened. Carnival Corporation & plc offers our sympathies and heartfelt condolences to all of the Costa Concordia guests, crew members and their families. Carnival Corporation & plc and Costa Cruises are committing our full resources to provide assistance and ensure that all guests and crew are looked after.

We want to express our deep gratitude to the Italian Coast Guard and local authorities and community members who have gone to extraordinary lengths to assist in the evacuation of the ship and provide support for our guests and crew.

We are working to fully understand the cause of what occurred. The safety of our guests and crew members remains the number one priority of Carnival Corporation & plc and all of our cruise lines.

Costa Concordia was sailing on a Mediterranean cruise from Civitavecchia (Rome) with scheduled calls at Savona, Italy; Marseille, France; Barcelona, Spain; Palma de Mallorca; Cagliari and Palermo, Italy.

Friends and family members may use the following country-specific contact numbers to reach Costa Cruises:

 

Italy 848505050

U.S. 800-462-6782

Austria 00438109006565

Germany +4940570121314

France +33155475554

Spain +34934875685

Portugal +34914185951

UK 08453510552

 

Carnival Corporation & plc is the parent company of ten cruise lines including Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and P&O Cruises (Australia).

[Cruisegroover]

That is a very good point, Barry. Previously, muster stations used to be on deck. On my most recent cruise, our muster station was in a very crowded casino. I commented, at the time, who would gather here in a real emergency? I know I wouldn't, if the ship was already listing! Human nature is to head to the lifeboats!

 

 

On my cruise in December 2011 the muster station was on deck and again I wondered why if its listing there was no way you could muster and what was plan B.

 

We also didn't have to get our lifejackets before hand. Is that a new thing as it was 5 years between cruises for me or just the policy of RCCL? Again I used to wonder in a panic how you get your lifejacket if say you were on Deck 11 and it was on deck 2 and get back to your muster station. That would mean people in a panic in all directions - like in the movie Titanic.

[Aus Traveller]

On my cruise in December 2011 the muster station was on deck and again I wondered why if its listing there was no way you could muster and what was plan B.

 

We also didn't have to get our lifejackets before hand. Is that a new thing as it was 5 years between cruises for me or just the policy of RCCL? Again I used to wonder in a panic how you get your lifejacket if say you were on Deck 11 and it was on deck 2 and get back to your muster station. That would mean people in a panic in all directions - like in the movie Titanic.

The way muster drills are run vary from cruise line to cruise line. With P&O and Princess, passengers go to their muster station carrying their life jackets. Muster stations are inside lounges.

 

With other cruiselines, passengers are lined up on deck as a muster station, but people complain it is too hot, too cold or too wet (sounds like Goldilocks).

 

In this case, a major problem would have been that they hadn't had a lifeboat drill (like the Titanic); that everyone told there wasn't a problem (like Titanic); and that they couldn't launch all the lifeboats (like Titanic although for a different reason). At least the end result is a lot better, although for those who lost their lives (and their families) the tragedy was as bad as the Titanic. The numbers wouldn't matter to them.

[Sandielle]

On P&O AUS ships muster drill is held about half to an hour before leaving port. It is held inside at the various designated places and you are shown how to use your life jacket and you actually put it on (if you do what you are told). The exceptions to the time it is held appear to be only if the ship is leaving late at night due to being delayed.

[Sandielle]

Another thing, with these modern ships, there is hardly any open deck space to muster anyway, and they are so built up, they appear to be top-heavy and topple over easily.

[Australian family]

This is reported in cruise critic news, Costa don't seem to be doing too much (according to this information) to help the passengers:

 

 

"On Saturday afternoon, Australian Cruise Critic member mickey65, who had been a passenger on the ill-fated cruise, contacted us by e-mail: "We are all okay, shaken and bruised with no money cards or anything else, very frustrated that Costa is doing very little for us." When asked for details, mickey65 responded: "They have currently put us up at the Hilton Garden Inn at the Rome Airport. We have contacted our embassy and they are supposedly coming tonight to help us. Costa has made lots of promises all day, but when someone from Costa Commercial came, he brought nothing and told them that they would not be even giving us a change of clothes. After the way they handled the evacuation, I am totally disgusted." She notes that she is with her 12-year-old."

[MMDown Under]

I suspect the Australian Embassy will be working overtime to produce duplicate passports and help in any way they can the 23 Australians involved.

 

Unfortunately, not all commercial entities do what they announce they will do to assist and support their passengers.

[Sutho]

Another thing, with these modern ships, there is hardly any open deck space to muster anyway, and they are so built up, they appear to be top-heavy and topple over easily.

 

Deck space and top heavy ships has nothing to do with evacuation. Modern cruise ships have indoor muster stations that are barricaded by fire doors and compartments designed to segregate and shield passengers from the elements. That is why the main theatre has exit doors to the promenade deck and straight to the lifeboats. It is designed in such a way to keep people in muster stations in order to have a smoth flow of passengers going to the lifeboats in an orderly fashion. Having too many poeple on deck will cause congestion and prevent lifeboat launching which is why there are indoor muster stations.

 

With current SOLAS laws it is illegal to have lifeboats on the top of the ship. Even the lifeboats on QM2 are too high out of the water. In any event the ships lifeboats are not the main escape boats. The main boats are in the round canisters that inflate. That is why there is many of them to compensate for loss or damage to regular boats. The best way of getting into those boats is by jumping into the water and climbing in them.

[Sandielle]

I wasn't talking about evacuating ships, I was talking about holding muster drills on open decks!!!!!!! Besides there was obviously no crew leading passengers to safety in this instance. It was a shambles, especially at first, if everyone who was interviewed is to be believed and I don't see why they shouldn't be.

[Australian family]

I wasn't talking about evacuating ships, I was talking about holding muster drills on open decks!!!!!!! Besides there was obviously no crew leading passengers to safety in this instance. It was a shambles, especially at first, if everyone who was interviewed is to be believed and I don't see why they shouldn't be.

 

It seems like it was every man for himself, say on ABC news before a russian woman saying that they pushing people back from trying to get onto their full life boat.

 

Also heard one couple from Newcastle are heading back to Australia in a few days time.

[Sandielle]

Another ABC update:

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-15/australians-escape-cruise-ship-disaster/3773322

[Aus Traveller]

It seems like it was every man for himself, say on ABC news before a russian woman saying that they pushing people back from trying to get onto their full life boat.

 

Also heard one couple from Newcastle are heading back to Australia in a few days time.

I saw that interview, and I can imagine that happening.:) She wasn't going to be left out of the lifeboat, but I imagine there were a lot of older people who couldn't get in one.

[Australian family]

I saw that interview, and I can imagine that happening.:) She wasn't going to be left out of the lifeboat, but I imagine there were a lot of older people who couldn't get in one.

 

And I bet she didn't try to help anybody else.

[Australian family]

More people have been found onboard

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16564789

[Kazwal]

I'm shocked to see this happen. It does show we all need to take musters serious and not be complacent, I have to admit on my recent cruise many treated muster like a chore. I'm sure the cruising industry will learn much from this. Thankgoodness they got the boat close to shore as they could. It's easy to take for granted and accidents do happen, my thoughts and prayers to all.

[ravens1]

As an ex-Navy man, I have always thought that the "muster drills" I have attended now on 3 cruiselines have always been a joke. Trouble is - when something like this never happens for a long, long time, it is difficult to get people (passengers and staff) to take muster drills and the like seriously.

 

I find it quite unbelieveable and quite unlikely that undisciplined civilian people would head for a "muster station" somewhere inside the ship when it is obvious that the ship is listing badly, and in danger of capsizing or sinking. I am fairly sure that psychologically everyone would rather be "mustering" somewhere on the outer deck.

 

Perhaps this is something that needed to happen??? - and we will see some change in attitudes and procedures.

 

At least the Captain was able to "beach" his ship -- if they had been a lot further out to sea, this could have been a much bigger disaster than it is (or perhaps the ship would not have struck rocks at all??)

 

Barry

 

 

I agree with all of your points. When I go on any cruise ship I give myself I good walk around..How far down the corridor do you need to go to get to exits..and stairs... How far up stairs or down do I need to go to get to outside doors...There are a lot of different emergencies at sea. Fire is probably the most serious because of smoke and visibility problems. There is not an easy way to say this, but in some situations you just have to depend on yourself and your instincts. As a Coastie, I can imagine how all of the pretty Lifeboat drills would look like with the young multi-national crewmembers in a more challenging enviornment.

[Flipper133]

Can anyone offer any ideas on this

 

I see that the Costa Condordia is lying on her starboard side

Yet I see pics of her port side revealing a huge gash and a protuding "rock"

 

Does this mean that there is greater damage on the starboard side??

 

see attached

[Sutho]

Can anyone offer any ideas on this

 

I see that the Costa Condordia is lying on her starboard side

Yet I see pics of her port side revealing a huge gash and a protuding "rock"

 

Does this mean that there is greater damage on the starboard side??

 

see attached

 

A probable cause is that the crew couterflooded starboard compartments in an effort to raise the damaged side out of the water and as a result capsized the ship and sank it.

 

Counterflooding was done and was a design feature of WWII Battleships like Bismarck and Yamato which both proved extremely difficult to sink and took several hours before they finally went down. The idea of it is to stabilise the ship preventing water from overwhelming the ship and sinking it.

[Sandielle]

Can anyone offer any ideas on this

 

I see that the Costa Condordia is lying on her starboard side

Yet I see pics of her port side revealing a huge gash and a protuding "rock"

 

Does this mean that there is greater damage on the starboard side??

 

see attached

 

I read there is a theory that more water got into the starboard side and that's why she rolled over that way.

[bazzaw]

The question of ship stability is a very complex study - and to completely understand it we would need to complete a University Degree in Naval Architecture. It is not simply a matter of whether a vessel is stable or not - but a question of what kind of stability she has and under what conditions. A catamaran is "stable" - but it is stable in two axis -- the right side up and the wrong side up!!! :D An ocean going yacht is also stable - and most always have positive stability. They can roll through 360degrees - turn them upside down by a big wave and they will still come up floating the right side up!! But they have sparse living quarters and roll badly in a seaway (not what cruiseship passengers want).

 

So - have a look at the profile of the old Queen Mary (circa 1930's) and that of the Costa Concordia - and compare the difference.

 

One thing is for sure in my mind - these "modern" ships, which are more floating blocks of flats, are a compromise between what a seagoing vessel should be and what both passengers and cruise companies want. If you took the current "design" criteria to an extreme - you would have a flat bottomed barge with a highrise building built on top of it. This design "could" be stable -- but only under certain conditions (probably not the conditions you would find in a seaway :) )

 

Ships like Concordia - even though they "look wrong" with their huge superstructures above the waterline - are stable under a wide range of conditions (but there are still limits to this) -- but all of the Naval Architect's design equations fly out the window when the hull is breached and water is sloshing around the bottom. :o hence , I believe, why Concordia rolled over so quickly and easily. If she had been in the middle of the Atlantic, it probably would have been a disaster even larger than Titanic.

 

QM2 is looking good to me as a cruiseship to travel in - in the future! :rolleyes:

 

 

Barry

[MMDown Under]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086831/Costa-Concordia-cruise-ship-pictures-Trapped-crewman-Manrico-Giampedroni-finally-rescued.html

 

This Daily Mail article is interesting coverage, including the article at the bottom.

[Sandielle]

Barry, thanks for your comments - you explained it well. :) Incidentally, I feel the same way about which ships I would prefer. (I certainly wouldn't trust those great big whoppers with a gaping hole right down the middle!! Very technical, I know :D but they do not inspire confidence in me, and just imagine trying to get off the Oasis or Allure with everyone in a panic! :eek:)

[Kinkacruiser]

Tragedies like this really come to live when you see the TV report of the ship floating on its side.

My heartfelt sympathies go out to all those affected.