Concordia 4 crew members and 3 employees under investigation

[eskiemomo]

from an LA Times article about the 8 bodies found there was this:

 

Meanwhile, news reports said that prosecutors in nearby Grossetto said that four crew members and three employees of the Costa Crociere cruise company officially were placed under investigation Wednesday.

 

Does anyone know who those crew members and employees are? I don't think Capt Schettino is one of the above group since his house arrest is mentioned separately. These seem to be 7 people newly placed under official investigation

[Longin2cruise]

I am so glad that the Italians are investigating more crew(hopefully officers) & also the three Costa employees. It's encouraging that the authorities are apparently not willing to just sweep this accident under the rug.

 

It's also encouraging that they are finding more bodies. Hopefully, they will be able to recover all the missing. Although nothing will ever bring closure to family members of the dead, they should at least have some measure of relief if they are able to bury their loved ones.

[SomeBeach]

Among Costa:

Company's executive vice president Manfred Ursprunger, responsible for fleet operation.

Between the ground crew:

Roberto Ferrarini, head of the crisis

Paolo Parodi, fleet superintendent of the ship





They are only under investigation at this time.

[Max49]

Among Costa:

Company's executive vice president Manfred Ursprunger, responsible for fleet operation.

Between the ground crew:

Roberto Ferrarini, head of the crisis

Paolo Parodi, fleet superintendent of the ship



 

They are only under investigation at this time.

 

I would imagine they are not volunteering very much information if they want to continue their career with Costa or even in the industry. Do they have something similar to the 5th amendment in Italy?

Maybe if they are being investigated and potentially charged, they will have more incentive to put responsibility elsewhere from themselves.

[graphicguy]

My guess is they aren't too worried about their employment with Costa. That's the least of their worries. Since Costa's culpability keeps growing as more information is released, I'm betting they throw Costa and the Capt under the bus (which is probably the way it should go, anyway).

[Max49]

My guess is they aren't too worried about their employment with Costa. That's the least of their worries. Since Costa's culpability keeps growing as more information is released, I'm betting they throw Costa and the Capt under the bus (which is probably the way it should go, anyway).

 

I would think they would want to be a little careful. A career is important too. If they throw Costa under the bus, other cruise companies may think they might not like the way they run their ship either which could mean they're under the bus too. I believe I read a few employees have already said they can't wait to get back to work for Costa.

 

I don't see how Costa could have known the extent of the problem or what even happened when the Captain down played the seriousness of the damage to the ship.

I can't find the link now but I think the 2 GPS tracks (if that's what they call them) showing the Concordia's track back in Aug '11 as compared to the track on Jan 13, '12 appear to be on top of each other at or near the point of impact. In Aug. the ship must have missed the rocks by mere feet and apparently no one at Costa noticed or surely they would have at least said some thing to Schettino about not ever taking the ship that close in again.

As far as the other employees in the wheel house at the time of the collision, it will be interesting to hear if they will say they did'nt notice any that appeared to be dangerous or if any will say they were a little nervous but were afraid to question the Schettino since he had been the capt. for 6 years and had traveled this route numerous times.

I did read shortly after the accident that after Schettino called the Head Waiter to witness the pass by or salute that he told the capt, "be careful, you are very close to shore" or something to that effect. He also said he felt so bad and partly responsible.

I also read that at least a couple of employees said Schettino was an egocentric authoritarian and the only good thing I read about Schettino from employees was from the dancer he had dinner with.

This story should only get more interesting in time.

 

I believe Schettino' best defense will be that he thought it would be better to get the ship back to shallow water and just let it sit on the bottom and that he thought it would be unnecessary to cause panic with the passengers by declaring emergency.

Why do they wait to close the water proof compartment doors, Why don't they keep them closed all the time unless someone has to pass through in the engine room. Why don't they have cameras or another high tech way of seeing what's going on in the bowels of the ships immediately so they would know the extent of the damage right away. Seems security cameras are pretty cheap.

[Vampire Parrot]

Max49 has posted some interesting and insightful thoughts and has hit a few nails on the head. I've been reading accident reports for many years, and Max49's posts highlight some of the areas the AIBs will be looking at.

 

I can't find the link now but I think the 2 GPS tracks (if that's what they call them) showing the Concordia's track back in Aug '11 as compared to the track on Jan 13, '12 appear to be on top of each other at or near the point of impact.

The tracks from August '11 that I've seen really don't show in enough detail how close Concordia was to the shore. It is a fact that a properly planned passage can go fairly close to the shore (certainly within 0.2 nm) at 15 or more knots and be perfectly safe. Ships in the Norwegian Fjords do this every day and have done so for many years without incident. I've got GPS logs of large (950 feet) ships I've been on doing 16 knots in Fjords, it was pefectly safe.

 

But doing 15 knots at night in an unplanned manner close to shore in unfamiliar waters at speed is a complete recipe for disaster. I'd get nervous at a much greater distance at night in uncharted waters...

 

Now I don't know if the August '11 daylight passage was properly planned so I will not pass an opinion on whether it was safe or not, but I do know that if properly planned and executed it could easily and safely be done at 15 knots.

 

As far as the other employees in the wheel house at the time of the collision, it will be interesting to hear if they will say they did'nt notice any that appeared to be dangerous or if any will say they were a little nervous but were afraid to question the Schettino since he had been the capt. for 6 years and had traveled this route numerous times.

This is I strongly believe going to be *the key question* the accident investigators are going to have to answer to prevent this happening in the future - and their findings will, I strongly suspect have ramifications through the operational division of Costa.

 

I also read that at least a couple of employees said Schettino was an egocentric authoritarian and the only good thing I read about Schettino from employees was from the dancer he had dinner with.

I am glad to say that the senior officers I have met on the ships I have been on always expect and require their junior officers to follow Bridge Team Command and Control (BTCC) procedures. The bridge crew is a team. If a senior officer overlooks something or is making a mistake, a junior officer is expected and required to bring their concerns to the Senior Officer's attention, and receive positive acknowlegement that the Senior Officer understands.

 

Why don't they have cameras or another high tech way of seeing what's going on in the bowels of the ships immediately so they would know the extent of the damage right away. Seems security cameras are pretty cheap.

Althought a modern Engine room may not be manned 24/7, the ECR (Engine Control Room) always is. The Senior Officer in the ECR of Concordia will have told the bridge that the bowels of the ship had been breached and that more than two compartments were flooding. Engine rooms may have cameras, I haven't been in an ECR or large ship engine room for a few years so I don't know.

 

Communication between the ECR and bridge is key during an emergency. If communciation failed after Concordia hit the rock, then again that is something for the Accident Investigation Board to investigate. A communication failure may not be a technical failure; it may be a human failure, i.e. the failure of the ECR to make sure that the bridge appreciated the seriousness of the situation; it may be that the bridge acknowledges the ECR message but still fails to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Again, something for the Accident Board to investigate.

 

I posted elsewhere that the Italian Accident Investigation Authorities are going to provide a preliminary report in May - I for one can't wait to read it.

 

Exellent food for thought, Max49.

 

VP

[EVALUATOR]

Althought a modern Engine room may not be manned 24/7, the ECR (Engine Control Room) always is. The Senior Officer in the ECR of Concordia will have told the bridge that the bowels of the ship had been breached and that more than two compartments were flooding. Engine rooms may have cameras, I haven't been in an ECR or large ship engine room for a few years so I don't know.

 

Communication between the ECR and bridge is key during an emergency. If communciation failed after Concordia hit the rock, then again that is something for the Accident Investigation Board to investigate. A communication failure may not be a technical failure; it may be a human failure, i.e. the failure of the ECR to make sure that the bridge appreciated the seriousness of the situation; it may be that the bridge acknowledges the ECR message but still fails to appreciate the seriousness of the situation. Again, something for the Accident Board to investigate.

 

I posted elsewhere that the Italian Accident Investigation Authorities are going to provide a preliminary report in May - I for one can't wait to read it.

 

Exellent food for thought, Max49.

 

VP

 

Engine control room on Monarch of the Seas, a ship 16 years older than the Concordia.

 

 

[sparks247]

See detailed tracks of August 14 and Jan 13 at the QPS website:

 

http://www.qps.nl/display/qastor/2012/01/17/20120117_stranding

 

The approach angle was different.

One may wonder if anyone in Costa's shorebased operation department reviews track data from their vessels. Other cruiselines do and a close-call as on Aug 14 would result in disciplinary action.

[Vampire Parrot]

Thank you spark247, very informative. I believe the chart on the qps.nl site showing the August sailpast is It119, "Isolo Del Giglio", a 1:20000 chart. From that chart, if the Aug 14 sailpast was properly planned and executed then it looks safe...there are no sudden coures changes, and at no point during that sailpast is Concordia in waters shallower than 50 metres, 160 feet, and she's never on a track that requires a drastic change of course. The assumption is of course "properly planned and executed".

 

Terrific pictures EVALUATOR! Good to know the Chief can watch his babies :-)

 

VP

[rkacruiser]

I have been on two Behind the Fun Tours, one on Carnival Pride and one on Carnival Miracle, and a Behind the Scenes Tour on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Their Engine Control Rooms did have TV monitors that showed displays on various areas of the Engine Room. The Costa Concordia would have had the same.

 

So, the legitimate questions as to the seriousness of the hull breach has to be in my mind: why did the Bridge officers not understand what had happened? Was there a communication breakdown between the Bridge and the Engine Control Room?

[Max49]

Thanks Vampire Pirate, you answered alot of questions I had. It still seems to me that the compartment doors should be closed except when they need to open them, instead of the opposite. Anyone know why they are open until the capt orders them closed. If each compartment is the full width of the ship, it seems like the ship would squat more in the water, but not tip as quickly as the Concordia did. Are they full width compartments or is there a wall splitting each side of the ship?

 

I have been on two Behind the Fun Tours, one on Carnival Pride and one on Carnival Miracle, and a Behind the Scenes Tour on the Nieuw Amsterdam. Their Engine Control Rooms did have TV monitors that showed displays on various areas of the Engine Room. The Costa Concordia would have had the same.

 

So, the legitimate questions as to the seriousness of the hull breach has to be in my mind: why did the Bridge officers not understand what had happened? Was there a communication breakdown between the Bridge and the Engine Control Room?

 

Very impressive ECR pictures of all those monitors. But in the video we saw of the bridge after the hit, it seemed like they were trying to figure out what was wrong. If they had monitors of different compartments at the bridge, surely someone would see all the gushing water coming in the boat at least til the camera went underwater and then it seems they would know right away which and how many compartments were flooded.