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The Travel Detective: Beyond the Headlines of the Costa Concordia Disaster

Cruises, Europe, Featured Posts, Italy & Greece, Safety & Security, Travel Detective Blog, Travel News, Travel Planning — on January 17, 2012 8:40 am
The Travel Detective: Beyond the Headlines of the Costa Concordia Disaster

The tragedy of the Costa Concordia is dominating the headlines. We know the facts, but what does this incident mean?  The Travel Detective breaks down what’s to come for the cruise industry and its passengers. 

On Friday evening January 13, the 4,200-passenger Costa Concordia ran aground and capsized off the coast of Giglio. As of press time, there are now six known fatalities and an additional 29 missing passengers, including two Americans.

Normally after an accident of this magnitude, owners and operators of cruise ships will issue an announcement stating that they are actively participating in the investigation with authorities. Then remain silent, for months, and sometimes years. But, in a significant and unexpectedly fast development, in a  press conference on Monday, Pier Luigi Foschi, chairman and CEO of Costa Cruises, acknowledged that human error from the captain was responsible for the ship running aground and capsizing after the captain made an “unapproved, unauthorized maneuver.”

Although not yet confirmed, reports are surfacing that Captain Francesco Schettino, of Naples, Italy, is thought to have caused the crash by taking the ship too close to Giglio, an island off the coast of Tuscany and the Argentario peninsula, about 40 miles from Civitavecchia.

Historically, there have been exceedingly few accidents of this nature in modern cruise ship operations. In 1984, the Sundancer was on an Alaska cruise when it hit a submerged object and started to sink. The cause: error by the harbor pilot, who was then in command of the ship. The captain, faced with a badly damaged ship, steered it towards a lumber yard dock and essentially grounded the ship. The ship, although declared a total loss, was later refloated and sailed briefly as the Pegasus. Then, in 2007, the MS Explorer hit a submerged object in the Antarctic, and sank. All passengers and crew were rescued.

Now it’s the Costa Concordia. Authorities have recovered the ship’s black box, which will likely tell them, in very short order, what happened, and when it happened. Today’s cruise ships are equipped with state-of-the-art GPS and inertial navigation systems that constantly cross check and course correct — this is essential, because on any trip, even a one-degree course deviation could result in missing your destination by hundreds of miles.

Costa Concordia, prior to capsizing

However, on this cruise, someone made an unexpected course correction, and the ship, traveling about at 16 knots (equivalent to 18 mph), hit the submerged object, which then put a 165-foot gash in its hull. Most modern ships are built with numerous watertight compartments. And based on the individual design of each ship, most ships can sustain losing three or four of those compartments and still stay afloat. But at the speed Costa Condordia was traveling, many more compartments were breached, and its fate sealed. The only choice the captain had was to steer the ship (with the little propulsion he had left) towards shore and shallow water. And he grounded the ship.

Many passengers complained that there had not yet been a lifeboat — or muster– drill. Was this, too, an act of negligence on the part of the ship’s officers? Not necessarily. Under an international covenant called Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), cruise lines are required to hold those muster drills within 24 hours of leaving the first port of embarkation. This incident occurred 40 miles — and less than 3 hours — after leaving the harbor. (But after this accident, the SOLAS rules may be amended to require the muster drill BEFORE leaving port with no exceptions).

Were there enough lifeboats? The answer is a qualified yes, since modern cruise ships use a combination of lifeboats and special canister rafts, that are propelled off a ship and then open up into large rescue rafts. And the shallow water certainly helped to minimize fatalities.

As the investigation continues with the high likelihood of criminal charges being brought against the Captain–not to mention the chance of civil liability charges to come against the cruise line–many travelers might be worried about the overall safety of cruise ships.

A quick look at the numbers should allay most concerns. Three incidents in about 30 years is a remarkably good safety record, considering the number of ships at sea and the total number of passengers on these ships at any one time.

Can more be done to make cruising safer? Indeed. Better crew training, better language training for crew members to be able to communicate effectively with passengers. Muster drills while the ship is still tied to the dock. And in the case of the worst kind of disaster on a ship — fire at sea — better fire fighting training for crew as well.

But for the moment, regardless of any short term negative reactions of passengers – and potential passengers — cruising remains one of the safer forms of transportation.

Do you feel safe cruising? Will the Costa Concordia tragedy change the way you travel?

For more information on cruise safety, check out:

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com

  • Markfabs

    Great article Peter

  • http://myitchytravelfeet.com Donna Hull

    Good reporting, Peter. Yes, I feel safe cruising, in fact I leave on a Seabourn Quest cruise in less than three weeks, Sydney to LA. If a plane cashes, do you stop flying? If you witness a car wreck, do you stop driving your car? One accident does not reflect an entire industry. On a positive note, perhaps this will point out deficiencies that cruise authorities should address with the resulting safety changes.

  • DB

    There’s no way to fully protect against human error, and that’s definitely a decent safety record. The bigger concern for me on cruise ships is the quality of doctors on board… many are not qualified to even diagnose a heart attack. Wouldn’t want to be stuck out at sea with such a doctor if I were to have health issues on a cruise. It’s an understandable risk if you’re adventuring in the remote jungle or something, but not on a floating city.

  • Roy Lowey

    Good report Peter….As you rightly point out the Cruise Lines safetly record is excellent. However, I think we will see some new crew training requirements come out of this unfortunate incident.

  • Pietsch3

    You missed the HAL’s Prinsendam in 1980, Peter. Gulf of Alaska. Fire, capsized, sank. Most similar to the CC. P.

  • Seabeepat

    several years back  we were on costa romantica      it was our first and last cruise     it was a nightmare    the pool was green     not impressed      some  elderly man fell    and they sent a pool attendant  to assist him      concussion    he needed medical help      never ever again on costa

  • Cruise Ship Musician

    Thanks for a great article Peter.  I worked as a cruise ship musician aboard the SS Norway in 1986.  We cruised out of Port of Miami and hit several spots in the Eastern Caribbean each week.  I worked on this contract for six months from April through August.  We were tested on emergency procedures by the US Coast Guard each Wednesday at St. Thomas.  On alternating weeks the US Coast Guard required that all life boats on either port or starboard side be fully lowered into the ocean with crew members aboard (Yes, even the musicians!).  I cannot imagine an incident like this, ever happening on a ship that sails into a US port (particularly the crew member chaos part).  The US Coast Guard is just that strict.  Every member of the ship had specific duties in the event of emergencies and Coast Guard inspectors would spot check us weekly on St. Thomas.

    The only thing that I wonder about this incident is if there was a harbor pilot involved and/or the captain had relinquished his command to the first officer.  Typically when a large ship gets in close proximity to land, a local harbor pilot takes over to guide the ship into the open ocean away from land.  The captain is always in command of the ship, but the harbor pilot is responsible for guiding the ship out of complex port channels.  If you ever cruise the Caribbean, you can see the harbor pilot tug boats pull aside your ocean liner in ports like Jamaica, Miami, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Nassau.  The harbor pilot has specialized knowledge of the local waters including obstacles.  The fact that reports indicate that the ship was moving at 18 knots indicates that they were probably outside of local waters and were underway away from the port. 

    I am not trying to absolve the captain in any way for what happened, he was directly responsible for the passengers safety.  But I wonder if there were others involved in the incident and if the captain was off duty when the incident occurred.

  • blyons

    Thanks for a great article Peter.  I worked as a cruise ship musician aboard the SS Norway in 1986.  We cruised out of Port of Miami and hit several spots in the Eastern Caribbean each week.  I worked on this contract for six months from April through August.  We were tested on emergency procedures by the US Coast Guard each Wednesday at St. Thomas.  On alternating weeks the US Coast Guard required that all life boats on either port or starboard side be fully lowered into the ocean with crew members aboard (Yes, even the musicians!).  I cannot imagine an incident like this, ever happening on a ship that sails into a US port (particularly the crew member chaos part).  The US Coast Guard is just that strict.  Every member of the ship had specific duties in the event of emergencies and Coast Guard inspectors would spot check us weekly on St. Thomas.

    The only thing that I wonder about this incident is if there was a harbor pilot involved and/or the captain had relinquished his command to the first officer.  Typically when a large ship gets in close proximity to land, a local harbor pilot takes over to guide the ship into the open ocean away from land.  The captain is always in command of the ship, but the harbor pilot is responsible for guiding the ship out of complex port channels.  If you ever cruise the Caribbean, you can see the harbor pilot tug boats pull aside your ocean liner in ports like Jamaica, Miami, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Nassau.  The harbor pilot has specialized knowledge of the local waters including obstacles.  The fact that reports indicate that the ship was moving at 18 knots indicates that they were probably outside of local waters and were underway away from the port. 

    I am not trying to absolve the captain in any way for what happened, he was directly responsible for the passengers safety.  But I wonder if there were others involved in the incident and if the captain was off duty when the incident occurred.

  • blyons

    Thanks for a great article Peter.  I worked as a cruise ship musician
    aboard the SS Norway in 1986.  We cruised out of Port of Miami and hit
    several spots in the Eastern Caribbean each week.  I worked on this
    contract for six months from April through August.  We were tested on
    emergency procedures by the US Coast Guard each Wednesday at St.
    Thomas.  On alternating weeks the US Coast Guard required that all life
    boats on either port or starboard side be fully lowered into the ocean
    with crew members aboard (Yes, even the musicians!).  I cannot imagine
    an incident like this, ever happening on a ship that sails into a US
    port (particularly the crew member chaos part).  The US Coast Guard is
    just that strict.  Every member of the ship had specific duties in the
    event of emergencies and Coast Guard inspectors would spot check us
    weekly on St. Thomas.

    The only thing that I wonder about this incident is if there was a
    harbor pilot involved and/or the captain had relinquished his command to
    the first officer.  Typically when a large ship gets in close proximity
    to land, a local harbor pilot takes over to guide the ship into the
    open ocean away from land.  The captain is always in command of the
    ship, but the harbor pilot is responsible for guiding the ship out of
    complex port channels.  If you ever cruise the Caribbean, you can see
    the harbor pilot tug boats pull aside your ocean liner in ports like
    Jamaica, Miami, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Nassau.  The harbor pilot has
    specialized knowledge of the local waters including obstacles.  The fact
    that reports indicate that the ship was moving at 18 knots indicates
    that they were probably outside of local waters and were underway away
    from the port. 

    I am not trying to absolve the captain in any way for what happened, he
    was directly responsible for the passengers safety.  But I wonder if
    there were others involved in the incident and if the captain was off
    duty when the incident occurred.

  • Pat Luffman

    Will not stop me from cruising. I love it and am not afraid. I think this was just a stupid mistake on a stupid captains behalf. I have been on 30 cruises and we always have a muster drill before or right after departing the dock. We have actually been on Costa 2 times and I did think there was a big language barrier with the crew members. I always thought the hulls were constructed of heavier steel that could not be ripped open so easy , guess not ?

  • Redhatdiva

    There were no lives lost on the Prinsendam.  My husband was on the ship just prior to the fire and believes that it was a language problem between the Phillipino crew and Dutch officers. 

  • http://sojournsafaris.com/ Kenya safari

    Thats a very sober approach to the CC disaster. What is even more disturbing is that the captain is accused of leaving the ship before every passenger was evacuated hence leaving a chaotic scene behind him.

  • Pat Luffman

    This Captain must not care about anyone other than himself. What a shame that someone like him was in charge of so many lifes. Maybe the cruise industry should take a better look at the character of these employees. On the other side I guess you never know how anyone is going to react under these circumstances. My prayers go out to the people and their families of that disaster.

  • Margomcd

    So many have compared this to a plane crash and asked “are you afraid to fly after a plane crashes?” Big difference between the two events, at least for a parent. No, I am not afraid to fly after a plane crash but this once ardent cruiser is now leery of cruising. There’s nothing I can do to save my four kids’ lives on a
    plane going down but lots I can potentially do on a sinking ship to see
    that they get off alive. Herein lies the problem, on these 3,000 and
    4,000 passenger behemoths, there’s no way to quickly find your kids. That has been the whole delight of cruising– independent-minded teens can go do their thing until the whole family reconvenes for dinner. At the lifeboat muster they tell you that “in the highly unlikely” event of an emergency the kids’ club counselors would see to it that kids get off the ship safely. That’s not reassurance for me. If I had been on the Concordia, if I didn’t know for sure all 4 of my kids were safe, I would have gone down with the ship. The cruise industry better hope this parent is an anomaly.

  • Cwilson466

    I think the Costa issue is much larger than this incident.  There have been former employees commenting on the lack of training.  Other cruise lines are more diligent about training and safety drills.  Royal Caribbean has the muster drill before they leave port, at least on cruises from US Ports.  They also have weekly life boat drills for the crew.  I’ve been on 11 cruises with RCCI and I have no doubt that the crew has my safety at heart.  I also have no doubt that the crew on board the Cost Concordia were concerned about passenger safety, but there was a delay in issuing the order to abandon ship.  This is a leadership issue, not a cowardly crew issue. Don’t blame everyone on the ship for poor decision making and leadership on the part of the captain.