GUILTY Italy - Costa Concordia Cruise Ship runs aground/flips, 2012

[passionflower]

Years ago I had an employee that had worked on a cruise boat for many years as a hairdresser.
She was even trained in how to muster passengers in an emergency exit in a disaster.
We were discussing this and she was shocked also that the captain existed before the passengers.

 

[mysteriew]

I've never been on a cruise ship. But does it have an intercom for announcements? The whistles, the tradition are great, but for a bunch of "landlubbers" unfamiliar with the ship, unfamiliar with evacuation procedures I would think instructions from an intercom on where to go, when to don life jackets, when to board the lifeboats would be needed.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I've never been on a cruise ship. But does it have an intercom for announcements? The whistles, the tradition are great, but for a bunch of "landlubbers" unfamiliar with the ship, unfamiliar with evacuation procedures I would think instructions from an intercom on where to go, when to don life jackets, when to board the lifeboats would be needed.

Yes, there is a shipwide communication system for various announcements like onboard activities, weather reports, etc. Unless the Captain is speaking and wants everyone onboard to hear a special announcement, you might not hear an announcement in your stateroom but can hear it in public areas of the ship. When the Captain comes on the speaker, it is usually something very important: i.e. a change in course due to weather issues, a medical emergency onboard for which the ship must prepare if there will be an evacution of the patient, warnings about high waves or heavy winds that will cause safety concerns, etc. Passengers can also listen to announcements on the TV in their cabins by tuning to the ship's channel.

Announcements were made onboard the Costa vessel, but passengers were essentially told that the problem was "electrical" and that it was being rectified. Then, passengers reported that they were told to go to their staterooms or the theatre even when it was clear that the ship was in distress. They received no direction from Officers, crew, or other staff because these individuals also knew that the ship was in jeopardy, and they opted to save themselves and forget the passengers :furious:

Hundreds of cruise ships carry millions of passengers without incident, and staff and crew are trained in emergency evacuation procedures. It is part of their contractual duties when they agree to work for the cruise line. Most of these individuals have worked on ships for years without incident, but when faced with a catastrophe like that of the Concordia, they realized that their own lives were in danger, and they chose to fend for themselves. jmo

 

[Wise Old Owl]

I've been reading every post but sitting on my hands. We had 3 couples from South Florida on the boat and they've been interviewed on our local stations.

As you know I live in a "port town". I see the crews off the boats. They usually get shore leave on Sundays and, well, they all come to shop at my local stores.

I could say bunches but I won't. Its just my opinion anyway. But having grown up here and "living" and "watching" all these years, let's just say this doesn't surprise me at all - what we're hearing about the crew and how this was all handled by them.

I know, I know, this was in Italy but it really doesn't matter. My prayers go out the the families still missing their loved ones. I've also heard this boat is sitting on a "shelf" type outcropping and that there is just 9 cm before the boat slides off and then its 100 ft down in the Mediterranean Sea. They were just so lucky to be that close to land.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Years ago I had an employee that had worked on a cruise boat for many years as a hairdresser.
She was even trained in how to muster passengers in an emergency exit in a disaster.
We were discussing this and she was shocked also that the captain existed before the passengers.

Virtually every staff and crew member onboard a cruise ship has assigned duties during muster drills that are their responsibility in the event of a real emergency. This is part of their contract with the cruise line, and they are required to participate in training in various emergency and/or evacuation procedures. In a perfect world, they would rise to the occasion if it became necessary. But, human life as it is, and with the reality of a perilous situation like that of the Concordia looming, Officers, staff, and crew went into "survival mode": They all knew that the ship was going down and that there was little that they could do to prevent the disaster. jmo

 

[~n/t~]

Do ships have a co-captain like planes have a co-pilot?

 

[Wise Old Owl]

What I heard was that the "muster" training wasn't scheduled for the passengers until the next day - so anyone on the ship that had never been on one had no clue what to do.

This is just so sad and so preventable. Human error - that's all this was and that compounded on itself with the crew - guess there's a new meaning to the word clueless.

:furious:

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Re: Lifevests. Each passenger life jacket will be in his/her stateroom when they board the ship. On the back of the cabin door is a map of the muster station for that cabin location. When the emergency drill signal sounds, passengers are instructed to go to the staterooms, retrieve their lifevests, and report to their assigned muster station.

In the event of a true emergency situation, passengers could be just about anywhere on the ship and might not have time or even be able to get to their stateroom to get the life jacket and/or get to the muster station. There are additional life jackets in various locations on the ship, but there are not enough extra vests for everyone who can't get to their stateroom.

The emergency drill is better than not having any idea where to go or what to do, but there is no way that everyone - crew, staff, or passengers - can be prepared for every possible emergency situation that might occur. DH and I talked about this a lot over the weekend after hearing about the tragedy. I'm not really a swimmer but can do a decent backstroke and tread water. If I had been able to retrieve my lifevest in a situation like the Concordia, I would have taken the chance on jumping into the icy cold water and making my way to shore. DH said that I could have done it despite my lack of confidence because I knew that I had to - to save myself.

 

[BuzzieCat]

Virtually every staff and crew member onboard a cruise ship has assigned duties during muster drills that are their responsibility in the event of a real emergency. This is part of their contract with the cruise line, and they are required to participate in training in various emergency and/or evacuation procedures. In a perfect world, they would rise to the occasion if it became necessary. But, human life as it is, and with the reality of a perilous situation like that of the Concordia looming, Officers, staff, and crew went into "survival mode": They all knew that the ship was going down and that there was little that they could do to prevent the disaster. jmo

Why didn't they at least send out a message over the communication system telling everyone to don life vests and get out on deck to prepare to leave? Why would they tell passengers to go to their rooms? That's so cruel! And what was their motivation to just sit there and wait until the boat was listing too much to send down lifeboats?

I do understand the "survival mode" thinking, but I don't understand why they wouldn't just be honest and tell people to start getting ready for emergency exit procedures.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Do ships have a co-captain like planes have a co-pilot?

A whole slew of Officers!

 

[mysteriew]

How close to shore did the ship actually end up? I've seen the pics and it looks close, but I realize that with wide angle lenses that distance would be distorted.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

What I heard was that the "muster" training wasn't scheduled for the passengers until the next day - so anyone on the ship that had never been on one had no clue what to do.

This is just so sad and so preventable. Human error - that's all this was and that compounded on itself with the crew - guess there's a new meaning to the word clueless.

:furious:

International maritime law requires only that the emergency drill be conducted within 24 hours of departure, so technically, the Captain cannot be faulted for this. That said, DH and I have cruised 25+ times and have never left embarkation port without having been called to muster.

 

[~n/t~]

A whole slew of Officers!

And none took control after the Captain jumped ship? :furious:

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Why didn't they at least send out a message over the communication system telling everyone to don life vests and get out on deck to prepare to leave? Why would they tell passengers to go to their rooms? That's so cruel! And what was their motivation to just sit there and wait until the boat was listing too much to send down lifeboats?

I do understand the "survival mode" thinking, but I don't understand why they wouldn't just be honest and tell people to start getting ready for emergency exit procedures.

If an evacuation was anticipated or required, passengers would have to go to their staterooms to get their lifevests because that's where they are. There are not enough extra life jackets on the ship or on the lifeboats for every passenger who might not be able to get their own. In that case, people would probably start fighting over lifevests and try to take them away from others to wear themselves

 

[~n/t~]

OK..that's it. I'm never going on a cruise. EVER . anic:

 

[CarolinaMoon]

I just read a first-hand account on Cruise Critic from an Australian lady who is now home. She reported all the way through. One thing she mentioned was that English was the LAST LANGUAGE used on the ship. Announcements were made in other languages, and if English were used, it was the last.

I hope it's okay to post the link here.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4715

 

[lillygator]

so tragic --- this may seem like a dumb question, but are they planning on just letting the ship sink?

 

[jjw]

That really bothers me that so many were found in life jackets. It indicates to me that they weren't killed in the inital crash, they had time to locate and don life jackets and many were later found in public areas. So why didn't some employee usher them to the deck where the life boats were located?

With the number of crew who have been found, the discussions from the survivors talking about the confusion and conflicting orders from crew, I am beginning to think that the problem may have been more than the captain. He was the worst. But I am wondering how much training the crew have had in emergency evacuation?

And where was the 2 nd in command? The captain truly failed from beginning to end. But no one seems to have stepped forward to take his place. And at the point where he abandoned ship you would think that some officer would have stepped in to take his place.

BBM

You can't help from comparing it to the Titanic. I know there are differences in the accidents but there are similarities as well. The lying to the passengers about what really happened, not getting them on the lifeboats fast enough, and of course the damage to the ships(iceberg;rocks). There also is a great amount of arrogance and stupidity shown in regards to the safety of the passengers.

Both Captains made big mistakes that caused the wrecks to occur. The big difference is the Captain on the Titanic at least had some honor and did everything he could to save the passengers, even going down with the ship. This guy was a coward. :furious:

This year is the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking. I guess some people don't learn from history.

I wonder what the autopsies on the victims will tell us. Hopefully, most of them died quickly. Can't imagine the horror they went through in their last moments.

Prayers for the victims and their families.

jmo

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

so tragic --- this may seem like a dumb question, but are they planning on just letting the ship sink?

Excellent question, lilly! There are tentative plans to salvage the ship:

"...Maritime salvage specialists already have staff at the scene assessing the options.

"Only a few salvage companies could handle a job of this magnitude," says Mike Lacey, secretary general of the International Salvage Union.

"This goes on all the time but you don't hear about it because they aren't as spectacular as this one. But there's always a ship in trouble somewhere."

So what might be the fate of the Costa Concordia in the weeks, months and possibly years ahead?"...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16573312

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I just read a first-hand account on Cruise Critic from an Australian lady who is now home. She reported all the way through. One thing she mentioned was that English was the LAST LANGUAGE used on the ship. Announcements were made in other languages, and if English were used, it was the last.

I hope it's okay to post the link here.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4715

I've posted CC links, too, so I think it's alright