Cruise shipping
Royal Caribbean’s new Quantum class of ships will feature two industry firsts— North Star and RipCord
Raising the baR Carnival Triumph fire prompts safety enhancements; cruise lines reimagine their fleets
C
ruise shipping safety has, for the better part of the last year and a half, been a hot topic of discussion among the mainstream media. Just months prior to the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Costa Cruises’ 952 ft Costa Concordia collided with a rock and ran aground off Isola de Giglio on the Tuscany coast. The accident had all the juicy elements that 24-hour news networks thrive on—tragedy, drama and scandal. More to the point, the deadly grounding served as a cruel reminder that, even 100 years after the Titanic, safety remains a constantly evolving process, particularly when taking into account training and human error. By now the events of the Concordia accident are well known. Francesco Schettino, the Captain on the Concordia on the night of January 13, allegedly took the ship off course bringing it far too close to the Giglio coast. The ship hit a rock, piercing its side and flooding five watertight compartments. Eventually the Concordia capsized and remains, until this day, half submerged—the subject of the world’s most expensive salvage operation. Before it was all over, 157 were injured, 32 souls perished, and the ship’s captain was deemed a coward for abandoning ship. In the days that followed, speculation arose as to the root cause of the Concordia accident—was it a mechanical failure or was it human error? In its recently released report on the safety technical investigation on the Costa Concordia accident, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports concluded that the human element was ultimately the cause of the casualty. The investigation found that the ship was
By Shirley Del Valle, Associate Editor
fully compliant with all the SOLAS applicable regulations and that the accident was the result of poor proficiency from key crew members, most notably the Master (Captain). According to the report the Master had difficulty reading the radar screen without his glasses; the application of systems navigation was inappropriate; the Master lacked knowledge of equipment location; the Master failed to give the abandon ship signal; and he was distracted. Disorganization played a vital role in the chaos immediately following the vessel’s collision with the rock. Passengers interviewed for the investigation indicated that some of the crew seemed disorganized and unaware of how evacuations should be conducted, muster drills hadn’t been conducted (they were scheduled for the following day) and a chaotic evacuation quickly followed. However, the report states that “the crew, on the whole, gave an adequate performance in the core phase of the evacuation.” Following the Concordia accident, cruise lines across all brands implemented new muster drill standards, which stated that all embarking passengers must participate in a muster drill before the ship leaves port. This would make passengers familiar with the ship’s safety procedures and emergency protocol. Most recently, Schettino was ordered to stand trial and face charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. The trial is set to begin July 9, 2013. Schettino will be the only one to stand trial. Five other defendants—four crewmembers and the Costa Cruise Crisis Coordinator—sought a plea deal. If he’s found guilty, Schettino could face up to 20 years in prison. June 2013 MARINE LOG 37