Hugo Best: Cruise Ship Threatens Marine Paradise Off Italy

above	Sinking of the Costa Concordia
label1	Event
data1	Sinking of cruise ship Costa Concordia
label2	Cause
data2	Ran aground on a reef
label3	Location
data3	Off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, Italy
label4	Date
data4	13 January 2012
label5	Captain
data5	Francesco Schettino (Italy)
label6	On board
data6	4,232
label7	Deaths
data7	6
label8	Injuries
data8	64
label9	Missing
data9	15
label10	Rescued
data10	about 4,211 }}

The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and partially sank on 13 January 2012 off the Italian coast. The vessel ran aground at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, resulting in the evacuation of 4,211 people on board. At least six people were killed, including five passengers and one crewman, 64 others were injured (three seriously), two passengers and a crewmember trapped below deck have been rescued, and 15 are still unaccounted for. The captain and first officer have been arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after sailing much closer to the shore than allowed. The Costa Concordia entered service for Costa Cruises in July 2006 as the largest ship built in Italy at the time, measuring , long, and costing ?450 million (US$569 million). It is the largest passenger shipwreck in history. Industry analysts believe the vessel is a constructive total loss.

Shipwreck

On 13 January 2012, Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef at around 22:00 local time off Isola del Giglio, having left Civitavecchia earlier that evening at the beginning of a seven-day cruise sailing to Savona and then visiting Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, and Palermo. According to the local coastguard, 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew members were on board at the time.

On 15 January La Repubblica reported that the captain did not mention any mechanical problems but had stated that they were from the rocks (i.e., about the length of the vessel) and that they hit a rock that was not marked on nautical charts. This reef was about south of the entrance to the harbour of Giglio. The vessel continued for approximately another until just north of the harbour entrance. The vessel then turned in an attempt to get close to the harbour. This turn shifted the centre of gravity to the starboard side of the ship, and it listed over to that side initially by about 20�, finally coming to rest in about of water at an angle of heel of about 80�. According to the local coast guard, the ship has a gash on her port side, with a large rock embedded in the ship's hull.

A local official said the ship deviated from her expected course, possibly to give passengers a view of Giglio Porto on the island's east coast. The La Stampa newspaper published a letter from August 2011 in which Porto Giglio's mayor Sergio Ortelli thanked the Concordia's captain for the "incredible spectacle" of a previous close pass. "It's a very nice show to see, the ship all lit up when you see it from the land. This time round it went wrong," Mayor Ortellei said. Costa Cruises confirmed that the course taken was "not a defined route for passing Giglio." The ship lost cabin electrical power shortly after the initial collision. The webcam for the ship shows the last update on 13 January at 20:31 GMT.

Passengers were in the dining hall when there was a sudden, loud bang, which a crew member (speaking over the intercom) ascribed to an "electrical failure". "We told the guests everything was okay and under control and we tried to stop them panicking," cabin steward Deodato Ordona recalled. It was about an hour before a general emergency was announced, he said. "The boat started shaking. The noise�? there was panic, like in a film, dishes crashing to the floor, people running, people falling down the stairs," said survivor Fulvio Rocci. Those on board said the ship suddenly tilted to the port side. Passengers were later advised to put on their life-jackets.

In a press release dated 15 January, Costa Cruises stated, in part: "We are working with investigators to find out precisely what went wrong aboard the Costa Concordia. While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship?s Master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which resulted in these grave consequences. The route of the vessel appears to have been too close to the shore, and the Captain?s judgment in handling the emergency appears to have not followed standard Costa procedures."

Evacuation

Some passengers had jumped into the water to swim to shore, while others, ready to evacuate the vessel, were delayed by crew members up to 45 minutes, as they resisted immediately lowering the lifeboats. Three people reportedly drowned after jumping overboard, and another seven were critically injured. Local fire chief Ennio Aquilino said his men, "plucked 100 people from the water and saved around 60 others who were trapped in the boat."

Julian Bray, travel broadcaster and writer, reported: "Twelve hours later, a dozen passengers remain unaccounted for and many lifeboats (capacity 150 each) were not deployed due to the initial list and the subsequent rolling over of the vessel onto her side. Others were evacuated and taken to shelter on the island. The crew remained aboard and the shipping line initially insisted there was no danger of sinking." The first daylight pictures showed the ship lying on her starboard side and half submerged, not far outside Giglio Harbour. Five helicopters from the Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force took turns airlifting survivors still aboard and ferrying them to safety.

On 14 January divers searched the waters until 18:00 then stopped for the night. Divers and firefighters continued to search for survivors who may be trapped in the ship, and rescued a Korean newlywed couple trapped in a cabin two decks above the water line, and a crewman with a broken leg. One diver stated that in their rescue process, they would find a path into the ship and tie down obstacles such as mattresses, before making noise to alert trapped people.

Aftermath

Casualties

Six people including five passengers and one crew member are known to have died, and sixty-four others were injured. was also recovered.

Salvage

When the search for survivors and bodies is completed, Dutch salvage firm Smit International will remove the vessel's fuel as requested by the ship's owner and insurer. Smit has also offered to remove the wreckage of the Costa Concordia, but the owner has not contracted any firm for this.

Investigation

Fifty-two-year-old Captain Francesco Schettino, who has worked for Costa Cruises for eleven years, and the ship's first officer have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning ship before passengers were evacuated. They were being questioned as of 14 January 2012. Officials are trying to determine why the ship did not issue a mayday and why it was navigating so close to the coast. "At the moment we can't exclude that the ship had some kind of technical problem, and for this reason moved towards the coast in order to save the passengers, the crew and the ship. But they didn't send a mayday," said officer Emilio Del Santo of the Coastal Authorities of Livorno, "The ship got in contact with us once the evacuation procedures were already ongoing."

Loss

An Italian broker and industry experts believe the ship is a constructive total loss, with damages estimated at US$500 million or higher. Costa Cruises has not commented on the fate of the ship as yet.

Shares in Carnival Group initially fell by 18% when trading opened on the morning of 16 January 2012 following a statement by the group that the sinking of the ship could cost them up to $95,000,000 (?75,000,000, �62,000,000). The insurance excess on the vessel was $30,000,000.

Media reaction

The shipwreck dominated the Italian media on 16 January. Corriere Della Sera stated that Italy owed the world a "convincing explanation" for the wreck and called for harsh punishments of those found responsible. Il Giornale said the wreck was a "global disaster for Italy". Il Messaggero said there was "anguish over those still missing". La Repubblica called the event "a night of errors and lies". La Stampa criticized the captain for not raising the alarm and refusing to go back on board the ship.

Hugo Best

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Cruise Ship Threatens Marine Paradise Off Italy

Shipwreck

Evacuation

Aftermath

Casualties

Salvage

Investigation

Loss

Media reaction

See also

References

External links

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