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Tragedy on the Mediterranean: cruise ship runs aground off coast of Italy, more than 70 feared dead

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"The captain of a luxury cruise liner that ran aground off the coast of Italy was arrested for abandoning his ship - while scores of people remained stranded in the sinking death trap.

 

The massive Costa Concordia - which was carrying more than 4,000 people, including 126 Americans - took on so much water through a 160-foot gash that the ship quickly listed to its side, preventing many of its life boats from being launched.

 

Six people were confirmed dead and another 69 were missing, potentially lost on the capsized ship, the largest vessel ever to sink.

 

The 114,500-ton vessel’s captain, Francesco Schettino, was charged with manslaughter and leaving his post after the horrific wreck, which comes just months before the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic."

 

Tragedy on the Mediterranean: cruise ship runs* aground off coast of Italy, more than 70 feared dead* - NY Daily News

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Shortline Bus

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Typical... Leave it to this guy to give us Italians yet another black eye... :o

 

Hey I am not Italian and I don't think this leaves a Black mark. This could happen anywhere. I know it's early to make conclusions. My gut is i would not be shocked the captian was drunk or high on drugs that caused this tragic accident. Why the hell he would run?

Hopefully some more people are found alive. My prayers to the victims and their families.;)

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Tokkemon

Tokkemon

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Am I the only one annoyed that people keep comparing this to Titanic? It is nothing like it. If anything, its more like the Andria Doria which sank in 1956 after colliding with another ship in fog off of Nantucket. Ironically, the Andria Doria was also an Italian ship.

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Shortline Bus

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Am I the only one annoyed that people keep comparing this to Titanic? It is nothing like it. If anything, its more like the Andria Doria which sank in 1956 after colliding with another ship in fog off of Nantucket. Ironically, the Andria Doria was also an Italian ship.

 

Thank You my friend for also what i was thinking:tup:. In Titanic most of the passengers died. While here maybe only at most less than 100 people(still a alot and sad but a small # compared to the Titanic)will perish here.

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Via Garibaldi 8

Via Garibaldi 8

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Hey I am not Italian and I don't think this leaves a Black mark. This could happen anywhere. I know it's early to make conclusions. My gut is i would not be shocked the captian was drunk or high on drugs that caused this tragic accident. Why the hell he would run?

Hopefully some more people are found alive. My prayers to the victims and their families.:)

 

I think it does for the reason I mentioned below.

 

I seriously doubt this incident will affect the way people view Italians...

 

You're right it won't. It'll just solidify their views... lol Italians are known for being reckless drivers (I'm talking about the ones from Italy, esp. not Italian-Americans, though they can drive crazy too). The fact that he ran just makes it worse. Brings back memories of being on a bus flying around a very narrow road with no vision as to what was coming around the corner... Crazy but true... That's how it is in Italia. :(

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Urbanfortitude

Urbanfortitude

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You're right it won't. It'll just solidify their views... lol Italians are known for being reckless drivers (I'm talking about the ones from Italy, esp. not Italian-Americans, though they can drive crazy too). The fact that he ran just makes it worse. Brings back memories of being on a bus flying around a very narrow road with no vision as to what was coming around the corner... Crazy but true... That's how it is in Italia. :)

 

I thought this was the stereotype for Asians.

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peacemak3r

peacemak3r

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For every 100 terrible Asian driver = 1 good Asian driver, coming from an Asian driver. I hate driving in Chinatown with a passion.

 

Back to the original topic, tragic accident indeed. If the captain did run from it, then I would assume it was their fault. Also, why would I judge an Italian just because of this accident? It's like if I see a terrible Russian, I'd blame every one of them to be bad drivers. Basically how I'd rate the Asian driving stereotyping to start. (Even though I feel the earlier generation can't drive for sh1ts.)

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Via Garibaldi 8

Via Garibaldi 8

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For every 100 terrible Asian driver = 1 good Asian driver, coming from an Asian driver. I hate driving in Chinatown with a passion.

 

Back to the original topic, tragic accident indeed. If the captain did run from it, then I would assume it was their fault. Also, why would I judge an Italian just because of this accident? It's like if I see a terrible Russian, I'd blame every one of them to be bad drivers. Basically how I'd rate the Asian driving stereotyping to start. (Even though I feel the earlier generation can't drive for sh1ts.)

 

Simple because Italians are known for being terrible drivers. You should see what happens in Naples. Complete chaos... Or better yet come to Staten Island where the majority is Italian-American... Want to see a bunch of folks who can't drive?? Look no further. Stereotypes generally have some truth to them.

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Shortline Bus

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An update on the story. The offical death toll from this disater hits 6 and probably counting. Meanwhile the ship's captian is the most hated in Italy right now. Again it's early but i have a feeling(i could wrong)he was drinking or could be on drugs.

 

 

 

Cruise ship disaster death toll hits 6; Captain blamed for 'judgment errors' in Costa Concordia tragedy - NY Daily News

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Guest lance25

Guest lance25

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We do what he will be: out of a job. Now he's claiming his maps didn't show the rocks in the shallow waters, nor did he realize he was sailing too close to shore.

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Roadcruiser1

Roadcruiser1

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Dumb question guys? Are these cruise ships now required to have a GPS system? I never been on a cruise ship unless you count the SI Ferry/NY waterways, the circle line and a cruise boat in San Francisco so that why i asked.:(:confused:

 

Most modern cruise ships have a lot of equipment, and it doesn't just include a GPS. It includes sonar, detectors, and many other equipment that the Titanic and the Andrea Doria never had. This ship shouldn't have had hit the rocks if it wasn't in shallow water. There was plenty of good equipment on the ship that probably detected it. The captain was being negligent. Here is a simulation showing what happened.

 

 

 

This is the timeline

 

 

 

Based on all the information I can find it seems like the Captain never closed the watertight doors which such a modern ship should have. Where is the closing of the watertight doors? Another proof of negligence.

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Tokkemon

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Most modern cruise ships have a lot of equipment, and it doesn't just include a GPS. It includes sonar, detectors, and many other equipment that the Titanic and the Andrea Doria never had. This ship shouldn't have had hit the rocks if it wasn't in shallow water. There was plenty of good equipment on the ship that probably detected it. The captain was being negligent. Here is a simulation showing what happened.

 

 

First off, the Andria Doria did have Radar. It was human error that misinterpreted the radar that caused that collision. Also, the watertight doors would not have made a difference in this case since three compartments were breached by the break in the hull, which is more than can be breached to keep the ship afloat.

 

I'm no expert at these things, but I can guess that the Captain was doing thus:

 

1. There's rumors that the Condordia's maneuvers to go close to the island are not unprecedented and even a common occurrence due to the ship's history. So the Captain, in accordance with that tradition did what every other voyage of the ship had done. This is not surprising, in other words.

 

2. Since the ship was close to the shelf (but not on it yet) it wasn't at clear risk of hitting anything. However, the sea is unpredictable, and sometimes rocks and things can shift position at a moments notice (especially from storms and the like). If the ship's map was out of date with the current survey of the sea area, it is certainly plausible that the Captain simply didn't know it was there. And sea navigation is not like a car where the GPS can simply point you where to go. The sea is too unpredictable and there are no set routes per se to follow along (like there are roads).

 

3. Once the ship hit the underground obstruction, the Captain ordered the ship to head toward land. This is a common maneuver called "beaching the ship". The theory is that if the ship can hit land before it takes on too much water, it can be saved from sinking. As seen by the pictures, this is what happened; the ship did not sink totally, and with several million $, the ship may even see service again, depending on the water damage. Also advantageous to this strategy is that rescue efforts are far easier in shallow water than deep water. More lives can also be saved since the ship does not sink totally. If the ship were to sink in deep water, anyone trapped on the ship after it does down have no chance of survival. Beaching at least gives them a chance.

 

4. The beaching of the ship, however, caused an unintended consequence of causing the ship to take on more water than would be typical. This happened in the case of the HMHS Britannic (Titanic's and Olympic's later sister ship). Britannic sank after it hit a mine in the Aegean Sea during World War I. In a similar maneuver to Condordia, the Captain tried to beach Britannic on a nearby island. However, because of a slew of open portholes (which was against orders) the ship began to take on water too fast for the beaching to be effective. The Britannic sank in the 400 feet of water in the sea (the ship was 800 feet long). In the case of the Concordia, however, the ship was far more able to take the water than Britannic (because of improvements in shipbuilding over a century, for one). The Concordia did not sink even though the risk of it sinking faster did rear its head. So, while we may fault the Captain for his supposed negligence over hitting the rock (though calling it negligence, I think, is far too presumptuous right now), what he did afterward to save the ship and the lives aboard it, was not only standard practice, it was noble.

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Shortline Bus

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"The saga of the liner Costa Concordia veered from tragedy to farce Wednesday when her cowardly captain explained that he never meant to abandon ship — he merely tripped and fell into a lifeboat.

 

Here the infamous capt. and maybe among the world's most hated man in 2012, Mr. Schettino defending why he left the ship as it was in huge trouble.:eek:

 

 

“The passengers were crowding the decks, storming the boats,” Capt. Francesco Schettino told a closed-door inquest, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

 

“I didn’t even have a life jacket because I gave it to one of the passengers. I was trying to get them into the boats in orderly fashion. Suddenly, because the ship was tilted 60-70 degrees, I stumbled and ended up in one of the lifeboats. That’s why I was there,” he said.

 

The newspaper called it a “curious explanation,” noting Schettino was in a lifeboat with his computer — and two second mates. “Did they trip too?” La Repubblica wondered.

 

Schettino was revealed as a lily-livered craven."

 

Captain of Costa Concordia claims he fell into lifeboat during chaos - NY Daily News

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