Italian Cruise Disaster
The $450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship had more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny Italian island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized maneuver.
The 5-year-old Costa Concordia partially sank overnight on Friday after hitting rocks near Giglio, a tiny island about 18 miles off the Tuscan coast. At least 11 people were killed in what survivors are saying was a chaotic and at times terrifying event that evoked scenes from the movie Titanic. As of late Tuesday, Italian authorities say 24 people remain missing.
Waters that had remained calm for the first days of the rescue turned choppy Monday, shifting the wreckage and raising fears that any further movement could cause some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board to leak into the waters off Giglio, which are popular with scuba divers and form part of the protected Tuscan archipelago. Rescue operations were suspended for several hours because of the rough seas.
In addition to the rescue, much of the focus has been on the cruise ship captain's actions during and after the grounding. Costa Cruises and Italian prosecutors are blaming the accident on the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, who they say took the vessel off course to sail close to the island.
In a dramatic phone conversation released Tuesday, a coast guard official was heard ordering the captain, who had abandoned the ship with his first officers, back on board to oversee the evacuation. But Capt. Francesco Schettino resisted the order, saying it was too dark and the ship was tipping dangerously.
"You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me?" the Coast Guard officer shouted as the captain of the grounded Costa Concordia sat safe in a life raft and frantic passengers struggled to escape after the ship rammed into a reef off the Tuscan coast.
"It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'Abandon ship.' Now I am in charge."
Jailed since the accident, Schettino appeared Tuesday before a judge in Grosseto, where he was questioned for three hours. The judge ordered him held under house arrest, his lawyer told reporters, and Italian media said he had returned to his home near Naples.
Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke all rules and regulations.
"Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said in his first public comments since the grounding.
Foschi defended the conduct of the crew, while acknowledging that passengers had described a chaotic evacuation where crew members consistently downplayed the seriousness of the situation as the ship lurched to the side.
"All our crew members behaved like heroes. All of them," he said.
He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said.
Miller, who is director of business travel for Intercontinental Hotels, said Costa representatives spoke to passengers about potential refunds or free cruise vouchers. But in addition to the cost of the cruise, he said he had paid hundreds of dollars for excursions during port calls and other expenses.
Foschi, the Costa CEO, said he was certain "we'll be able to find a material solution that will make them happy."
The $450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship had more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board when it slammed into the reef Friday off the tiny Italian island of Giglio after the captain made an unauthorized maneuver.
The 5-year-old Costa Concordia partially sank overnight on Friday after hitting rocks near Giglio, a tiny island about 18 miles off the Tuscan coast. At least 11 people were killed in what survivors are saying was a chaotic and at times terrifying event that evoked scenes from the movie Titanic. As of late Tuesday, Italian authorities say 24 people remain missing.
Waters that had remained calm for the first days of the rescue turned choppy Monday, shifting the wreckage and raising fears that any further movement could cause some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel on board to leak into the waters off Giglio, which are popular with scuba divers and form part of the protected Tuscan archipelago. Rescue operations were suspended for several hours because of the rough seas.
In addition to the rescue, much of the focus has been on the cruise ship captain's actions during and after the grounding. Costa Cruises and Italian prosecutors are blaming the accident on the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, who they say took the vessel off course to sail close to the island.
In a dramatic phone conversation released Tuesday, a coast guard official was heard ordering the captain, who had abandoned the ship with his first officers, back on board to oversee the evacuation. But Capt. Francesco Schettino resisted the order, saying it was too dark and the ship was tipping dangerously.
"You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me?" the Coast Guard officer shouted as the captain of the grounded Costa Concordia sat safe in a life raft and frantic passengers struggled to escape after the ship rammed into a reef off the Tuscan coast.
"It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'Abandon ship.' Now I am in charge."
Jailed since the accident, Schettino appeared Tuesday before a judge in Grosseto, where he was questioned for three hours. The judge ordered him held under house arrest, his lawyer told reporters, and Italian media said he had returned to his home near Naples.
Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke all rules and regulations.
"Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said in his first public comments since the grounding.
Foschi defended the conduct of the crew, while acknowledging that passengers had described a chaotic evacuation where crew members consistently downplayed the seriousness of the situation as the ship lurched to the side.
"All our crew members behaved like heroes. All of them," he said.
He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said.
Miller, who is director of business travel for Intercontinental Hotels, said Costa representatives spoke to passengers about potential refunds or free cruise vouchers. But in addition to the cost of the cruise, he said he had paid hundreds of dollars for excursions during port calls and other expenses.
Foschi, the Costa CEO, said he was certain "we'll be able to find a material solution that will make them happy."
"Our aim is to make every passenger obtain an indemnity of at least €10,000 (more than $12,500) for the material damage suffered and for moral damage, such as the terror suffered, ruined vacations and the grave risks that they ran," said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.
The Concordia tragedy, it appears, will affect more than the ship’s passengers and staffers and their loved ones. The entire cruise industry will be hurt as many would-be cruisers decide against taking to the sea.
After seeing images of the Costa Concordia, which ran aground near an Italian island last week, killing at least five people, it’s understandable that a sizeable portion of the public is deciding that maybe cruising isn’t for them after all.
In addition to the loss of use of the Costa Concordia, Carnival faces costs associated with personal injury liability and the cost of damage to the ship, though the company expects to be covered by insurance in both instances. The company said it has insurance coverage for damage to the vessel with a deductible of about $30 million as well as insurance for personal injury liability subject to an additional deductible of about $10 million for the incident.
That is, if the insurance companies pay. "While management believes that insurance will cover these items in the case of negligence, we would not totally rule out a potential challenge by underwriters," Conder says.
Mike Eidson, a Miami lawyer and former head of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, says that if investigators determine the accident was caused by improper actions by the captain, as Carnival is suggesting, the company could be absolved of responsibility. To win punitive damages in a lawsuit against Costa or its parent Carnival, a litigant would likely need to prove gross negligence by the company and not just the captain.
Italy's environmental minister raised the alarm about a potential environmental catastrophe. "At the moment there haven't been any fuel leaks, but we have to intervene quickly," the minister, Corrado Clini, told RAI state radio.
Even before the accident there had been mounting calls from environmentalists to restrict passage of large ships in the area.
The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000-foot (290-meter) cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. Smit has a long track record of dealing with wrecks and leaks, including refloating grounded bulk carriers and securing drilling platforms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Sources:
CBS News
NPR
Yahoo! News
BBC News
TIME.com
USATODAY.com
The Concordia tragedy, it appears, will affect more than the ship’s passengers and staffers and their loved ones. The entire cruise industry will be hurt as many would-be cruisers decide against taking to the sea.
After seeing images of the Costa Concordia, which ran aground near an Italian island last week, killing at least five people, it’s understandable that a sizeable portion of the public is deciding that maybe cruising isn’t for them after all.
In addition to the loss of use of the Costa Concordia, Carnival faces costs associated with personal injury liability and the cost of damage to the ship, though the company expects to be covered by insurance in both instances. The company said it has insurance coverage for damage to the vessel with a deductible of about $30 million as well as insurance for personal injury liability subject to an additional deductible of about $10 million for the incident.
That is, if the insurance companies pay. "While management believes that insurance will cover these items in the case of negligence, we would not totally rule out a potential challenge by underwriters," Conder says.
Mike Eidson, a Miami lawyer and former head of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, says that if investigators determine the accident was caused by improper actions by the captain, as Carnival is suggesting, the company could be absolved of responsibility. To win punitive damages in a lawsuit against Costa or its parent Carnival, a litigant would likely need to prove gross negligence by the company and not just the captain.
Italy's environmental minister raised the alarm about a potential environmental catastrophe. "At the moment there haven't been any fuel leaks, but we have to intervene quickly," the minister, Corrado Clini, told RAI state radio.
Even before the accident there had been mounting calls from environmentalists to restrict passage of large ships in the area.
The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000-foot (290-meter) cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. Smit has a long track record of dealing with wrecks and leaks, including refloating grounded bulk carriers and securing drilling platforms in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Sources:
CBS News
NPR
Yahoo! News
BBC News
TIME.com
USATODAY.com
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