Cruise Ship Runs Aground near Italy

[Knut]

This has sworn me off of cruises for at least a few years. A nightmare of mine is being on a cruise ship and having the whole thing keel over. On my first cruise there was 40 to 50 ft waves. I remember being on the 4th floor and having the waves actually crash over top of the window of my cabin. That was messed up.



Also. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...r-6290337.html

He apparently wanted to "show-off" to a captain buddy of his on the Island. That is why he overrode the computer and took the boat closer to shore.

[Knut]

Also.. Was it a cursed vessel from the start ?

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/28189...dia-doomed.htm

The Ceremonial champagne did not break before it's first voyage in 2005, which is a bad omen for seafarers. It had an accident at port in 2008. Finally, it ran aground on Friday the 13th.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by Pizza

it's a criminal offense for a captain to abandon ship?

In this case it is. It is the captain's duty to ensure the evacuation is going as smoothly as possible and to prioritize the safety of the crew (and passengers first in the case of a cruise ship). This obigation is often fulfilled in the statement that the captain will be the last person (to his/her knowledge) to leave the ship.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by kirant

In this case it is. It is the captain's duty to ensure the evacuation is going as smoothly as possible and to prioritize the safety of the crew (and passengers first in the case of a cruise ship). This obigation is often fulfilled in the statement that the captain will be the last person (to his/her knowledge) to leave the ship.

Especially when it looks like people died during the evacuation that sounds like it was bungled from the start.

The Captains first obligation is the safety of his passengers followed by the safety of his crew, followed by the safety of his ship.

By leaving the boat, he failed in all three.

Causing death

By the time the justice system over there is done with him, somebody will be floating a ship up his canal if you know what I mean.

Plus the lawsuit.

[awildermode]

the ship left from Rome and was heading north. there was no reason for it to go west towards the island. There are reports that captain wanted to 'show off' to a person on the island or show a crew member a closer look at his house on the island.

accident happened at night, no cruise ship docks at night. they always dock in early morning (6-8am). again, no business with that island. certainly should not be so close.

what gets me is, if you look at the image above, you see the impact at the south of the island...very close to land. the final position of has the ship pointing south, after moving a 900m.

some passengers said that they felt a 'sharp u-turn' after the 'shuffling noise' (impact). perhaps, knowing that there was a problem (though reporting 'electrical failure' to passengers and crew) and head towards to land for safety.

that u-turn probably caused the ship to tip to its side. think a hard right turn, the forward momentum causing the top heavy ship to 'flip'. judging by the length of that 'scar', the ship was going pretty fast at impact, like Maverick and Goose buzzing the tower.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by kirant

In this case it is. It is the captain's duty to ensure the evacuation is going as smoothly as possible and to prioritize the safety of the crew (and passengers first in the case of a cruise ship). This obigation is often fulfilled in the statement that the captain will be the last person (to his/her knowledge) to leave the ship.

There is a famous example of this from 1991, MS Oceanus sinking off the coast of South Africa.

Captain Yiannis Avranas was accused by the passengers of leaving hundreds behind with no one other than the ship's onboard entertainers to help them evacuate. Avranas claimed that he left the ship first in order to arrange for a rescue effort, and then supervised the rescue effort from a helicopter. Avranas stated, "When I give the order abandon ship, it doesn't matter what time I leave. Abandon is for everybody. If some people want to stay, they can stay."[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTS_Oceanos

There are some riveting documentaries out there about this. In this case, the Oceanus is well underneath the ocean versus the Italy example where it never quite sank.

Cowperson

[IGGYRULES]

Looks like the captain was a real winner. Here is a transcript of communication between him , the Coast Guard, and port authority. Told numerous times to get back on board and it's not confirmed whether he did or not.

Schettino, the new standard of cowardice

[Kybosh]

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George pushes the women and children out of the way to run out of a building.

[VladtheImpaler]

Brave, brave Sir Robin...

[awildermode]

Originally Posted by IGGYRULES

Looks like the captain was a real winner. Here is a transcript of communication between him , the Coast Guard, and port authority. Told numerous times to get back on board and it's not confirmed whether he did or not.

Schettino, the new standard of cowardice

what a Schetthead.

[GirlySports]

Seriously? They think this happened because he went off course to get closer to land and waive to a friend?

"Look! Its-a me amico! Hello-a! Oh-a no-a, we-a hitta the landa!"

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Seriously? They think this happened because he went off course to get closer to land and waive to a friend?

"Look! Its-a me amico! Hello-a! Oh-a no-a, we-a hitta the landa!"

I find it fascinating that a personality like this would be deliberately named a captain of a cruise ship.

Maybe he hosts an interesting dinner table, giving him a leg up on the competition for the job, although the negative is he crashes multi-million dollar cruise ships on a whim then abandons his passengers to their fates through cowardice then tries to lie his way out of how it all happened.

There's pluses and minuses.

Cowperson

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I find it fascinating that a personality like this would be deliberately named a captain of a cruise ship.

Maybe he hosts an interesting dinner table, giving him a leg up on the competition for the job, although the negative is he crashes multi-million dollar cruise ships on a whim then abandons his passengers to their fates through cowardice then tries to lie his way out of how it all happened.

There's pluses and minuses.

Cowperson

Well, he certainly did deliver a memorable cruise experience.

[chemgear]

Facebook planned "stunt"?

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/2826...re-planned.htm

Captain Francesco Schettino, 52, has been alleged to have planned the dangerous stunt of sailing extremely close to the reefs and rocks of Isola del Giglio, as a salute to the ship's head waiter Antonello Tievolli, reported the Telegraph.

Minutes before the cruise ship ran aground, the waiter's sister Patrizia Tievoli posted on Facebook: "In a short period of time the Concordia ship will pass very close. A big greeting to my brother who finally get to have a holiday on landing in Savona."

[The Yen Man]

I was listening to them interview the Calgary couple this morning on 660 News, and they asked the guy about his reaction to the ship captain. They quoted the guy saying (paraphrasing) "well, he ruined everyone's vacation". I dunno, i just found it an odd comment considering how trivial ruining a vacation is compared to causing the death of over a dozen people.

[chemgear]

[Knut]

^ Wow.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by fotze

You do realize this is in Italy, right?

I was actually thinking the heritage of "The Land That Produced Berlusconi" was probably a factor as well.

I guess they forgot to give him one of those personality tests everybody takes before they're hired. Or they gave him the Italian version.

Wow.

Cowperson

[Sluggo]

Originally Posted by fotze

You do realize this is in Italy, right?

My guess is he also claims a 30k salary, owns 2 Ferrari's, and payed 50k for a seaside mansion that has been "under construction" for the past 30 years. I hope they throw the book at the guy.

[chemgear]

Not sure if this was linked or seen as well:

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/17...-it/?hpt=hp_c1

De Falco: "...and with one hundred people on board you abandon the ship? (expletive)"

De Falco: "I understand. Listen. There are people who are coming down the stem ladder. You must take that ladder in the opposite direction. Get on board the ship and you tell me how many people are on board, and what do they have. Clear? You tell me if there are children, women, people with special needs. And you tell me how many there are of each category..."

De Falco: "Is that clear?"

De Falco: "Look Schettino, you might have been saved from the sea, but I will make sure you go through a very rough time…I will make sure you go through a lot of trouble. Get on board, damn it."

Schettino: "Commandant, please…"

Port authority: "No...please. No, you get on board. Assure me that you are getting on board."

Port authority: "I don’t know. I know of one. I’ve heard of one. You are the one to tell me how many there are. Christ!"