Question Details

What caused the Costa Concordia to run aground?

(AP/Gregorio Borgia)

What caused the Costa Concordia to run aground?

Asked by: Super UserKentoine Johnson in General » Other
Settled on 01/02/2013 01:23 Settled by Super UserKentoine Johnson

Predictions

Human Error
72.6%
Mechanical failure
5.7%
Component failure
5.9%
Failure by corrosion
2.9%
A cause not listed here
4.5%
A Combination of causes above
2.9%
no news by suspension date
no news by suspension date
5.5%

Background

At least three people were killed and about 70 are missing after a Carnival Corp. (CCL) cruise ship ran aground near the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast of Italy.

One seriously injured passenger was transported to Siena’s hospital after the incident late yesterday, the Region of Tuscany said on its website. Rescuers worked all night as more than 4,000 of the 4,229 passengers and crew aboard were evacuated from the Costa Concordia after it started to take on water and tipped over, the country’s Civil Protection agency said on its website.

Those unaccounted for could still be inside the ship, Alessandro Nicastro, a spokesman for Italy’s Coast Guard said on the SkyTG24 news channel. Italian media reported that the ship hit rocks as dinner was being served, sending plates and glasses crashing. Passengers said the situation on board was reminiscent of the film “Titanic,” as the vessel listed and people rushed to find lifeboats.

The Costa Concordia belongs to Miami-based Carnival's Costa Crociere line. Carnival is the world's largest cruise- shipping line. Carnival shares fell 2.5 percent in New York trading yesterday, valuing the company at $27.8 billion. The stock has declined 26 percent over the last year.

Cabin steward Deodato Ordona told the British Broadcasting Corp. there was a “roaring sound” before the ship began to tilt. He said the vessel tilted to the left and then the right before the captain announced an order to abandon ship.

Passengers Jump

There were 3,200 passengers on the ship, comprising 1,000 Italians, 500 Germans, 160 French and 250 from the U.S., Costa Corciere said on its website. Emergency procedures started immediately though were impeded by the ship’s listing, it said in a statement. The cause of the incident cannot be confirmed, it said.

Many passengers jumped off the ship as rescue operations were ongoing at 3 a.m. local time, la Repubblica reported on its website.

Fabio Costa, a cruise ship shop worker, said it took the crew a long time to launch the lifeboats as the vessel had listed so much.

“We just saw a huge rock, that was probably where the ship hit, and people were having huge trouble trying to get on the lifeboats,” Costa told the BBC. “So at that point we didn’t know what to do so it took hours for people to get off the ship. It was easier for people to jump into the sea because we were on the same level as that water so some people pretty much just decided to swim as they were not able to get on the lifeboats.”

‘Falling Overboard’

Rose Metcalf, a 22-year-old British dancer who had been performing on the ship and who was winched to safety by a helicopter, told her father it had “felt like the sinking of the Titanic.” 31 “The ship rolled over on its side so they had to get a fire-hose which they strung between the railings to stop them falling overboard,” Philip Metcalf told the BBC in an interview after speaking with his daughter.

“She thought she’d have to make a jump for it as it was dark and cold, like the sinking of the Titanic, but the helicopter then winched her off,” Metcalf said.

The vessel had sailed at 7 p.m. yesterday from Civitavecchia near Rome, Costa Crociere said. Its itinerary was to include scheduled calls at the Mediterranean ports of Savona, Marseille, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Cagliari and Palermo.

“Our thoughts are with guests and crew of the Costa Concordia,” Carnival said in a Twitter message. “We are keeping them in our hearts in the wake of this very sad event.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Marco Bertacche in Milan at mbertacche@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-14/carnival-corp-cruise-ship-runs-aground-off-italy-killing-at-least-three.html

Comments

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   Super UserKentoine Johnson

"The fact the ship had crashed into the rocks and reefs is clearly there on the map cruise lines. Everyone knows there are rocks in the waters," said Nicastro, on Wednesday (18 / 1).
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11326130-reef-hit-by-concordia-is-on-the-map-cruise

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