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Subscribe to RSSJim Fee, a yacht skipper for three decades, discusses the potential ecological problems related to the Costa Concordia disaster. NBC's Harry Smith reports.
Updated at 8 p.m. ET: The latest concern over the heavily listing Costa Concordia, which ran aground Friday night off the coast of Italy, is whether a fuel leak could lead to an environmental disaster in the region.
"He's got 2,400 tons of diesel fuel on there," Jim Fee, a yacht skipper for three decades, told NBC News. "If the weather changes, if it starts breaking up, if they can't get it off fast enough, this whole area could be contaminated and the tourism industry here would just be shot."
It could take months, or possibly years, to clean up the damaged ship, Life's Little Mysteries reports:
First, salvage crews will need to conduct underwater inspections to evaluate the damage of the starboard (submerged) side of the hull. The port-side hull and the rest of the ship that's visible above the waterline have sustained substantial damage. How badly the rocks have gouged the starboard hull will determine how the salvage companies proceed.
Then there's the fuel. The large cruise ship was carrying more than 2,000 tons of diesel fuel when it wrecked. There are no apparent leaks, but officials have deployed anti-spill booms around the ship, in case it shifts on the rocks and one of 17 tanks ruptures. Any spill could cause an ecological nightmare in the area.
A Dutch company called Smit, which specializes in salvage operations, will remove the remaining fuel using a system of pumps and valves that will vacuum the oil out of the ship and into transport tanks. This process will take two to four weeks.
Following that, the next step would be to get the ship upright and then clean out the galleys and recover passengers' belongings. If the ship can be patched and stabilized, it will likely be towed away by tugboats.
It's possible that repairs could make the vessel seaworthy again, but that will be decided by the ship's insurer, who will have to assess the full cost of repairs. Based on initial reports, several experts believe it's more likely that the ship will be declared a total loss and chopped up for scrap.
"It may be the ship isn't salvageable and it isn't possible to right it, patch it up and send it on its way, because fundamental damage has been done," Dawn Gorman, editor of the magazine International Tug & OSV, told Life's Little Mysteries.
During a heated conversation the Italian coast guard told the captain of the Costa Concordia to go back to the ship. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
Updated at 7:30 p.m. ET: Costa Concordia Capt. Francesco Schettino appeared Tuesday before a judge in Grosseto, Tuscany, where he was questioned for three hours.
Criminal charges including manslaughter and abandoning ship are expected to be filed by prosecutors in coming days. He faces 12 years in prison for the abandoning ship charge alone.
Schettino's lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said urine and hair samples have been taken from Schettino, apparently to determine if he might have consumed alcohol or used drugs before the accident.
Schettino has worked for 11 years for the ship's Italian operator, Costa Crociere SpA, achieving the rank of captain in 2006. He hails from Meta di Sorrento in the Naples area, which produces many of Italy's ferry and cruise boat captains. He attended the Nino Bixio merchant marine school near Sorrento.
Updated at 3:20 p.m. ET: Rescue workers discovered five bodies on Tuesday, bringing the death toll of the Costa Concordia accident to 11. The adult bodies, believed to be passengers, were all wearing life jackets and were found in the rear of the ship near an emergency evacuation point, according to Italian Coast Guard Cmdr. Cosimo Nicastro.
The discovery came hours after Italian naval divers used explosives to blow holes in the ship's hull in an effort to find 29 missing passengers.
"Virtually all the dry part has been searched. It would need a miracle to find anyone alive in the wet part," a specialist told Reuters before climbing aboard the wreck for a fourth day of search and rescue.
After Schettino, the ship's disgraced captain, was interrogated by prosecutors for three hours Tuesday, a judge in Grosseto, Tuscany, ruled that the captain, who had been detained a few hours after he allegedly abandoned the Concordia, should be released from jail and confined to his home near Naples under house arrest, his lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, told reporters outside the courthouse.
Prosecutors wanted him kept in Grosseto's prison, and Leporatti had asked that he be freed.
A transcript of a conversation between Schettino and Capt. Gregorio De Falco of the Italian coast guard in Livorno, shows the coast guard official urgently commanding the captain to return to the cruise ship after he had abandoned it.
"There are people trapped on board," De Falco said. "Now you go with your boat under the prow on the starboard side. There is a pilot ladder. You will climb that ladder and go on board. You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear? I'm recording this conversation, Cmdr. Schettino ..."
Scorned captain not alone in history
Schettino resisted returning to the ship, saying "I am here with the rescue boats, I am here, I am not going anywhere, I am here."
"You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses," De Falco said. "You have declared 'abandon ship.' Now I am in charge. You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me? Go, and call me when you are aboard. My air rescue crew is there."
"But you do realize it is dark and here we can't see anything," Schettino told the coast guard.
De Falco responded: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"
The captain of the ill-fated cruise liner that ran aground off the coast of Italy is being arraigned on criminal charges, including manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. NBC's Michelle Kosinski reports.
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Schettino is accused of causing the wreck and abandoning his ship before the more than 4,200 people aboard were evacuated.
NBC News is reporting that the captain had a history of disobeying orders. Schettino, according to Italian news reports, had once left Marseilles, France, in bad weather, against company policy and coast guard orders. The captain was also once reportedly caught sailing too close to the shore in another part of Italy.
Maria Papa and her daughter, Melissa Goduti, who were both on the ill-fated cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy, talk to TODAY's Ann Curry about the harrowing and chaotic experience.
Cruise survivors: 'There was so much chaos'
Updated at 5:58 a.m. ET: Italian naval divers on Tuesday used explosives to blow holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people. One official said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least 11 dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people on board were safely evacuated when the vessel capsized Friday night.
NBC News reported that Captain Francesco Schettino had arrived at the courthouse in Grosseto, Italy.
Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes will help divers enter the wreck more easily. "We are rushing against time," he said.
PhotoBlog: Underwater photos of wrecked ship
The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Television footage showed one hole above the waterline to be less than 6 feet in diameter.
Published at 3:08 a.m. ET: A stricken Italian cruise liner shifted on its rocky resting place as worsening weather disrupted an increasingly despairing hunt for survivors and authorities almost doubled their estimate of the number of missing people to 29.
As the Costa Concordia's owners accused their captain of veering too close to shore in a "salute" to residents of a Tuscan island, the giant ship slid a little on Monday, threatening to plunge 500,000 gallons of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.
The slippage forced rescuers to suspend efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on a jagged slope outside the picturesque harbor on the island of Giglio. Most of the 4,200 passengers and crew survived, despite hours of chaos.
Carnival, cruise sector count cost of disaster
Captain Francesco Schettino was arrested a day after the disaster and accused of manslaughter and abandoning the ship before all of the people were evacuated. Prosecutors say he also refused to go back on board when requested by the coast guard.
Rescue operations have been called off after the Costa Concordia slipped further into the sea. Rescue workers had to be plucked from the ship by helicopter. ITN's Neil Connery reports.
Schettino was due to appear before magistrates for questioning on Tuesday morning.
An Italian Coast Guard official, Marco Brusco, said late Monday that the number of people missing had been revised up to 29 -- 25 passengers and four members of staff -- from 16, showing how much uncertainty still surrounded the disaster
He didn't explain the jump, but indicated 10 of the missing are Germans.
'They were really excited'
Two Americans are also among the missing. Jerry and Barbara Heil live in White Bear Lake, a suburb of about 25,000 people 15 miles outside St. Paul, Minn.
Sarah Heil, their daughter, told WBBM radio in Chicago that her parents had been looking forward to their 16-day vacation.
"They raised four kids and sent them all to private school, elementary to college, so they never had any money," Sarah Heil said. "So when they retired, they went traveling. And this was to be a big deal — a 16-day trip. They were really excited about it."
Brusco said there was still "a glimmer of hope" there could be survivors on parts of the vast cruise liner that have yet to be searched. The last survivor, a crewman who had broken his leg, was rescued on Sunday.
Luciano Roncalli, a senior firefighter, told Reuters that all the unsubmerged areas of the liner had been searched.
Regardless of the waters they're operating in, cruise ships are governed by a series of international maritime treaties that set standards for everything from evacuation procedures to emergency crew training. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship's fuel would leak into the pristine Tuscan Archipelago National Park. No fuel spillage has been detected so far, he said on an Italian television show on Monday evening.
Should rougher seas dislodge the wreck and cause it to sink or break up, that could scupper any hopes for the owners, a unit of Florida's Carnival Corp., of salvaging a liner which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build just six years ago.
Investigators say the ship was far too close to the shore and its owners, Costa Cruises, said the captain had carried out the rash maneuver to "make a bow" to people on Giglio island, who included a retired Italian admiral.
Schettino denies charges of manslaughter.
Cruise tragedy conjures memories of Titanic
The father of the ship's head waiter told Reuters that his son had telephoned him before the accident to say the crew would salute him by blowing the ship's whistle as they passed close by Giglio, where both the waiter, Antonello Tievoli, and his 82-year-old father Giuseppe live.
Video shot by a waiter inside the dining room of the capsized ship Costa Concordia shows scenes of chaos, moments after passengers became aware there was a problem. NBC's Harry Smith reports.
Costa Cruises chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi on Monday blamed errors by Schettino for the disaster. He told a news conference the company would provide its captain with any assistance he required. "But we need to acknowledge the facts and we cannot deny human error," he added.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Italian shipwreck missing tally leaps to 29
- Al-Qaida raises flag over Yemen town
- Flight diverts to Fla. after 'unruly' couple seeks Champagne in first class
- Israel-US war drill postponed over Iran tensions
- 'Consequences': Iran warns Gulf countries not to replace its oil
Msnbc.com staff, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
The capitan is toast if this is true. Unbelieveable for doing such a stupid thing.
Agreed. I was also thinking that the ship's name may become known as 'Cost-ya Concordia.' This incident may end up costing the cruiseship industry a few customers.
I'd heard mention of some website that keeps track of cruise-related problems and that they happen more often than most people think. Haven't searched for it as yet, but think it was something like cruise junkie dot com...(not absolutely sure of the correct spelling.)
The reports say that the captain manually overrode the ship's automatic pilot to take it much closer to the coast of Giglio than normal. According to articles this was supposedly done as a favor to the ship's head waiter so that the waiter could salute his father and others on the island. If this is true than this captain is guilty not only of poor judgement but gross negligence. The minimum distance off the coast that the ship was supposed to maintain was for safety reason to avoid exactly what occurred. The reports say that the ship was only 150 meters off the island when it struck the rock but was supposed to come no closer than 500 meters for safety reasons.
Modern cruise ships have autopilots that control the ships course and the captain would have to intentionally override it to deviate from the programmed course. If this is what really happened then this captain should definitely be charged with manslaughter for any deaths that occurred. It would mean that the deaths were caused by an intentional, reckless act on the part of the captain that was done for no reason other than to show off. Regardless of whether this move was requested by the head waiter or not, the captain was still the one with the authority to make decisions regarding the ship's course and should have just said no to the waiter for safety reasons. In addition to the gross negligence that caused this accident, for this captain to leave the ship while there were still passengers aboard is completely inexcusable. He even refused orders by the Italian Coast Guard to return to the ship to supervise completion of the evacuation. Not only is this a violation of his duties as the captain, it goes against long standing maritime tradition that the captain be the last to leave.
Unmarked rocks close to the coastline, particularly along rocky coasts like Giglio are not all that uncommon and are the reason for the setting of the minimum safe distance, in this case 500 meters, from the coast. One thing is certain, this captain will never again set foot on another ship except maybe as a passenger, that is if he does not spend the rest of his life in prison.
It looks like a a giant wedding cake tipped over...who's the quack that allows this Type of design.?
Like the Titanic how big and how many people you can cram isn't my idea of having fun..
My last cruise on Costa was in 1979 and it was a fore shadow of what is happening today. The crew, mostly from Naples, was great but the officers were self centered buffoons mostly interested in hitting on the young ladies, Captain included. I asked one officer when we would have the emergency drill and his reply with a smile was, "No need, we know how to get off."
That is why I never cruised Costa again and why this is no surprise.
Bob
I totally agree with your assessment. I recently took an MSC cruise in the Caribbean. The crew were the rudist, most self-centered jerks I had ever experienced (had been on 23 previous cruises). Many of them were on flip-phones chatting and didn't want to be bothered by passengers when they were on private calls...which was most of the time. I will never travel with an Italian captain or crew again. For my money and safety...Norwegians seem to do it best!
"Updated at 5:58 a.m. ET: Italian naval divers on Tuesday used explosives to blow holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people"
One sentence later:
"Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people on board were safely evacuated when the vessel capsized Friday night."
I don't think "all 4200 were safely evacuated" if they are "searching for 29 missing people"( And 9 or 10, at last count, are DEAD)
Editors are an extinct species and all the SpellCheck in the world cannot resuscitate Journalism....It's no surprise your rarely see a byline anymore.
It gets worse. The Italian press is reporting that he refused crew requests to order an abandon ship. The actual order wasn't issued for almost an hour and it was given by the coast guard not the captain. Some crew had started the process earlier on their own but likely it wasn't occurring all over the ship. By then the ship had listed so far to starboard it was difficult to launch lifeboats. Maybe if the order had been given earlier some wouldn't have been trapped below decks.
Just one more reason I will never set foot on a cruise ship.
bobman623-3022023 - I think you are full of it. Italy, as well as virtually every other seafaring nation, is a signatory to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention. Under SOLAS rules, a lifeboat drill generally has to be held within 24 hours of leaving port at the start of the cruise. It would be highly unlikely that any cruise line would skip this required drill since, if word got to their nation's coast guard, they would lose there certificate to operate. No cruise line is going to risk that kind of penalty by skipping a lifeboat drill. I do not doubt your characterization of the officers as being more interested in chasing women than doing their jobs, but they would still not skip a mandatory drill.
Mike, reread the sentence with some comprehension skills. He is accused of leaving the ship before all 4,200 were safely evacuated. That is exactly what the sentence says.
JS in SD.....Last time I took a cruise, half the passengers were half in the bag with drinks in hand, when they finally did the "safety drill".....It was, in my opinion, done to be able to say and log that they did it. Pretty sure in the event of an "abandon ship", Mass Chaos would ensue.
Janelle -997119.....All 4200 were NOT safely evacated, some were DEAD...before or after he personally "abandoned ship"
Are you one of the annoymous msnbc.com staff writers, by chance ????
Wow, Mike, really no reading comprehension at all, huh? HE IS ACCUSED OF LEAVING THE SHIP BEFORE THE PASSENGERS WERE EVACUATED. That is what the original sentence says, but apparently in words that are too big for you.
A reckless coward like that should be tied to the anchor and thrown overboard...
Mike, let me clarify for you since you seem to be having some troubles.
There were 4,200 people on this ship.
This coward abandoned the ship while there were still people on the ship.
The captain of any ship is supposed to go down with his ship, along with any people who may or may not have been on there as well.
The captain of the Titanic did not abandon his ship, so he perished along with thousands of other people. Which, is what a good captain should do.
That's why there are still 29 unaccounted for, but we know exactly where the captain is.
In other words, THE CAPTAIN SHOULD STILL BE ON THE SHIP MAKING THE UNACCOUNTED FOR 30.
if the report is true, that he overrode the ships navigation system so a waiter could wave at his family; if true , it will go down in the books as the dumbest, stupidest, idiotic thing a ship captain has ever done.
Mike and Janelle:
Its obvious to all that you are in love, so stop pretending. But on the topic of the disputed sentence, I would say you are both right. The sentence is written vaguely.
Janelle interprets the sentence as saying the Captain is accused of leaving the ship early; that he left before all the passengers (4200 of them) were taken care of; that he was required to stay until all passengers on board were evacuated safely, which did not happen.
Mike interprets the sentence as saying the Captain left the ship early, but even so, all the passengers were thereafter spirited to safety.
Since Janelle's interpretation comports with the known facts contained in the larger story, she wins the comprehension award. Mike opted for an interpretation that conflicts with other parts of the story, so his interpretation is flawed. He is to be executed immediately after waterboarding. Comprehend that, Mike!
Tie a dozen bricks around his waist, take him to deep water, and throw him in. The man is an arrogant little chicken @!$%#. Those deaths are on him.
haha! they should chum the waters for the sharks to feed with the"chicken of the sea" captain
JS in SD has it exactly right. I spent almost two years as a qualified officer of the deck underway on board U.S.S. Intrepid, an Atlantic Fleet aircraft carrier now a museum in New York harbor, stood hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours of underway watches on the bridge.This part of the Mediterranean Sea is hyper-well-charted and this ship's charts MUST have shown the shallow and rocky coastline of the tiny island. I am also a lawyer, in practice for over 50 years, and this captain's conduct far transcends mere negligence, it was gross and reckless, almost rising to the level of deliberate misconduct. This guy goes away for a long time.
It just doesn't seem like ship captains are what they used to be. There was a day when captains subscribed to a code of ethics that they would do everything they could for their passengers, certainly not leaving before knowing they were safe. But more and more, it seems, the norm is for the captains of these ships to put themselves first. I suspect that with all the electronics and so forth, captains are more figureheads than actual ship captains, and probably see themselves more as celebrities than actual captains. That seems to be their role on any cruise I've been on... The captain comes in and makes a splash, and everyone fawns over them.... blah blah blah. No wonder they save themselves. They are so much more important than the lowly passengers.
nicetolclaoucei, quit your plugging of dating sites on articles. u want to get advertising, pay for it. I wouldnt use that site if their were no other women on earth that what you could get in there because of idiots like you.
stoopid,
I would also side with Janelle, however, your punishment for Mike does not seem right for a crime of the sea. I think a flogging and keelhauling would be more appropriate under the circumstances.
Confirmed what I have always suspected of the lowly Italians...they sure know how to make Pizza...anything more than that is just asking too much...botta bing botta boom my ass
no Bruce, I think you have it wrong, depending on the Line. I'ved sailed trans-Atlantic many times, most recently with Cunard's Queen Mary2, and can tell you that Cunard's ship's officers, right up to the Captain, are thoroughly well-trained and dedicated seamen, taking command of a ship like that only after many years of training and experience as junior officers on other ships, typically older and smaller ships. What has happened, in my view, is that the explosion in numbers of cruise ships has resulted in a dearth of experienced sea-going officers on some lines, with the result of Costa Cruises having an incompetent commander of this unfortunate vessel.
Typical showboating Italian narcissist coward. The decision making here is unfathomable, I trust he was never in the military if he was that stupid and undisciplined. Come to think of it though, they haven't won a war since 1936, and that was against Ethiopia.
Well, I think it's safe to say that he's no Captain Stubing.
Marbles, Ethiopia wasn't a war, except to Emperor Haile Selassie; it was a turkey shoot, like the Great Marianas T.S. One could make a sound argument that Italy hasn't won a real war since the sacking and burning of Carthage. To be fair, since ancient Rome, there was no Italian nation until unification in 1870. But they have won many battles, i.e. Ferrari's multiple world championships! and the success of their world-class World Cup soccer teams
@JS in SD,
The 24-hour rule did not pertain to the Concordia. It is for point-to-point cruises. Several of the Costa ships to "rotating" cruises where some passengers get off and new passengers get on at most, if not all, ports. This type of cruise does not do lifeboat drills after every port, as your post would indicate, but periodically, usually after major ports. While the next lifeboat drill was scheduled for 5PM the day after the sinking, several passengers reported that the ship had not had one since before January 8th.
Captain MERRIL Stubing! And of course with Cruise Director Julie McCoy and Gopher leading the passengers to safety, this band of cruisers would have been fine! (Probably would have even been on shore in time for the start of Fantasy Island! "The Plane, the plane!" )
Ah, those were the days!
By the way, WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM GETTING ON A BOAT?!!!!
Seriously, WAKE UP! Swimming, learning how, doesn't take that long. You don't need to freaking swim a mile or anything like that. You could take literally a 1 hour lesson and at least you would know the basics. This has nothing to do with that the captain wasn't a complete dousche coward who should be drowned if he is found guilty, but still...I am just amazed at people.
What a piece (of Schettino)! His name will be up there with Santorum with it's new internet meaning.
That was the most pathetic exchange between two professional commanders.
It was like De Falco was talking to a 10 year old boy.
.
Hahaha. Glad to see someone got the reference, Bruce. It's a good thing they were such a cracker-jack crew, 'cause I'm pretty sure Charro can't swim ;)
Why is it the Captain must go down with the ship? You never hear of a bus driver surviving a crash and jumping back in the wreckage or a cab driver crashing again so he can die with the passenger. This just seems like a bad idea. Who would want this job?
Docholliday & Marbles-@!$%# YOU!!!! With all your idiotic Italian bashing. Last I looked Rome was one of the greatest empires in history. Stupid redneck douche bags.
Derek...............Most people can swim or even tread water. There were other circumstances:
1. Can an elderly or infirm person jump from a ship at some height into freezing water?
2. How well can someone swim when coming from a wheel chair and/or in shock......and how good would their judgement be?
3. How well can a three year old swim?
4. If you were injured and could not get out, what good would it be to know how to swim?
I've been on a cruise with Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) and they were awesome, the officers and crew totally professional.
The Captain knows (should) the inside of his ship (and pax manifest, etc.) better than anybody else. He is needed in the ship.
optomyst, you are confusing chances of living vs. what I am saying. I've now heard two stories of survivors who "Didn't know how to swim." I didn't say anything about the difficulties involved. But if you don't take lessons before you get on a cruise, really? REALLY? You are just stupid.
You spend $2000+ dollars to get on a cruise ship, but you won't spend $50 on a swimming lesson. Nice.
FYI, none of the people on TV were 3 years old. Go figure. :P
Being able to swim doesn't help those caught below deck.
teach: Captain don't have to go down with the ship if he has ensured the safety of all others on board.
I don't get that the article cited two previous examples of the captain disobeying orders in regards to safety issues....and was STILL the captain!!!!!! To me, being ex-Navy, that means some of the blame goes higher than the captain. Should have been relieved the first time.
How much does a cruise ship captain get paid nowadays?
CLUE TIME!
So, because you could get caught below deck, or fall from a great height, or the ship shouldn't sink, or you might be 3 years old or elderly or in a wheelchair (even if you actually aren't) you shouldn't bother learning how to swim before getting on an ocean liner.
GOT IT!
Intrepid Italy only won against Ethopa becouse they withdrew from the league of nations and used crop dusters to gas the Etheopans becouse they were ot generaled.
The Captain is guilty of gross neglagance being that close to shore and I say if the wreck can not be salvaged we put him back on the bridge of his ship.
@Derek, one of the deaths was from a man who jumped in the frigid water then suffered a heart attack. Drownings occur with people who can swim as well.
Reading much? Seriously.
Read what I said again. 3 posts. Its not a lot.
Compared to todays' ships the Titanic would be considered a medium-sized liner in terms of gross tonnage, 46,000 tons compared to 114,500 for the Costa Concordia. But the Titanic was still designed to carry a total of between 2,000 and 3,000 passengers and crew, about half the Concordia's complement, but mostly in steerage.
This alleged captain went off course and put the lives of 4,200 people in danger. Then, the captain makes certain he's ok and claims it's too dark to go back on board to assess the passenger rescue situation.
A "good" captain would have remained on course.
Derek...............There is a huge difference between KNOWING how to swim and being ABLE to swim under certain conditions. Some of the dead had on their life jackets when they were found.... they were no doubt drowned wearing their life jackets. They were no doubt trapped or hit by debris. Knowing HOW to swim would have made absolutely no difference whatsoever.
You make it sound a lot simpler than it really is.
I don't know which is worse; going down with the ship or being an infamous internationally known coward.
If he hadn't been an idiot first...the fact that he's a coward would have been hidden.
Gregorio De Falco of the Italian coast guard is my new favorite person. There was no uncertainty in his voice. He told that f--king guy exactly what to do, without hesitation.
That should be a new internet meme.
Since when is swimming a pre-requisite for going on a cruise? Never in all the cruises I've been on has it been a requirement. I am a strong swimmer btw but that is beside the point. The captain should be at fault for his actions and refusal to go back on board the ship to account for the whereabouts of the missing passengers. In other words, he needs to take responsibility for his actions. Cut and dry.
There is something wrong in my mind about this entire concept of floating multi storied cities replete with casinos, movies, Vegas style entertainment and non stop eating and drinking. I think people might be falsely deluded into thinking they are in a "hotel" of some sort. As this clearly demonstrates, they are on a boat floating in the middle of the sea. Boats that can sink, places where people are contained en masse and viruses break out, as well as food poisoning. Apparently commandeered by cowards who likely enjoy parading themselves around in society as "Captains".
optomyst, no I don't because I didn't talk about swimming when the ship went down. Just the simple thought of stepping on board a vessel without swimming lessons. You and two other posters somehow jumped to the conclusion that I started talking about swimming when this ship went down. I never did. I have no idea how that got added into the conversation but I sure didn't do it. Neither did I say the captain was not responsible, as Carole somehow is aluding to. But apparently adding stuff to what I said means I said it? Rhetorical question, obviously.
I wonder if there was a loud "WOP" when they slammed into the coast...
You also have to add that people are panicking and grabbing on to other people causing them to drown. You don't know how you would react until you are in that situation. I am an excellent swimmer (swim team as youth.) You add the waves of the ocean to that and the chaos, that is just a terrible mix. I agree everyone needs to learn how to swim that is ever around water. However, even knowing how to swim would not have saved those people trapped aboard or the shock of hitting icy cold water. The shock itself and cause you to inhale water and drowned. The suction of the boat going under can also pull people under and drown them. This is a horrible accident that should have been avoided if the caption was not a complete idiot. I don't think a captain should die with the ship but they should at least try everything possible to save everyone on board. He should know that boat and be able to get around in the dark, unlike the rescue divers that would just have to guess where the people were.
Derek............read your post above................re taking a few minutes to learn how to swim. Is someone impersonating you/
I'm with Chris, I like De Falco a lot. He didn't cut any ice when he ordered the captain back on the boat.
Sadly, because the captain was incompetent, it probably would not have mattered one way or another.
But De Falco covered his bases, he gave the appropriate orders, and demanded action. I like him a lot.
Thanks to the people of the community who opened their homes and took in the survivors. Many condolences to the families of the lost.
@optomyst: Here's another piece of obvious advice: Maybe people should learn to read before posting.
Check out the night footage of the people trying to escape the cruise ship. Truly stunning video taken from the helicopters that night using night cameras:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9020505/Cruise-disaster-five-further-bodies-pulled-from-Costa-Concordia.html
Umgawa, I find your simpleminded one sentence unrelated comment to be derogatory insulting and directed to the Italian people both in Italy and around the world and has nothing to do with this sad story.
cms5: I'm so glad you know how to copy and paste, where would I be without you?
It goes without saying that a good captain would remain on course. This guy was obviously anything BUT a good captain.
That being said, its not a huge shock that he jumped ship before everyone was accounted for.
The problem here is that the ship had only been underway for a couple of hours, far under the 24 hr limit. So, no, the emergency drills had not yet been done.
Imagine, if you will, then, thousands of people sitting down to dinner and, all of a sudden, your table begins to shake and slide across the room. Your chair tips over as do many others in the room. People begin to panic and, although there may be a few clear heads among them, with the screaming and yelling and panicky people running in all directions, it is very difficult to try to get people to go where they should. Some passengers, probably experienced travelers, knowing where their nearest emergency point was, put on life jackets and proceeded to that point while others were running about trying to figure out where to go. People are pushing others out of the way, knocking them down to get to the life boats first. (No women and children first, here!) Some crew members may be available and trying to guide people to the boats - and taking the opportunity, no doubt, to climb aboard once the boats are loaded and ready to cast off. Sadly, those people in the emergency evacuation areas are ignored while crew deals with those panicked and screaming people above decks. Even though they have done what they were supposed to do, they drowned. And, amid all of this, the captain also panicks. He is getting the heck off of this boat no matter what. The Italian Coast Guard then tells him to haul his kiester back onto that boat, assess the situation, and report back. He refuses. He is ordered back on board and, again, refuses. This, essentially, is what happened aboard the Costa Concordia. The captain pulled an Exxon Valdez and bailed before assuring his passengers were safely off-loaded. At latest count, eleven people are confirmed dead. And what happens to the poor cappy? He gets house arrest! House Arrest??? If you ask me, the judge needs to be reviewed.
DocHolliday-2979123 , Marbles, don't smear an entire nationality. You're each suspended for a day for violating #5 of the Code of Honor.
...
teachusomething, chill. Ignore and move on next time. You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Making a joke about death isn't a great contribution. Making a racist one's a violation. umgawa, you're suspended for a day for violating #5 of the Code of Honor.
What an avoidable tragedy this was. It is so sad that to show off for a few people, so many have had to suffer. This captain will be punished, rightfully so, and the crew needs to be terminated from working cruises. I have been on several and NEVER has the emergency drill been scheduled for the following day as passengers have reported. Costa has some questions they need to answer. I have been on Carnival and EVERYONE that worked on them seemed very knowledgable and able to handle what might happen. I never once felt uneasy.
In the midst of all this we are forgetting that there are families suffering a loss and the unknown, because people are still missing. My prayers for some solace goes out to all of them. I hope that people can recover from this and someday be able to actually enjoy a nice cruise. They are very fun and enjoyable. Unfortunately this captain and his crew may have ruined it. RIP to all those passed.
Bobman623-It's eerie that you said 1979 was a foreshadow of what is happening today because in 1979
it hit the fan and it is a documented fact that the world changed in 1979.
If anyone is even still reading this, Derek and optomyst, you're being juvenile. Yes Derek, I get what you're saying in your first post. It makes sense that you should know how to swim before going on a boat. However, people in this post were talking about the sinking ship, so it is natural to assume your comment is related to the thread.
I do, however, resent you saying it takes a few minutes to learn to swim. Then again, no amount of money would put me on a cruise ship. I had a bad experience as a child - I was about 3 or 4 yrs old in swim class when we got to go down a small water slide into the pool. There was someone to catch us at the bottom, and they caught and dunked each child at the end of the slide. I was nervous about that, and the instructor promised not to dunk me. So I took a huge breath at the end of the slide, right when she broke her promise and dunked me. I inhaled a load of water. It took me over a decade after that and repeated attempts (at one point with one on one lessons when I finally learned to float) to learn how to swim. I didn't learn until I was 13 and took a gentle adult learn to swim class (much less aggressive than the child classes). Despite this, even today, I experience discomfort and anxiety when first entering water of any depth (> head height) (called "spontaneous recovery"), and it takes a fair amount of regular exposure to get that anxiety down again. I can tell you first hand, panic makes everything harder. Can't imagine the panic they felt getting off that boat (shudders) - not that you were implying anything about the boating accident. Point being, you may (or may not) have been a natural swimmer, but please don't assume it's so easy for people to learn to swim.
I didn't, and you should re-read what I posted as well. See, what you say makes sense. You aren't fond of the water, you aren't getting on a ship. Easy.
@Derek For your benefit I have bolded the part of your post I was replying to. I'm sorry the "few minutes" wasn't exact, but I still resent your statement that it "doesn't take that long" and that "You could literally take a 1 hour lesson and at least know the basics". For myself and others in that adult class, I assure you it took well more than 1 hour to learn the basics. In fact, it took several sessions for some members to even learn to float.
No. Actually I'm trained in swimming rescue. I said basically 1 hour and I know what I am talking about. Proficiency, you are right, is something only gained with practice. But you can learn to tread water, float on your back, and your basic forward stroke, in water you can stand in, all in an hour, and all which will make a huge difference in saving your life.
Someone who doesn't know how to swim also poses a huge risk to other people. So it isn't just about 'you saving your own life.' If you don't know how to swim, and never go in any water except your bathtub, I have no problem with that. But getting on a cruise line, when all you are going to do through most of your trip is be surrounded by water, whether on the ship or even just getting on and off it, is just moronic. Honestly, I only care about this topic in regards to the lives of responsible people that would be saved. If the person who didn't know how to swim was only a danger to themselves, I'd just chalk it up to Darwinism.
Just an afterthought and this is just for you Cat, yes, if you had a fear of water it would take longer. BUT that should mean if for some reason, you had a fear of water, and wanted to get on a cruise ship...well, wouldn't you MAKE SURE you spent the extra time learning? I mean, I think you would, given how important it would be.
Derek-381097
By the way, WHAT THE F**K IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM GETTING ON A BOAT?!!!!
Seriously, WAKE UP! Swimming, learning how, doesn't take that long. You don't need to freaking swim a mile or anything like that. You could take literally a 1 hour lesson and at least you would know the basics. This has nothing to do with that the captain wasn't a complete dousche coward who should be drowned if he is found guilty, but still...I am just amazed at people..........................................................with that logic people getting on an airplane should know how to fly
WRONG YOU ARE
And an irrelevant analogy.
There is nothing that will save you if you fall from a flying plane without a parachute. Conversely, knowing how to swim will save you, sometimes even if you fall from a great height into the water.
With YOUR logic, people driving cars shouldn't have to be able to use their eyes.
I'm floored by the assumption that knowing how to swim will save your life under the given circumstances. There are multiple factors to take into account. The ship ran aground, how many were injured? How many were unconscious? How many had consumed too many adult beverages? Just those few factors can play havoc with 'knowing how to swim'.
When one boards a cruise liner, they don't anticipate a captain risking the lives of all passengers...even if they KNOW how to swim.
Its hard to take your reply seriously when it shows you didn't read the posts above yours.
Jeesh people! I'm Italian and I think it was hilarious. I wasn't making a joke about a death Tyler. Too many sensitive people on here damn. If we are always offended by perceived "racist" remarks, how will will ever get past racism??? Let it go.
Further evidence the world is getting stupider. Experts with falsified education (for example) running the show is quickly becoming the norm… watch the news two hours a day, every day for a month and add it up.
"Mankind" is about to drown in its own sh*t.
"Stupider"?
I think Tenthcircle proved his own point without realizing it...
I totaly agree with you...People are getting stupid by the second...
I think he actually meant to say "dumber-er"
@schoolyard....lol. I thought the very same thing. BTW, I do agree with Tenthcircle.
I think most of us stopped reading after we read "stupider." I just figured there could be no redeeming qualities in the rest of his sentence.
That would be "more stupid".
it is not as you put it fasified education... It is todays test taking that relies on facts but does not teach why we do something which was requied knowledge in the past. Today we are told what the requirements are, (how many meters to stay away) then not told why (hidden rocks uncharted) and we are then not able to calculate what will happen as a result of not obeyeying the rules. We are also over confident in our own abilities which former education procedures taught us the more as we learn more we realize we really do not know a lot... "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be
counted counts."
HUH?? Someone, anyone -- please explain what 10thcircle was attempting to say.
INTREPID -- first, thank you for your service. I served 23, and during my career was a crew member in one of 4 PGs homeported in Naples in the mid-late 70s. I agree with you about Mediterranean nautical charts -- because things change rapidly there, and because there are so many underwater obstructions, they are constantly updated. I remember -- and you may, too -- getting weekly Notice to Mariners updates. We never screwed around in the Med while underway, even tho our ship was only 295 tons and pulled just a 9' draft. Too many things can go wrong. Bottom line: there was ZERO excuse for this tragedy to happen, and it's going to rest squarely in the hands of Captain Schettino. I also concur with your comment about the explosion of cruise liners in the past 10 years or so, and a lack of qualified captains. It's a simple demand and supply issue; there simply aren't enough folks who are thoroughly qualified to be designated a captain at sea.
Stupider is a word and so is stupidest, like smarter and smartest; it just sounds strange and not used too often.
More stupid would be more correct, although (without actually looking it up), I think stupider, though incredibly awkward, is a word. More stupider would be actionable, in the world of the grammar police.
All that aside, I think this captain has proven his cowardice, and it won't go away. People like this, historically, end up as suicides.
The thing that has amazed me most about this is not actually associated with the wreak. No, what actually amazed me is when they named the price of this floating hotel. $450 million. And then, I thought, I could have $100 million, and 2 of these things for the price of 1 B1 bomber.
Now that's stupider.
"Stupider" is a valid word, as is "Stupidest". Using "more stupid" is also valid. Use a dictionary before criticizing, or you'll be seen as the 'stupider' of the two.
Judging by the negative comments as well as the "up" votes to said comments, it's apparent that several dozen of you wanna be elitists need to avail yourselves of a dictionary. I recommend Oxford Dictionary, since it's widely accepted, make use of it to look up the word Stupid. You'll find that Stupider and Stupidest are also real adjectives. Consider yourselves edu-muh-cated, and think twice before slamming someone for using proper grammar.
Dont let them give ya a hard time about stupider, we all know you ment to say dumb as a rock
Day after day, I get angry and I will say: you gotta add it up baby.
debbie is right. stupider is correct, but "more stupid" is even correcter. So, who is the most stupider now?
Thanks for the Femmes reference!
Most countries have civilian awards for conspicuous bravery, and we already have the Darwin awards for amazing stupidity. We should now institute a companion contest - an annual Schettino award - for flagrant dereliction of professional duty and despicable cowardice. Of course, we all hope that it will not be awarded every year.
Actually, it should have been stupidest.
Hey! Is it my fault English has so many back-assward rules and then has the gall to make exceptions to them?
All those that think that logically these should be acceptable, raise their hands:
good, gooder, goodest
best, bester, bestest.
better should be removed from the language (i mean really, what's the root word here).
how many millenia will we be stuck with our tribal ancestors bastardization of merging languages?
I guess I'm the only one who has heard the word "stupider" used more frequently than "more stupid". It's current popular jargon, probably most amongst the younger crowd (and I have English family, so I actually hear words like whilst, amongst, and spelt, even though they're not used in American English). I actually think it sounds more stupid (yes, I know I just used "more stupid" rather than "stupider"), and hence further emphasizes its desired meaning. It also seems more casual to me (personal opinion). Kind of ironic, I just used a modern pop word (i.e. stupider) while also using a very archaic word (i.e. amongst). .... And while I'm on pop jargon and the bludgeoning of the English language, has anyone noticed how people seem to be dropping the "ly" from adverbs? e.g. "Drive safe!" rather than "Drive safely". This is one trend I'm not a big fan of.
Also @rrobeson, LOL! :D Great points.
Yep.
I found Stupider in the built-in Dictionary of my MacBookPro Lapdance. So that means Stupider is a valid word, kidz.
I sometimes use "stoopid" to denote that which is so utterly stupid that it deserves to be spelled incorrectly in order to point out the inanity of the thing that is stupid.
I don't get it.
haha
I think a public flogging is in order. He's a dumb a$$
WHO??????
Schettino is not a dumb a$$, he is a disgrace and a coward. This makes him sort sort of worm, certainly the lowest form of marine life.
Orb - sponges and anemones are lower than worms, but comparing Schettino to them is insulting the sea-life. They don't know any better and Schettino certainly had to know better.
From the other msn article on the topic:
That this captain claimed re-boarding was impossible is unforgivable. 500 precious lives saved by 4 men, 3 without any boating credentials, proves the criminality of his lie!
Fish food
Life is tough, it's tougher if your stupid...!!! Well hello you stupid captain.
To the contrary, his life is well planned. He will spend the rest of his days in prison, he got caught up in his own arrogance, and now he can look forward to an Italian prison cell for LIFE!!!
Somewhat concerned that the Italian justice system might not give those passengers and crew the resolution we hope and pray for.
Yeah look what happened with that Amanda chick...the one for the murder of her roomate
The captain of the Exxon Valdez, trains other potential captains, after wrecking his ship and a major oil spill, and he was drunk at the time. If the ship was a Carnival Cruise Line owned vessel with Panama registry, will the captain be extradited to Panama for trial?
What I am trying to figure out is how a 952 foot ship wound up with a 165 foot gash in the hull about 500 feet abaft the bow while the hull forward of the hole seems to be undamaged. This sounds like there were some odd ship manoeuvring going on. Flash! ABA rumored to have chartered two 747 jets to ferry U.S. trial lawyers to Italy to "assist" the victims of this tragedy. Details at 11.
Catzenjammer...."while the hull forward of the hole seems to be undamaged."
Ummm....I'm no expert or anything but don't ships come to a point in the front at the bow and get WIDER as they go towards the rear ????
Actually the reasoning is that the ship was trying to turn away from the rocks and the rear swung over and hit the rocks!!!
If there were any cross-current, they would have been "crabbing", just like an airplane crabs when there is any crosswind component. It doesn't have to be a direct crosswind (or current), either - any amount will have the associated "component".
The Mediterranean is a nearly enclosed sea. Its waters don't readily renew themselves. Already human activity has destroyed the populations of fish and other sea creatures as well as plant life so that the undersea is unrecognizable to anyone who saw it in decades past. The Hong-Kong like shoreline constructions have destroyed the nurseries of the Mediterranean sea. A spill in this area will be catastrophic.
your concern should be about the victims and the missing and not a few fish....
wfis - I'm very sure Karen is concerned about the victims and missing. But you need to look beyond the obvious. Yes, there is an immediate concern for the victims. However, a spill is detrimental to an eco-system. Not only does it affect fishermen who help boost the economy and ultimately feed the masses, but that eco-system actually supports life, in and out of the water. Eco-system is defined as "fundamental life-support services upon which human civilization depends." So, wfis, I'm concerned that you don't see the bigger picture.
WFIS, do you always take the personal inventory of other people? There are survivors and there are dead humans. Now there's little to be done other than to recover their remains and hope for a survivor or two.
At this point, half a million gallons of fuel spilled in this preserve could completely destroy this marine environment and ruin the tourism on which the people who live there depend upon for their food and livelihood. Preventing a human tragedy from becoming an environmental disaster is the next step to deal with this problem.
Whether any of this occurred to you or not, personal attacks are prohibited by the Code of Honour you agreed to when you signed up for membership here. Check your own actions and behaviour, that's all any person is responsible for in this world.
yes and the beauty of the area is a reason why cruise ships are there in the first place, otherwise we might as well organize cruises over sewer lakes.
I keep thinking - surely we are advanced enough, in enough ways, that we could be sucking the fuel out of this capsized ship, into small tankers...before the oil even has a chance to spill?
but that would require forethought, and humans be concerned about being proactive.
it's just cheaper to cross our fingers, and clean up a spill IF/WHEN it occurs.
Jessica has a good point. A major part of the damage to the ecology could be averted, or at least, lessened if tankers could be brought in close enough to take off the cruise ships fuel. It might be that they are prevented though, for the same reason the cruise ship ran aground. To close to shore to safely maneuver.
That may be true (to close to shore for tankers), however I was thinking that they could tow bladders near the stricken ship and pump the fuel into them. They could then tow the badders to deeper water and pump the fuel into tankers. 500,000 gallons of fuel is not cheap and will unleash unholy h#$l on the environment and the local tourist economy.
The marine salvage company that gets this contract will have hit a gold mine.
Unexcusable on every level.
They may be planning to pump out the remaining fuel. Remember, they have to get the tankers and pumpers there first and they also have to make sure any survivors are out.
If water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon, And the ship was carrying 1/2 million gallons of diesel fuel, at about 10 pounds per gallon, that's 5 million pounds removed from a ship that is listing seriously if not totally on its side. The ship will move or slide or do something "not good." I'm just guessing at the numbers, but they should be close.
The view was gorgeous no doubt, but that doesn't change the facts -- a carnival cruise feels about as luxurious, clean and relaxing as a floating visit to Walmart. I guess now it goes without saying that the guy at the helm of this clown show would be equivalent to management at a store like that.
Very true, Carnival has had many issues with their ships almost on a yearly basis since 1990. Their ships have run aground, caught fire, lost their engines, and had many health issues. It's no surprise that this would eventually happen. My favorite line use to be Princess Line when it was operated by P&O line, but then Carnival purchased them, and the rest is history.
R.C. or Celebrity is now my favorite, and run a respectable cruise line.
Carnival has really hurt the cruise industry with this one. They care more about being having the cheapest fares and you get what you pay for. RCCL is a far superior line
This is not the Carnival Cruise line.
WOW. Buncha OTHER wingnut 'merkins who do not get their sleep at a normal time.
I'm requesting that Craptain Francesco Schettino go to the kitchen and make me a panini. NO. Make me a sammich instead. Panini's are for weenies.
WHO the hell collapsed me?
Uncollapse me, NOW.
I can't fathom the idiocy of this captain!Thats like trying a flyby with an airbus 500ft off the ground in the grand canyon!
Well, at least no Italian 747 captains have yet tried "buzzing" the villages of their crew members.
I hate to say it, because I love the Italians and Italy, but something like this could only have happened in Italy, where the "Romanticism of yesterday" still seems to filter into the "Realism of Today"....
I was on their Costa Pacifica, and enjoyed the trip, but from the looks of the passengers at feeding time, I would not want to battle these folks over a lifeboat during a crisis....better to jump overboard and look for some flotsam....without people....
Captain Idiot. Perhaps a suicide boater.
Wasn't a very "swift" boater, was he?
Wonder how many folks fall overboard from these cruise ships on an annual basis? Doubt the cruise industry wants folks to know the fatality rate? When they fall overboard I wonder if they get chopped by that big propeller? or they float around for a while until a shark gets them??
Dumplings....YUMMY!!!
cruise junky dot com / overboard dot html tells you how many people have jumped or fallen overboard
Call me a 'scaredy cat' if you will, and I have been on only three cruises in my life. BUT, I was always afraid to walk near the railing for that exact reason.
I have been at sea on a small sailboat and found these human sardines piled up on a vertically challenged floating city delusional at best and annoying. You want to experience the world ? learn to sail... but to allow others to be responsible for "your comfort" as they float you around as though you were in your living room is utterly ridiculous. All those tourists overeating and playing shuffle board ten stories up....gag.
You enjoy your personal sailboat, others don't have the funds or necessary experience, or health to be at sea.
So get off your high horse, and let others enjoy life by their standards, not just yours!!!
Thank you.
I wonder if it might not be a good idea to "anchor" the ship where it is to avoid slippage into deeper water.
I assume salvors are on position even as we speak....Salvage and life saving should be going hand in hand to avoid any worse outcomes.
I find it INCREDIBLE that the number of missing keeps rising. How can they not know exactly how many people are missing almost four days after the incident? I've been on cruises before out of the US, and though I've never been on a Carnival owned ship the others I've been on have very detailed boarding procedures with electronic records, computer-issued id's allowing you on and off the ship, etc.. Although I'm sure the passengers escaping that ship weren't scanning id cards on the way out, the cruise line should have a solid record by now of who is still missing. They should have a computerized master list of everyone who got on board that ship and simply cross out names of people who escaped by asking their name. That simple. Why the confusion? Poor records? Not enough help on-site? What's up with this cruise line? Does the "C" on the smokestack stand for "Chaos"?
I would say c, besides, some could be accounted for as still on board but not rescued for not being in distress yet, they could have been rescued, but at reporting time, nobody updated the spokesman etc, etc.
I went on a cruise, my 12th in the summer of 2010 on Holland America (also owned by Carnival.) We were tied up in Cittavechia (sp?) directly behind the Concordia. We held out lifeboat drill before leaving port and the crew seemed well-trained and went through a lot of the actual launching of the lifeboats and were pretending tohave 10 degrees of list.
As another somewhat related incident --- one of our stops was at Santorini. While waiting on the cable car to return to the ship, I asked one of the locals about the large amount of oil that was floating on the water in the caldera/bay. I was told that it from the Sea Diamond which had run on the rocks and sunk with the loss of two lives. The details of the sinking of the Sea Diamond and the Concordia are amazingly similar with the captains both being where they were not supposed to be, failing to conduct evacuation and damage control procedures properly, causing a shipwreck through negligence, and negligent manslaughter.
The parallels between the two ships' sinkings shows how little the cruise lines have learned between April 2007 and January 2012, almost five years.
If the parallel holds true, the Concordia will slip off the coastal shelf in the next severe winter storm and slide into deeper water. They will try to pipe off as much oil as possible, but it will continue to leak for decades --- and the island of Giglio is in the centere of a marine nature reserve. Once the rescuers started breaching the hull in an attempt to recover the bodies or find possible survivors, it essentially made the ship much more difficult to salvage.
The confusion about the head count is compatible with the navigation of the crew. They take your money but can't figure out how to be responsible. Scam !
The evacuation that took place was completely chaotic. The cruise company should have a complete list of names, but the one on the ship was lost. People got on shore and never checked in with any company reps because there were none around. Some people transferred via ferry to the mainland, some stayed on the island. A British couple interviewed said they were in a hotel lobby and spotted someone with a clipboard. They went up to them and identified themselves as having been on the ship. The rep said, "We've been searching for you." The Brit asked why the guy didn't just crossreference his list of names with the registry of the hotel. The guy wasn't that bright . Now, after 4 days, people have just up and left.
I remember seeing film of that Santorini incident. The two that died were a father and daughter. The daughter was apparently asleep in the section that hit the rock. The father left the lifeboat station to go find her and never returned. Everyone else got off thanks to being so close to shore and there being another cruise ship nearby that rendered assistance.
I watched an interview with a lawyer who specialty is maratine law. He said that if the couple from Minn. is indeed gone thier family will recieve little compensation from the cruise line. The fine print on cruise tickets absolves them from restitution for anything other than loss of support. Since this is a retired couple thier grown children will be lucky to get enough to cover the funeral. I hope that captain gets keel hauled.
anyone else notice he looks like "gopher" from the old "love boat" tv show?
He looks like an arrogant S.O. B. to me !!!
I agree lulu65...the SOB is the picture of just that arrogance!!
I wonder if that fine print covers gross negligence on the part of the skipper as opposed to "acts of God." I think the family(ies) could have a good case in court. Today the Titanic victims/survivors would have cleaned up though not under the laws in 1912.
Why didn't the company fire him after his previous acts of disobeying orders. Maybe they have a union like US public employee unions that make it impossible to fire you like school teachers who molest children still keeping their jobs in NY and elsewhere. Or LEOS who drive drunk or commit other illegal acts yet can't be fired in Washington State.
Capitaino, you would get uncooked linguine pushed under your fingernails if I had anything to say about it. Cowardice and disgraceful go no where near describing your pathetic actions.
I don't understand how "6 people can die" and "29 are still missing", yet "all 4,200 people on board were safely evacuated when the vessel capsized".
Does that maybe mean there was a total of 4,235 people on board, and only 4,200 of them evacuated?
Who writes this? It's Terrible...
More painful to pull out his nails slowly with a pair of rusty pliers, Quan.
absolutly agree...well said QUAN3001315
The TITANIC was a tradjedy! This is a TRAVESTY!
Ironically, both a tragedy, and both caused by the negligence of the ships captain.
I heard that the wily entrepreneur Jay-Z will capitalize on this event by selling Craptain Schettino BobbleHeads...
"Scupper?" Well, isn't that just all whimsical? Who writes this crap? A story about rescue efforts doesn't need any attempts to be cute, MSNBC.
Scupper isn't a verb and is not appropriate to this usage. Scuttle .... maybe but not really. I guess you can just make up stuff if you write for this site. I wonder if they make up the "facts" also. Probably.
Scupper (noun): an opening cut through the bulwarks of a ship so that water falling on deck may flow overboard.
Scupper (transitive verb British) : to defeat or put an end to: DO IN
Close enough.
scup·per 2 (skpr)tr.v. scup·pered, scup·per·ing, scup·pers
1. Chiefly British To overwhelm or massacre.
2. To ruin or destroy
It's completely appropriate in this instance, and it's in no way cute. It's deadly serious.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/scupper
Peridot,
Thanks for adding to this, and I entirely agree with you--this is not cute or whimsical. The media doesn't need to "make up" words to describe this tragedy. And by the way flbikerchick, the story is written by "msnbc.com staff and news services" in case you missed it.
Since u is directly beside i on the keyboard perhaps he meant "skipper" and scupper was simply a typo.
Oh no!! They used a word you don't know, they must be completely in the wrong. No, get over yourself. Your retarded ignorance does not dictate how the rest of the world works.
As for the other imbeciles claiming that "scupper" isn't a verb: you do realize that you can't just personally cancel a word out of a language because you're too ignorant to know it, right? This is the information age, and the fact that you are still incapable of finding out the definition of a word further speaks to your atrocious level of bovine stupidity. Your very existence makes the world a worse place.
That's what happens when 4000 idiots try to get off a huge ship that really has no business existing anyway. The captain is an idiot. The passengers are idiots. Anyone who goes on cruises like that is an idiot. Anyone who thinks that the crew and company are going to ensure their safety is an idiot. "I'm on a cruise ship but I can't swim" = your'e an idiot. "the crew had no idea what to do"= duhhh!! What do you people think the priority of these cruise liner companies is? Elite training for the crew or profit? Duhh! This is just another demonstration of human arrogance in believing that there are any sort of sanctuaries that are completely protected from harm by the natural environment, and then being surprised when they are blatantly proven wrong. Nature=much greater than humans. Humans=lucky to have survived this crap shoot this long. I suggest everyone gain a scale of perspective and a little humility. If you're going to expose yourself to a foreign environment, then you better prepare for the worst and hope for the best because it's inevitable that the unexpected will occur eventually.
Um, this was caused by human error, not an ice berg, not rough seas, not even an unexploded naval mine from ww2, human error. If this genius doesnt take the ship off autopilot, more than likely nothing happens, because he did, we get to watch another artifical reef in the making. So stop thinking that it was inevitable that this would occur, the simple reality is, that if you follow proper procedures, 90% of everything will go right, the other 10% is using your head.
Bad day in the trailer park, Frank?
Frank...Thanks for making my day.
I laughed all the way through your post.
Someone can't afford cruises and seems to be full of resentment. Oh, my.
Who wants to bet me $5 that Frankie boy wears a helmet of tin foil and has his house covered in the stuff to repel the aliens trying to steal his brain waves?
Anybody? It's an easy $5
Greenpeace is watching it closely....checking for possible oil spill. So far, so good. Losing humans is sad but remember, there are 7 billions of us. Destroying our habitat is doomsday for a long time to come. Without a healthy planet, there is no life. People multiply at an alarming rate.....that's why we have floating cities to entertain them. These ships are ridiculous and top heavy. A strong wind should be able to invert them.
Well said, Frank (especially all the "idiot" stuff - - you must know alot about idiots)....pretty much true for airplanes as well (they are always falling out the sky; can't imagine why anybody would ever get on one - - especially after the Concorde crash); automobiles (nothing but death traps! drunk drivers all over the place, morons with cell phones stuck in their ears); trains - now there is a disaster just waiting to happen; especially high speed trains (What is Obama thinking??? and the Chinese--what idiots they are with their death-trap high-speed trains)
Apparently, Frank, you have little experience with free enterprise, businesses, and profits. You think every business behaves in a way to guarantee it's own demise (as early as possible, I guess). I know MF GLobal behaved like that --but what can you expect when you give your company over to a politician; almost certain corporate suicide. Go lie down, Frank...take a load off....rest your weary head...let the adults get on with the business of life....you just hide under the covers and we'll tell you when it's safe to come out.
Damn Frank, do you even go outside your door at all? Better be careful, you may get dive bombed by pigeons, lol.
I agree with Frank. Anyone who gets on one of these things is an idiot,I wouldnt even want to know you. Surfers too. It will be a cold day in hell before I put myself in position so i am no longer on top of the food chain.
Frank and Tom...........you're not at the top of the food chain,just gutless and bitter