Costa Concordia (Titanic 2012)

[masterofnone]

Human Error

They thought they were further north than they actually were, made the port turn realised the mistake too late, tried to squeeze through the gap in the rocks to salvage the error and ended up as salvage.

 

[photodog]

A friend just posted this in Another Place:

Same ship, same place, same time of day, last year...

http://video.corriere.it/nave-concordia-al-giglio-/9dfa5ea6-3e9b-11e1-8b52-5f77182bc574

It may be horribly simple.

Well... so much for our offshore accident theory....

Screw up on the nav close inshore.

 

[janeczku]

Here is a close-up shot of the rock/debris that got stuck in the hull.

 

[Erik C]

The captain has been arrested and jailed by the Italian authorities.

 

[Kukri]

Incidentally I was wrong about the propulsion system - conventional props not azipods, with AC synchronous motors. Pretty much what the RN is putting in now. Almost all big cruise ships are diesel electric now, because you can switch the load between propulsion at night and hotel services in daytime.

 

[MapisM]

The captain has been arrested and jailed by the Italian authorities.

Actually the latest I heard was that he's being questioned, but not jailed (yet).
Potential criminal charges are quite relevant, though.

 

[ianabc]

Power surges?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ster-what-could-have-caused-the-accident.html



" The explosion heard by many of the passengers on the Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, may have been caused by a phenomenon known as “harmonic interference”, according to Malcolm Latarche, the editor of the global shipping magazine IHS Fairplay Solutions. "

 

[[32511]]

She seems to have been turning to starboard when she hit- the port stabiliser appears undamaged, even though there is the almighty gash on the port side further towards the stern.

ETA: So, turning starboard away from the rocks at last minute, and heeling to port- explains why the gash is near the waterline. Obviously she is then badly holed, so turns to port to: a/ heel to starboard, to try and reduce water ingress, and b/ beach her as near to the harbour as possible.
Explains the 180 degree turn, and the direction of list.

 

[westernman]

Different datum?! That would be such a basic error for a professional ships captain to make that it borders on being criminal.

Could be. That might explain why he is already in jail.

 

[Seajet]

I think there's quite a difference between 'detained for questioning' - as in this case - and 'jailed' ! Another Officer has been as well; I'd think it a pretty obvious move in the circumstances, may well be routine; though I wouldn't particularly want to be in his shoes right now.

 

[starfire]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ster-what-could-have-caused-the-accident.html



" The explosion heard by many of the passengers on the Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, may have been caused by a phenomenon known as “harmonic interference”, according to Malcolm Latarche, the editor of the global shipping magazine IHS Fairplay Solutions. "

That seems to be a half-baked reference to the MAIB report of the QE2, which was discussed on here recently, where there problems in one of the harmonic filters, supplying the drives for the propulsion motors.

http://www.maib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/2011/qm2.cfm

 

[janeczku]

Some updates taken from the italian press:

Captain in custody

The italian "Corriere" has the news, that the master of the Costa Concordia, Mr. Schittino, has been put in police custody.
He is maintaining not only that the islet/rock wasn't marked on his charts but also that his ship was cruising on a designated waterway between the island and the eastern mainland with 12 n.m. separation to the coast.

New hypothesis for the change of course in the direction of the island

According to city counsel of the island Giglio, Antonio Belardo, it has occurred in the past for the cruise ship to pass the port at close range in order to salute the local population.

This is confirmed by footage here, which actually shows the Concordia doing that stunt on a passage in August 2011.

The 180 degrees turn at the port entrance

According to the newspaper, the crew casted anchor 600 meters off the harbor for a fast tacking in order to beach on the shore or the reef (The harbour is to small for such a big vessel).

 

[MapisM]

I think there's quite a difference between 'detained for questioning' - as in this case - and 'jailed' ! Another Officer has been as well; I'd think it a pretty obvious move in the circumstances, may well be routine; though I wouldn't particularly want to be in his shoes right now.

100% agreed. Also on your last sentence!

 

[Erik C]

I think there's quite a difference between 'detained for questioning' - as in this case - and 'jailed' ! Another Officer has been as well; I'd think it a pretty obvious move in the circumstances, may well be routine; though I wouldn't particularly want to be in his shoes right now.

OK, Let me rephrase that. The captain is not going home tonight.

 

[NorthRising]

They need to look this way because of their business model, enormous amounts of affordable accommodation. Cruises on ships that look like ships are much more expensive because there are less passengers.

Affordable - not to me, not that I'd want to...; a model of corporate greed perhaps?

 

[Erik C]

Affordable - not to me, not that I'd want to...; a model of corporate greed perhaps?

No greed, just the opening up of a new market.

 

[Boomshanka]

Interesting write up on Sky, including the rock hypothesis (clicky) ... also that the Captain and FO were arrested for abandoning ship whilst the evacuation was still underway

"Local prosecutor Francesco Verusio confirmed the captain and the ship's first officer Ciro Ambrosio had both been detained in custody on suspicion of abandoning ship while passengers were still in danger and multiple manslaughter."

 

[onesea]

Just playing devils advocate...

I did wonder if this is one of those cases where the GPS is spot on, but the chart from a 200 year old survey isn't...but that would still mean someone was pushing their luck in a big way.

It also occurred to me that as this was the last night of the cruise, was the Captain hosting the traditional 'Captains' Table' meal so absent from the bridge ( I bet he wishes he had been ) or was this later on...

Captains have to sleep to, just need officers they can trust...

I wonder what her AVS curve looks like....?

Do commercial liners have a STIX category ...?

and if not why not ...?

Called Load line regulations and lots of requirements and loop holes...

As this thread refers to the Titanic, I have lifted this paragraph from my post in the Lounge:
I have long made comments about cruise ships looking like floating blocks of flats, with anything up to 15 decks above the waterline, which means that they must have a pretty poor angle of vanishing stability, as this tragedy appears to prove. It is notable that when the Titanic sank, it stayed upright and plunged bow first. Maybe it is time that cruise liner design was re-thought to make future ones look a bit more like ships and less like blocks of flats.
__________________

Hmm could be argued, depends on where her freeboard deck is... Angle of Vanishing stability could be surprisingly high ship stability is not that straight forward...
Although I agree they do not strike me as the most sea worthy ships at sea...

OK, Let me rephrase that. The captain is not going home tonight.

That give the circumstances would be quite normal, atleast this captain will be deal with quickly...
http://www.abelard.org/news/oil040629.php
http://www.aos-world.org/articles/criminalisation.htm

Seeing the sail past last year I wonder if these same detour was planned but went horribly horribly wrong...
Confused navigator misinterpreting information, not used to deviating form passage plan?

 

[Boomshanka]

Seeing the sail past last year I wonder if these same detour was planned but went horribly horribly wrong...
Confused navigator misinterpreting information, not used to deviating form passage plan?

What was the original route/destination, anyone know? It's not been unknown for pilots to take a low pass detour over a friends/family's house... no doubt all will be revealed sooner or later.

 

[Seajet]

The pilot flypast analogy occurred to me too; if it turns out to be that idiotic...