Cruise ship runs aground off italan coast

[oceanfroggie]

Six lives reported lost as 4000 escape listing 290m long Cruise ship, which later seems to have partially sunk in shallow water lying on her side.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16559996

How in this day and age can something like this happen in benign weather with all the modern systems, propulsion, failover redundancy and navigation systems? It seems miraculous that most survived.

 

[gravygraham]

This is curious. It did occur to me that the captain deliberately ran aground as a result of some serious failings, eg steering or propulsion loss. What does the panel think.

 

[oceanfroggie]

Too early to discern true facts. BBC reports suggest after serious grounding incident causing damage the vessel may have been steered towards the island into shallow water to aid rescue and abandonment. A nitemare but on the plus side 4000 seem to have been saved.

We've passed that island a few times ourselves sitting at a dinner table on board a 300m cruise ship watching the sunset, but feeling secure and relaxed. These large cruise ships are perhaps not as cleverly designed as we all thought. So much for double skin hulls, watertight bulk heads, etc, they all still seem to have a very high CG.

Will watch over time with interest as the true facts emerge from the cloud of media twitter, waffle and the usual misinformed reporting.

 

[sailorman]

Too early to discern true facts. BBC reports suggest after serious grounding incident causing damage the vessel may have been steered towards the island into shallow water to aid rescue and abandonment. A nitemare but on the plus side 4000 seem to have been saved.

We've passed that island a few times ourselves sitting at a dinner table on board a 300m cruise ship watching the sunset, but feeling secure and relaxed. These large cruise ships are perhaps not as cleverly designed as we all thought. So much for double skin hulls, watertight bulk heads, etc, they all still seem to have a very high CG.

Will watch over time with interest as the true facts emerge from the cloud of media twitter, waffle and the usual misinformed reporting.

Azipods ???????

 

[nimbusgb]

Given the latest pics it looks as if she has rolled almost completely on her beam ends.

How on earth do 3 people end up dying in a run aground incident?

 

[sailorman]

Given the latest pics it looks as if she has rolled almost completely on her beam ends.

How on earth do 3 people end up dying in a run aground incident?

have you seem the atrium

 

[paultallett]

News says a lot are still missing..... would have been a sleep in their cabins.

My heart goes out to family and friends of anybody who has lost their lives in this. I have a horrible feeling the number will rise...... Dreadfull event.

 

[[2068]]

I'm surprised that a modern ship only 5 years old could sink in this way. Don't they have bulkheads, watertight doors etc?

Very sad for the families that have lost loved ones, and as above, I suspect the actual death toll will not be confirmed for some time.

 

[Cardo]

How on earth do 3 people end up dying in a run aground incident?

Didn't they jump off and try to swim for it? I understand quite a few people managed to swim to the island.

But, what I don't get is, this isn't the Titanic. What's the huge rush?

 

[SteveE]

Just seen pics of the damage, its 130 foot long below the waterline. Sky saying Captain headed for shore to make evacuation easier for the people in life boats...

 

[paultallett]

Didn't they jump off and try to swim for it? I understand quite a few people managed to swim to the island.

But, what I don't get is, this isn't the Titanic. What's the huge rush?

I guess thats human nature for you...... and a little panic too!!

The normal passenger won't know how deep the water is and I guess when the ship started to roll, panic set in??

 

[penfold]

Given the latest pics it looks as if she has rolled almost completely on her beam ends.

How on earth do 3 people end up dying in a run aground incident?

The telly news implied that at least one of the dead jumped overboard and succumbed to a heart attack. Evacuating 4k+ people from a listing behemoth like that is an achievement in itself.

 

[nimbusgb]

Just seen pics of the damage, its 130 foot long below the waterline. Sky saying Captain headed for shore to make evacuation easier for the people in life boats...

Yes i thought from the first reports on the beeb this morning that they'd hit a reef and then made a separate run for the island and deliberately grounded her to be close to shore. From the latest pics it looks like the ( soon to be ex ) captain picked a really poor spot to do that as well.

 

[henryf]

Having taken a lot of cruises myself I can well imagine the chaos the took place. Having watched Italians load food and supplies onto our ship whilst anchored in Civitaveccia they would not be my first nationality to organise a ship abandonment.

You do have to wonder at how the vessel capsized. After all these years you would have thought systems were in place to counter under water damage. A lot of questions are going to be asked.

Henry

 

[Searush]

Yes i thought from the first reports on the beeb this morning that they'd hit a reef and then made a separate run for the island and deliberately grounded her to be close to shore. From the latest pics it looks like the ( soon to be ex ) captain picked a really poor spot to do that as well.

I doubt he had much choice by then! His normal draught may have been doubled by the time it rolled. This kind of buggers up your depth readings if they are calibrated to normal floatation line rather than "Below keel". He got within 400m of the shore & I doubt that there are many ships using that harbour so the usual little fishing boats will have no trouble getting in & out.

 

[Bajansailor]

I'm surprised that a modern ship only 5 years old could sink in this way. Don't they have bulkheads, watertight doors etc?
/QUOTE]

They do have watertight doors and bulkheads (all the way up to the main deck, unlike Titanic) and I would hope that the Costa crew had closed their watertight doors prior to approaching land / shallow water (this is usual practice, at least it is on a few smaller passneger ships I have been on).

However they are 'only' built to a two compartment standard of sub-division, meaning that they are designed to stay afloat / not capsize if any two of the watertight compartments in the hull are breached (most non-passenger ships only have to have a one compartment standard).
The news report mentions a tear 130'+ along the side of the hull which suggests that more than two of the watertight compartments were holed, and the inevitable happened.

 

[oceanfroggie]

There are no charted hazards in the area or approach to the east of the island. The nearest shoal 8nm to the east is over 24m deep. Can't see what she could have hit. Uncharted hazard off usual routes never hit before in such a busy shipping area? Hmmm.

 

[stuey_two]

Hopefully there will be a record of the track of the ship prior to the final grounding; this would enable identification of any uncharted fixed obstructions.
As these are very unlikely to exist in this area, could the Costa Concordia have hit a moving obstruction, such as a submarine?

 

[Nos4r2]

Hopefully there will be a record of the track of the ship prior to the final grounding; this would enable identification of any uncharted fixed obstructions.
As these are very unlikely to exist in this area, could the Costa Concordia have hit a moving obstruction, such as a submarine?

Probably not when you consider the very large lump of rock sticking out of the tear.

(courtesy of Daily Mail here:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...p-sinking-coast-Italy-Titanic-like-scene.html )

 

[STEVEDUNSTABLE]

Probably not when you consider the very large lump of rock sticking out of the tear.

(courtesy of Daily Mail here:-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...p-sinking-coast-Italy-Titanic-like-scene.html )

looking at that pic, that boulder is in the 40/50 ton bracket !!!!...............also looking at the water line it was only 4/5ft below the surface !!!!!!!...............curiouser n curiouser !!!!!!