Tag: cruise ships

"Women and children first!" It's been suggested women and children were not given priority for lifeboats when the Costa Concordia capsized. But are there rules governing who leaves a sinking ship first?It's a famous moment in the Titanic story. "Women and children first!" went the cry.It's too early to know exactly what happened in the final hours of the Costa Concordia. The captain has already had to deny allegations he left the ship before everyone had been evacuated.And it has been reported that some male passengers ignored informal injunctions to wait until women and children had made it into the lifeboats.How did the priority rule begin? This protocol started when HMS Birkenhead sank in 1852 "Women and children first" phrase coined in 1860 RMS Titanic disaster in 1912 popularised the rule Only 20% of men on board Titanic were saved It is not a part of international maritime lawEdwin Gurd, a retired police chief, told the Times. "We were keen for women and children to go first, and men if they had babies or families. A lot of men regardless of that were trying to save themselves."But is the traditional maxim of women and children going first really part of ...

A look at high-profile incidents to examine how they affected safety regulations at sea Following the Costa Concordia disaster, we look at other high-profile incidents and examine how they affected safety regulations at sea.April 15, 1912 - Titanic The most notorious maritime disaster in history. The Titanic ocean liner sunk after striking an iceberg in the north Atlantic, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 people.Famously, the ship carried only 20 lifeboats with a total capacity of 1,178 people - more than it was legally required to, but only sufficient to carry around half of those on board. Other mitigating factors were the calm weather conditions, which made spotting icebergs difficult, and the slow response of other ships to the Titanic's distress calls.Subsequent safety initiatives The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) was established in 1914. It passes regulations that require ships to carry enough lifeboats for all those on board.The International Ice Patrol was established to monitor north Atlantic icebergs that may pose a threat to transatlantic sea traffic. It is still in operation today, and has used aircraft since the 1940s.The Radio Act of 1912, which requires the radios of all passenger ships to be ...

29 people are missing Rescue crews have blasted holes in a stricken cruise ship in order to gain easier access as hopes fade of finding survivors among the 29 people missing.Six people are known to have died after the Costa Concordia crashed into rocks off Italy's west coast on Friday night.The ship's owners have blamed the captain for Friday's crash, saying he changed course towards an island.Capt Francesco Schettino has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter and is due to appear shortly in court.Capt Schettino, 52, has also been accused of abandoning his vessel before all the passengers had been evacuated.He is to answer questions from a magistrate who will decide if he is to remain in custody.Italy says it will declare a state of emergency over the incident, and provide funding to help avert any environmental disaster.The Italian environment minister said liquid was leaking from the ship, but it was unclear if it was fuel.Meanwhile, Italian officials have denied a newspaper report that a seventh body had been found overnight on the vessel. Captain 'in difficult position' Shortly after daybreak on Tuesday rescue crews blasted several holes in the ship, now lying on its side metres from Giglio island, ...

Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Tragedy Divers are hurrying as quickly as possible to rescue any possible remaining survivors from the Coasta Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, Italy on Saturday and keeled over.On Monday, the head of the Italian Coast Guard said there were at least 29 people still unaccounted for -- a sharp increase from previous estimates -- according to CNN. Among the missing are two Americans.Three survivors were pulled from the vessel on Sunday, and cave divers are continuing to search for anyone still inside.But according to Reuters the mission isn't simple by any means. Due to a massive amount of debris, the ship is a maze of dead ends and winding hallways.Speleologists, as they are known, are used to diving in dark and enclosed spaces. The ship's hallways, cabins and dining rooms are similar to caves -- but caves do not have floating furniture or doors that may be jammed shut.Some have drawn comparisons to the infamous Titanic disaster and this crash off the coast of Italy, as many of the survivors described their ordeal, having to crawl through long almost vertical hallways and stairwells, the AP writes. Whether that comparison is ...

Nautilus International says The grounding of a cruiseship carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew two weeks into the Titanic centenary year should serve as a wake-up call to the shipping industry and those who regulate it, says the maritime professionals' union Nautilus International.The union says the incident involving the Italian-flagged cruiseship Costa Concordia is the latest in a series that have highlighted its long-standing concerns over safety.'In this, the centenary of the loss of the Titanic, major nostalgia industry is already in full flow - but it is essential that everyone recognises that the Titanic offers lessons for today and that there are contemporary resonances that should not be lost,' said general secretary Mark Dickinson.In particular, Nautilus is concerned about the rapid recent increases in the size of passenger ships - with the average tonnage doubling over the past decade.'Many ships are now effectively small towns at sea, and the sheer number of people onboard raises serious questions about evacuation,' Mr Dickinson pointed out.'Nautilus is by no means alone in voicing concern at underlying safety issues arising from the new generation of "mega-ships" - whether they be passenger vessels carrying the equivalent of a small town or containerships with ...

Environmentalists push for preventive measures The 17-deck cruise ship that capsized smack in the middle of a marine nature reserve off Tuscany shows these ocean giants threaten the coastline and should be banned, Italian environmentalists said Monday.The Costa Concordia remains on its side less than 50 metres (55 yards) from the island of Giglio with more than 2,000 tonnes of diesel oil and slowly releasing objects ranging from refrigerators to cabin furniture and carpeting.Worried about the impact on the environment, some are calling for banning these colossal ships -- as big as a 10-storey buildings -- from sailing into these sensitive zones."That's enough, we have to stop treating these ships like they were simple vaporetti," said Italy's Environment Minister Corrado Clini, referring to the boats that ply the canals of Venice.He promised to act "to prevent these giant ships from getting close to sensitive zones" to protect the environment in an interview published Monday in La Stampa newspaper.Three senators from the leftist Democrat Party also demanded that the government issue an emergency decree to ban cruise ships and oil tankers from passing near sensitive areas, including the lagoon of Venice, protected marine zones and the waters around small islands.Italian environmental ...

Italy Cruise Ship Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino Speaking to the Media

Cruise Ship Crew Is Criticized A sixth body has been found in the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized off the coast of Tuscany as rescue workers continue searching for survivors in the part of the ship that is above water.The sixth body to be found on the cruise ship Costa off Giglio is still unidentified, though it has been confirmed by Italian news outlet Ansa that the man was a passenger on the ship. The man was found on the second deck in a part of the ship which was not flooded by water. He had his life vest on.Sixteen people are still unaccounted for after the Costa Concordia, which was carrying 4,234 passengers and crew, hit rocks Friday evening near Giglio, a small island off the coast of Tuscany. Investigators say the ship was an "incredibly close" 150 meters (roughly 500 feet) from the shore.The bodies of two passengers found wearing life jackets aboard the ship were identified Sunday, officials said. Both passengers were elderly men -- one Italian, the other Spanish. The bodies were found earlier Sunday near a gathering point in the submerged part of the luxury liner. Gregorio Borgia/AP PhotoItalian firefighters' scuba ...

Costa Concordia tragedy

The Captain abandoned first sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia