Holy Sh...,

with such a modern ship going down, it must have been a terrible damage. What I don`t get, why it lies on that side, the damage seems to be on the other side of the ship and now is above the water. Could of course possibly be, that there are even bigger holes on the submerged side.

How they managed to run aground is a mystery to me too, they should have the most modern navigation systems on board. These reefs aren`t there since yesterday, I bet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16558910

3 confirmed dead, 69 still missing, death toll will surely rise. So close to port too, what a tragedy.

Acc. to the cruise line it hit a reef much further out. When they saw that they couldn't contain the water coming in, the captain headed for land to beach the ship. That probably saved very many lives (+4000 on board, 3 dead, 60 missing). Whether the initial impact was due to negligence will be found out later, I guess...

The cause of that could be, that the ship was stuck on the rocks. As water poured in, the rocks levered/fulcrumed the ship onto the side it ended up on?

Read my posting gain. It struck a rock far from its final location. It was beached by the crew to avoid sinking.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...like-scene.html

Amazing image of rock lodged in the hull:

Serious navigation error, that it a huge rock stuck in the hull. Can imagine salvaging a ship this large
after running it aground will be monumental undertaking. Mega buck loss is a serious understatement.

Cap't said it was a reef that didn't appear on the maps... - Go figure.

Don't huge vessels like these have forward-scanning sonar? They should!

The original Poseiden Adventure is a better fit as a movie.

Captain says that it was not on his chart. We'll need to wait for the investigation, to learn if that's true.

[edit] multi tabbed browsing. NTS: hit refresh. :P

The 13 deck liner then began to take on water after hitting a rock creating a 160ft gash in the hull, near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast - two weeks into the Titanic centenary year.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...l#ixzz1jSEHwOcq


gotta love the media....

Aren't these ships supposed to be compartmentalized so as to avoid sinking as a result of a rock (or iceberg)? Lucky that the crew beached her, otherwise it would be on the bottom now...

With a gash that large, good luck closing those compartments quick enough!

Even Salvage work on a ship this huge will be tough. Hole that size will take one monster of a patch.
And now that its thoroughly grounded, getting it off the rocks. WOW, how ?

It can be done. Thialf floating crane, then secure it say with welded pylons to a few barges to keep it afloat, then bring to a very large drydock, or even better right into a floating drydock if one is available. Expensive? Yea, probably something like 75 million. But far cheaper than buying a replacement that might cost 500mil or more.

Big job, sure. Maybe take a year. But a straightforward job. And probably economically worthwhile.

As for the crash, didn't a USN submarine run into an underwater hill/mountain or something several years ago? was that on the map?

You're thinking of the San Francisco. Yes, she ran into a submerged seamount at flank speed, and the crew was barely able to save the boat. One MM died as a result of injuries suffered during the impact, and several more were seriously injured. A close friend of mine was on one of the submarines that escorted her back into port- from what I remember him saying, that area of the chart wasn't super precise about locations of that particular mountain.

Well, that was deep underwater, this was a barely subsurface reef!

Oh crap, I just found out it's a Costa ship that capsized. I used to do IT support for Costa when they had their US/Caribbean headquarters in Miami. I even went on a Costa cruise in the Eastern Caribbean for free.

im going on a cruise this sat, hope this isnt a sign!

Oh damn', don't tell me: you worked on their navigation software? :O

LOL! Uh thankfully not! I just ran their mainframes and fixed desktop and printing issues whenever they arose.

Oh no, reports of a couple from White Bear lake,MN are reported missing on the ship. Hopefully
they find them ashore someplace.

Something I still cannot understand is that the captain was not the last to get away ...you have the responsabilty of thousands of people and you amongst the first to save your a§§ !

Yup, all of the US news networks are talking about that this morning. I'd hate to be in charge of PR for Costa right now.

Looks like the BBC is reporting the Capt went off course,

Cruise Ship update


Interesting to see what comes of this both Capt and first officer have been detained it sounds like.

Thats the end of his big ship career, he will be lucky to get a dinghy licence now.

They're an elderly couple. not looking too good for them.

Hi,

The place to go:
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/open-discussion/last-voyage-costa-concordia-cruise-ship-41313.html

OFF

Good lord, that Captain is going to face high crimes, manslaughter charges could be upgraded after reading
this.

Translation of the most incredible parts of the story:

A reconstructed first radio-call from the Coast Guard (CG) to Costa Concordia (CC), based on first testimonies from the CG personnel:

CG: "Costa Concordia, is everything okay?".
CC: "Yes, Compamare Livorno, only a technical failure."
CG: "Costa Concordia, are you sure that is a technical failure? We know that there are passengers on board wearing life jackets."
CC: "Compamare, confirm: it is a technical failure."

The incredible thing is that the CG had to call the C. Concordia ship (and not the vice-versa) after they received a call by a relative of a lady on-board the ship. This lady has called home to tell them about the accident, and her relatives have then called Carabinieri to have more info. The Carabinieri knew nothing about the accident, so they have contacted the Coast Guard. The CG knew nothing too, so they checked the ship's AIS track, saw that something strange is going on and have immediately called the ship.
An hour has already passed since the ship has hit the rock.

I'll break the story-telling here to cite Submarine Tom again: Truth stranger than fiction!

The most incredible part is yet to come.
A vessel of the Guardia di Finanza (GdF - Financial Police) was called in by the CG to check the situation. When they have arrived near the ship, it was already listed. They were asked by the CC crrew if they could tow a rope to help move the ship out of the zone. the GdF crew couldn't believe their ears.

At this point the commander's blunder has become public and the order to evacuate the ship was given. The captain (whose name is Francesco Schettino) and some crew members have arrived to the port among the first ones, according to this reconstruction of events. He took the taxi and asked the driver to take him "as far as possible from there". So the driver took him to his house, to give him some food and drink.

That's where he received the next three phone calls from the CG.
CG: "Captain, you are not on the ship?"
FS: "No, I'm not aboard and I'm not going back there"

The next phone call:
CG: "Captain, I have been ordered to tell you that you must get back on board"
FS refuses again to comply.

The third phone call was more shouted than talked, from both sides.

After that (not specified precisely when), the "captain" took a boat for Porto Santo Stefano (across the channel), where he was arrested by Carabinieri.

A word of caution - I would still take it all with a healthy grain of salt, until the official reconstruction of events is released. Because this truth is so much stranger than fiction...

I don't know how they do it in those overgrown bathtubs, but if the ship went off course, wasn't that the navigator's fault? Or do ship captains directly responsible in navigation, too? (what's the navigator really there for then?)

Cruise company had a preset course set, the captain deviated this course to show off his ship
to the islanders. Will be forever known now as a coward who killed his ship and passengers while
trying to get away from his blunder.

I had the same post as yours above ready to paste Jim but you beat me to the draw, pretty incredible reading

29 missing passengers still in that ship, the captain should be back aboard being the #1 searcher for
his passengers. He was to comfortable with his position of showing off. It cost lives and he needs to
pay for his crimes.

madness..


A first hand account from an Australian passenger aboard who took to posting this on a forum:

"Sitting here in the Hilton Garden Inn, Rome Airport waiting for passports and a flight home. We have nothing just the clothes on our back, ( evening wear with a hurried coat thrown over the back, my 12 year old is dressed in a short halter neck dress with a windcheater and the temps here are very cold but we have been given nothing else by Costa our embassy have given us cash and are taking us shopping for essentials. Costa have put us up in this hotel but told us nothing and given us no further help than that. They left the hotel yesterday afternoon abandoning us here alone dazed bruised and confused.

After the ship Hit it listed people rang and panicked we were told to go to our rooms, glad ours was the 6th deck and not below. The announcements were that we had electrical problems everything was under control, the english was announced by our international host. We were told this twice. and then by the staff numerous times, I think they believed it as well. We could not go into our cabin as our welcome spumante and glasses was shattered all over the floor and there were no lights, we could see the island was close from the balcony window so did not panic thinking everything would be okay. Cabin staff told us not to get our life jackets it was not necessary we sat on stools and the floor joking with them, this went on for what seemed like an hour, the boat struck just after 9pm I think. Then a message came over the speakers all of the staff left immediately.

We were left alone as the abandon ship sirens screamed, we grabbed a coat and shoes in place of high heels our life vests, put them on and headed for the lifeboats. We stood on the deck for ages before the cabin staff told us to enter the lifeboats. We got into the boats we had a waiter in the drivers seat and some boys in white overalls, the lifeboat filled to capacity and they shut the door, people screamed the door was purshed open and people continued to enter the boat overflowing it the waiter in the drivers seat trying repatedly to get an answer form the bridge to drop the lifeboat. I don't believe that message ever came eventually an Indian engineer came who said he should be the driver the gate was sealed and they started to drop the boat, it was horrifying the boat was too heavy it lurched all of as standing were thrown to the floor the boat stuck on the side of the ship with men desperately trying to lever it off the side of the boat.

Eneutally we got to the sea the waiter was too short to see out the top of the boat to steer they circled around the boat for ages and ages, eventually the engineer steered with the waiter on his shoulders we just kept circling with the shore so close and all those people still on the boat and we kept circling. Lifeboats crashed into each other they were empty but they were not going back to the boat they had no orders no instructions. Eventually we tried to dock but crashed into the wharf circled a bit more and docked.

We got of the ship dazed and confused trying to find a toilet for my 12 year old, a shopkeeper let people use his a long line for one toilet. The locals on the island gave us everything they had souvenir tshirts tops blankets. We were herded to the school, some to the church, here we sat on cold floors on our life vests this was about midnight when we got there. No one spoke English everyone was talking and we had no idea where we were or what was happening the staff were the waiters etc and no time did we see an officer. I saw the International english speaking host and asked him what was happening he said he had no idea and was as dazed and confused as me, I told him where we were and to come back and tell us, he never came back, from time to time we ventured out of the school to look and see what was happening as the ship submerged on its side where our cabin was. Eventually a lady in a shop or meeting place of some kind spoke english, she told me there was a queue for the ferry to the mainland. We joined the queue, and gave our names ( the first time) and got on the next ferry.

1 hour later we arrived on the mainland, we were given warmer blankets and pushed towards a tent we went through and had our names taken again we were then pushed through to a bus and taken to a school and told to stand in a corner for the port where we embarked, there were not enough chairs. We sat there for three or four hours we were then called to a bus, but when we got there we were told this bus was only for people who had cars at Civitivecchia, we had to wait for the airport bus.

We were then bussed to the Hilton Garden Inn and given a room, we were still told nothing given nothing by Costa, constantly I asked them and was always told to wait while they spoke to people in more common languages, Costa have done nothing but give us the room."

How many other passengers are in the same situation ? Nobody plans to have have 4000 people invade
an island overnight. There will many more horror stories like this. And if there are any survivors
still trapped, time is running out.

Oh, then it's the captain's fault, all right.

Reading ajay's and the others' posts above I can't help but think that the crew never received any kind of emergency drill whatsoever. What chaos..

Hi,

This accident will be a school case .. like the Titanic was a school case hundred years ago ...
The shipbuilders have to review their copy .. as the one's in charge of safety at sea.
Those ships are villages on sea..
Way too much people for organize a safe evacuation.
Crew drilled or not .. they can't control a crowd of 4000 or 5000 people .. who know nothing about a lifeboat .. the sea and etc ... they are just to go in panic
The marine crew are few (officers and AB seamen) ... the rest of the crew are bar tenders .. room maids .. stewards .. etc ..
And in this accident .. they are lucky that they were near the coast and a calm sea state (ironically it was this fact that caused the accident)
I'm certain .. if this happen offshore .. the dead will be in the thousands ...
Sure it will be some change in the cruise liners world

OFF

Well, if a ship this big hits a coral at any speed, with all that massive momentum, I don't think the shipbuilder's at fault it sunk.

Hi,



Big is the problem .. not the construction design
Too much people to evacuate in case of emergency (anything .. from hitting coral to collision or fire)

OFF

I don't know, Crapolla. But I'd think that the ..uh..what the ships guys call their FAA?..would have laid out some strict rules about it. Like how many minimum lifeboats, escape routes, etc, no matter how big the ship is. Much like the numbers of escape doors an airplane must have depending on its maximum pax capacity. This is the modern age, anyway, I doubt something that important is overlooked.
My take on this case is, there's something wrong with the company and it's crew training programs. Think about it, the discipline in that company must be so loose that one of its captains really think he could divert off the pre-planned route to show off and still get away with it (imagine a 747 captain flying low and slow over Manhattan to do the same thing).
From what I read, I found little to no evidence about inadequate emergency equipments being a problem; it's how the crew handled the emergency that is a big question.

Just my 2c

Disgusting...
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/open-di...html#post519208

A ships's course is always at the discretion of the captain, as it should be. The maximum responsible on board is the one who decides the course.

The problem arises when the captain turns out to be highly irresponsible...

Suicide should be the captains only reward for his cowardice act. He is no man at all.

Doesn't look like the Captain and crew lived up to The Birkenhead Drill.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Birkenhead_(1845)

wow.

Thats just so sad.

What does it say about the guys who would hire slime like that to drive their boat?

Too lazy to investigate properly. That said, it's probably just a seniority thing. You work long enough without a major screwup you get the job, regardless of whether or not you SHOULD get it.


That's why I think seniority is a crock and should be abolished. All positions on merit, no one gives a crap how long you've been there.



The Jedi Master

Unless i may have misunderstood your meaning, unfortunately i do not agree

A ships course should never be at the sole discretion of the captain. The Captain should have the greatest experience, but that does not make them infallible. Those others on the bridge should have questioned why they were so close to land. It is then the captains responsability to justify to the crew that his course of action under the circumstances are safe and in accordance with SOP's and for those emergency situation, are deemed to be the best course of action if contradictory to a SOP.

And as i am sure there would have been Standard Operating Proceedures regarding proximity to terrain and level of known hazards, the crew shold have voiced strongly their opinion and eventually assumed control before the ship was in danger.

However, that does not preclude why the captain ended up in a life raft (if the translated phone calls in the above link are true then that is disgraceful), and the events that followed.

To me it sounds like a prime instance of cockpit gradient (or command gradient).

Someone, somewhere, somehow should have voiced in a very clear way that the ship is outside any applicable SOP and that they have concerns over safety of the ship.

I will keep my thoughts of the captain mainly to myself until more info is out.

+1 Well stated.

It is still very early in this drama and things can't be depended on for accuracy yet , but ... Did you hear that Schettino is claiming he didn't abandon the ship; he tripped and fell into a descending lifeboat ?

Yeah tripped and fell into a descending lifeboat - anyone buying that ?

I know,

Clutching at straws here, definitely.

And the captain was released to be held under house arrest ? I would think he would be safer in jail unless this is the courts plan. Not hoping anything bad happens while he is at home.
No suicide watch at home.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...-sake-logo.html

The most hated man in Italy for now.

Again I caution about accuracy of immediate news coverage, but here is an explanation of it.

You have to click the numbers to get a step by step account.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/interact...r-unfolded.html

He might eventually apply for a job on the Yellow Star Line.

Yellow? I thought it was the White Star Line?

I have to keep my comments to myself.

My boss is going to be interviewed by Geraldo this afternoon as an expert in the field. If they put the video online, I will post a link. I know it will be on Fox News, but not sure when it will air on TV. I am sure I will hear after the interview is done because my office is right next to my bosses.

hey it can happen,i heard a good politician claim he didnt know how 80 millions end up in his acount, why not a simple accident ?

Yellow Star Line = White Star Line but ship captains are yellow...

Captain Magoo?

"Get back on board, for ----’s sake" is a rather mild translation... a whole different level of profanity is involved here.
It's fast becoming a kind of a national motto, apparently we Italians are finally realizing that we've tolerated so many Captain Schettino on the loose in our country, only one was at sea and he isn't even the worst of the lot...

nibbio, can you give us a better translation ?

I appreciate that you have an on the spot experience of the issue. Sadly it does seem to have some national stereotype implications. I would love to hear some of your impressions of this.

So where's the Diamond!

Actually, it sounds like he circumvented the "Seniority" system and used the good ole boy "Merit" system (aka Brown Nosing) to get his command.

"He joined Costa in 2002 as a safety officer, served as a staff captain and was appointed captain in 2006, according to the cruise line."
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/18/world/europe/italy-ship-captain-profile/

That makes it appear like he started in a management position and then went to the line "out" of Seniority.

Still, like so much with this incident, too early to tell.

they were temporarily transported back in time, hit the rock, then transported back in time to beach the ship.

A loose but more accurate translation would be "Get the f**k on board!"

I will also add an interesting and little known piece of information: the Chairman of RINA http://www.rina.org, the Italian naval registration board, has resigned yesterday, after an interview where he, somewhat recklessly , raised some doubts (which he later vehemently denied) about the safety procedures adopted by Costa Crociere Spa, the shipowners, and a very good customer of RINA.
You may draw your own conclusions...

sorry about the fact that the link is in Italian, I couldn't find a link in English
http://www.ilsecoloxix.it/p/genova/2012/01/17/APZS9fhB-colloquio_scerni_dimette.shtml

LMAO!! That's the funniest excuse I've heard since "I smoked pot but didn't inhale".

Financial Times

"The chairman of Rina, the Italian classification society that provided certification for Costa Concordia, has resigned amid controversy over remarks he was reported to have made in which he suggested that Costa Cruises “could not but have known” that its ships regularly went close to Giglio.
Rina said Gianni Scerni disputed the comments he was reported to have made, but had resigned to distance Rina from any association with the alleged remarks."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cb4fcc0c-41f6-11e1-9506-00144feab49a.html#axzz1jpwHwHgI

Just turning into more of a farce every passing day..tripped and fell into a boat, that is classic.

Maybe he watched the Last Boy Scout recently..

Mike : It just happened, Joe. It...
Joe : Sure, sure, I know... it just happened. Coulda happened to anybody. It was an accident, right? You tripped, slipped on the floor and accidentally stuck your d*ck in my wife. "Whoops! I'm so sorry, Mrs. H. I guess this just isn't my week."

Hi,

magicalflyer


Seem's to me that with the lack of supervision and orders (captain and some rank officers already of the ship during the evacuation) the crew (mainly stewards and some AB seamen) have made a good job for a almost safe evacuation ...

OFF

Hi,



Everybody know it .. RINA as Costa ...
http://gcaptain.com/not-the-first-time-i...n-closer/?37826
Video
http://gcaptain.com/costa-concordia-showing-off/?37739
Another one .. near island of Procida
http://tv.liberoquotidiano.it/video/104675/Il_video_che_imbarazza_Costa_Crociere.html
Concordia webcam (not always online as it's also a breaking news channel)
http://www.aftonbladet.se/webbtv/nyheter/olyckor/article14228292.ab
And another forum ....
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1548101&page=146
Is that the lessons have been learned?
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/guides/Passenger_Ship_Disasters_-_Part_4
Edited:
Anything goes .. next will be Hollywood



OFF

Your boss is an expert in cowardly sea vessel captains? How do you get THAT expertise??



The Jedi Master

Good article:
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/12_genna...e7a1445db.shtml

Italy’s recurring tragedy
The quest for «bella figura»
Italy seems to have a knack for plunging into spectacular messes. It’s not the only European country to face problems lately

di BEPPE SEVERGNINI

Italy seems to have a knack for plunging into spectacular messes. It’s not the only European country to face problems lately - quite the reverse, it seems a popular pastime at the moment. When things go wrong below the Alps, though, they produce perfect images for the world’s front pages. First Naples’ piles of smoking rubbish, then Silvio Berlusconi’s scores of pouting girls. And now the awesome pictures of a huge, white cruise-ship, beached like a whale off Tuscany’s charming Isola del Giglio.

The sinking of Costa Concordia has been a tragedy - more than 30 people are dead or missing - and an embarrassment. The heroism of most of the crew does not cancel the fact that rescue operations were tardy and chaotic. A passenger list has not yet been produced. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, disembarked early, leaving hundreds of people behind (he is now under house arrest). His taped conversation with Captain Gregorio De Falco at Livorno Port Authority - who shouted “You... get back on board!” - has gone viral. The exact Italian wording is now available on T-shirts.

The temptation to grab for lazy monetary metaphors about “sinking Italy” is obvious but it must be resisted. Yet something can be learned about Italy from the Costa Concordia disaster; it just needs a little introduction.

Why did the ship sail so close to Giglio and into its shallow waters? Because her captain, Mr Schettino, wished to please chief steward Antonello Tievoli, whose family lives on the island. He proposed an inchino (a sail-past, literally a “bow” or “curtsey”): the huge cruiser - carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew - would show up and show off with lights glittering and sirens sounding. At 9.08 pm, just one hour before the ship ran aground, Mr Tievoli’s sister, Francesca, posted on Facebook: “In a little while the Costa Concordia will sail so close so close...”. It turned out that the ship did the same on her previous passage in front of the island, on January 6th.

Once again, an Italian fell into the trap of “la bella figura” - this time, with tragic consequences. La bella figura, the beautiful figure: only in Italian does there exist an expression like this. It means making “a good impression”, in an aesthetic sense. Too often, both in public and private, we confuse what is beautiful with what is good; aesthetic appreciation sweeps ethics aside. Leo Longanesi - a perceptive Italian columnist, our H.L. Mencken - once wrote: “Gli italiani preferiscono l’inaugurazione alla manutenzione”- Italians prefer openings to maintenance. There is a lot of truth in this. It’s not a verdict, but a warning.

There is a theatrical tendency in Italy, which is part of our charm and at the root of our problems - and not just on the high seas. Some of the current financial problems stem from lax controls - tax evasion (estimated at over €200bn a year), illegal exportation of capital (some €130bn is said to be hidden in Swiss banks), and corruption. Successive governments made clear that they didn’t really care. Leaders told voters only what voters wanted to hear. Wrongdoers were threatened with frightening, lengthy and unlikely punishments, whereas sanctions should be moderate, certain and swift. Mr Berlusconi was a virtuoso in this sort of vote-winning trickery.

Things began to change last summer. With the economy going down and government bond yields going up, the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund shouting orders, Italians realized that things had to change. After dismissing the delusional Mr Berlusconi, the three main parties agreed to support a more sober, competent leader, Mario Monti, handpicked by president Giorgio Napolitano. Un governo badante - a caregiver government to assist an ageing and dependent political class.

Surprisingly - but only for those who do not know the country well – most Italians accepted the new state of affairs. The tough new austerity measures hit hard, above all the changes to pensions and property taxes, but they did not provoke a panicking, emotional response, as in Greece. This is opera, not drama; we can tell when the fat lady is about to sing. Or, if we want to stick to current metaphors, we can see the rocks below the surface.

That’s why Costa Concordia’s Francesco Schettino is now a villain. He didn’t see it coming; and, when it came, he couldn’t cope and he ran away - not a bella figura, at all. Italians today are all for Captain Gregorio De Falco who shouted Torna a bordo, cazzo! Because this is where we want to be: on board, safely in Europe and within the eurozone. Possibly without hitting the bottom first. -------------

"Torna a bordo, cazzo!" is literally "Get back on board, dick", where "dick" isn't short for Richard. Cazzo doesn't refer to the captain, but is rather used as "dammit!"

well, discovery or history channel will have another nice episode of the show where they lift wrecks.


(dont remember the exact name, but i remember watching them lift ships, sunken submarines.)

Heavy metal Task Force, Extreme Machines. Build it bigger.

Finally found out the air date for my bosses interview with Geraldo. It's going to be Geraldo at Large on Fox news on Saturday and Sunday. The first showing is going to be Saturday night at 10 PM EST. A few years ago, I posted about my son getting to play on the Full Mission Ship Simulator at work. They ran though the ship wreck three times on it the other day and that should be on there too. We have a few simulators, but this is the big one. So you will get to see that one too.

Just putting it out there in case anyone is interested in Ships and the accident.

Ah sweet! And Captain De Falco is like a real life Leonardo DiCaprio!!

YGBSM

....Yes, because.... Titanic wasn't real-life, was it? Just a movie with Leonard DiCaprio...

Guess we won't see Bernard Lee playing THIS captain in the film version. Maybe Brad Dourif instead?



The Jedi Master

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

An Epic fail.

This Cruise liner is massive.

check out these Satellite Photos of the Stricken Cruise Ship from Orbit!

http://news.discovery.com/space/big-pic-costa-concordia-cruise-ship-satellite-120118.html

Mentats make great cruise ship captains.

excellent and clear video reconstruction of the incident

http://gcaptain.com/gcaptains-john-konra...ia-video/?37941

Very interesting analysis. I wonder if the actual VDR data will match or if the Cruise company will fudge it. The cruise industry stands to loose much by this mishap.

With apologies to those who lost lives:

The movie will be Posiden Adventure .45: Not Quite a Quarter Way There.

How about Rowan Atkinson?

It was only just yesterday that I first saw photos showing how close the ship is to the shore.

That captain was a damn fool trying that stunt.

To be fair, where the ship is now is a way from where it hit the rocks...the captain tried to get the ship to the port before she capsized and so is now right at the coast edge.

Not that it makes up for having wrecked the ship for no good reason, delayed the evacuation, and "fallen into the lifeboat", mind.

Well now, this makes it all better.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnew...-survivors.html

I would counter with 40%. I mean..get aggressive..

1 million in compensation of WHAT exactly ? i know "human life is priceless" and all that,but each person asking for 100,000 bucks and one million ? were they travelling with the whole family savings ? they should be covered the value they expent,both on travel and inside the ship,their possessions and the value of their life insurance since they almost died,those that do not have a life insurange should have someone make a value for them.

What a mess... Reports of "unregistered passengers" are appearing on the press.

"It has also emerged that there could be a number of unregistered passengers aboard the ship, making the number of missing people much higher."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...l#ixzz1kILa8YIS

What about mental anguish. If they have to undergo years of therapy because they now have claustrophobia and hydrophobia it will be very expensive for them. What about compensation for loss of income as these people try to cope and reintegrate into society with ptsd?

for crying out loud, be reasonable, mental anguish ? if so, terapy sessions should be paid in full by the company, not 1 million bucks !
And reintegrate into society ? are you serious ? no one was handcaped, suck it up,you almost died while having fun, today is another day.