68 replies to this topic

[Derek L]

reminds me of some of the Italian army jokes during the later stages of WW2.

The Regia Marina mounted all the guns on the aft end of their Battleships.......or so I was told as boy by an uncle that flew Swordfish for Henry Harwood.......

Edited by Derek L, 18 January 2012 - 10:52 PM.

[jacee]

Not a good one.......

Good. He deserves the worst lawyer available, the sniveling coward.

Edited by jacee, 18 January 2012 - 11:04 PM.

[Derek L]

Good. He deserves the worst lawyer available, the sniveling coward.

I agree.

[fellowtraveller]

Interesting that another captain, who happened to be on the boat, did stay and help direct the evacuation. He's seen as a hero in Italy.

The other captain said he was simply doing his duty as an officer by staying aboard the sinking ship and directing the evacuation. Then he corrected himself and, in a verbak kick ti the groin of the captain that ran away said " I am not a hero and simply acted as any normal man would".

Note that the second and third in command of the ship were in the same lifeboat as the captain. I guess all three fell into the same lifeboat, what a coincidence! I applaud the cruise operator for hiring person with disabilities.

This is noted as being a calamity that will cost billions. The ship itself is insured for about $500 million. Civil suits will not be cheap, and if the ship breaks up or sinks the environmental bill will be astronomical considering the hit to Italian tourism. There will also be a big hit on cruise revenues overall as passengers reconsider their travel plans.

[jacee]

The other captain said he was simply doing his duty as an officer by staying aboard the sinking ship and directing the evacuation. Then he corrected himself and, in a verbak kick ti the groin of the captain that ran away said " I am not a hero and simply acted as any normal man would".

Note that the second and third in command of the ship were in the same lifeboat as the captain. I guess all three fell into the same lifeboat, what a coincidence! I applaud the cruise operator for hiring person with disabilities.

This is noted as being a calamity that will cost billions. The ship itself is insured for about $500 million. Civil suits will not be cheap, and if the ship breaks up or sinks the environmental bill will be astronomical considering the hit to Italian tourism. There will also be a big hit on cruise revenues overall as passengers reconsider their travel plans.

I think CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE just went out of business, at least if I had a reservation with them I'd be canceling, for sure!

Authorities have confirmed 11 deaths. Twenty- two people are still missing, including two Americans.

Costa Cruises, which operated the Costa Concordia, is a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp ( CCL.N)

though it is early in the investigatory process, it appears the Costa Concordia was a preventable tragedy," Rep Frank LoBiondo, the subcommittee chairman, said in a statement."The committee and subcommittee will use this hearing to review current U.S. laws and regulations in an effort to ensure a similar tragedy does not occur aboard vessels calling on American ports," he said. Cruise lines operate from LoBiondo's homestate of New Jersey and many are based in Florida
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSLNE80I03420120119?irpc=932

Edited by jacee, 19 January 2012 - 09:32 AM.

[Boges]

I think CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE just went out of business, at least if I had a reservation with them I'd be canceling, for sure!

Why because of one idiotic captain? So if an Air Canada plan crashes in Europe and you have a flight to, say, Florida; would you cancel?

Cruising is overwhelmingly safe.

That ship shouldn't have been anywhere near the shore.

[Peeves]

Strangely enough he fell into a lifeboat with two other officers. I love the audio tape of his being dissed by the Coast Guard chief. That will be the sum of his legacy.

[GostHacked]

Strangely enough he fell into a lifeboat with two other officers. I love the audio tape of his being dissed by the Coast Guard chief. That will be the sum of his legacy.

And now the Mystery Woman.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/19/captain-in-cruise-ship-disaster-says-fell-out-ship-during-evacuation/

[Scotty]

This was clearly and extremely poorly trained crew who didn't know evacuation procedures or didn't act on them. Maybe if the captain and senior officers hadn't run away things might have been better organized. They waited far too long to start abandoning ship, and even sent passengers back to their cabins, telling them that the problem was fixed! By the time they actually started evacuations the ship was heeled over on her side too far for many of the lifeboats to be launched. Absolutely incredible that a ship a few hundred yards off shore can't evacuate its passengers without a couple of dozen dying.

Of course, it doesn't help that the cruise line companies hire as many cheap labour third-worlders as possible for the crew. They're cheap, but that also means there's rapid rotation, and with a dozen different languages things can get awful confusing awfully quick.

And call me ethnocentric, but I literally cannot imagine a Canadian captain, or a British or Scottish or American captain abandoning his ship like that. Nor a German or Japanese captain, or Scandinavians. There often seems something erratic and emotional about the Mediterranean types when the excrement hits the rotary device. Remember the Oceanos? The Greek captain of that ocean liner actually evacuated, along with his officers and many crew, without even announcing it to the passengers! It was left to the band (English) to go searching on the bridge for them and discover they were gone. Then the band had to contact the coast guard and organize a rescue!

[jbg]

reminds me of some of the Italian army jokes during the later stages of WW2.

What ever happened to the ethics of a captain going down with the ship?

[bush_cheney2004]

What ever happened to the ethics of a captain going down with the ship?

That's for the British Admiralty...not Italian love boats.

[American Woman]

This was clearly and extremely poorly trained crew who didn't know evacuation procedures or didn't act on them. Maybe if the captain and senior officers hadn't run away things might have been better organized. They waited far too long to start abandoning ship, and even sent passengers back to their cabins, telling them that the problem was fixed! By the time they actually started evacuations the ship was heeled over on her side too far for many of the lifeboats to be launched. Absolutely incredible that a ship a few hundred yards off shore can't evacuate its passengers without a couple of dozen dying.

According to an article - a first-hand account - I've read, the evacuation was going relatively smoothly until men started pushing their way past women and children.

...a retired British policeman who survived the tragedy is telling about behavior by male passengers who bullied their way into early lifeboats. Edwin Gurd has stated that men 'pushed past terrified women and children' in order to escape the ship. ... he feared that they could be crushed.

...early stages of evacuation was orderly... Then it changed, as men started pushing their way past the waiting passengers. link

Of course, it doesn't help that the cruise line companies hire as many cheap labour third-worlders as possible for the crew. They're cheap, but that also means there's rapid rotation, and with a dozen different languages things can get awful confusing awfully quick.

Sounds as if the Filipino crew stayed and did all that they could to help the passengers.

...the Philippine embassy in Rome had received positive feedback from other crewmembers and passengers about the Filipino crew’s brave acts manifesting competence, professionalism and humanity, even under extreme pressure.

The Filipino seafarers were commended for staying on to help evacuate other passengers from the cruise ship after its captain allegedly abandoned ship and fled to safety.link

For anyone who is interested, this site has a really good account of the events as they occurred, including lots of comments and photos: link

[cybercoma]

What ever happened to the ethics of a captain going down with the ship?

It's not just ethics. Apparently it's part of international law, sort of like leaving the scene of an accident in a car.

[American Woman]

It's not just ethics. Apparently it's part of international law, sort of like leaving the scene of an accident in a car.

Actually, as has already been posted by guyser, it's not part of international law.

[Scotty]

According to an article - a first-hand account - I've read, the evacuation was going relatively smoothly until men started pushing their way past women and children.

That wouldn't have happened if the evacuation was well-organized. The first men who tried would have been handcuffed and put in a cabin until they were done with the rest. If necessary they'd have been shot or thrown overboard to make their own way to shore.

Sounds as if the Filipino crew stayed and did all that they could to help the passengers.

I didn't say the crew were cowards, only disorganized. And they were disorganized or two dozen people would not have died. The mere fact the evacuation started so late, and that passenger were sent back to their cabins is ample evidence of that. And from your own cites is this:

Fights broke out to get into the lifeboats, men refused to prioritise women, expectant mothers and children as they pushed themselves forward to escape. Crew ignored their passengers – leaving ‘chefs and waiters’ to help out.

Edited by Scotty, 22 January 2012 - 10:51 AM.