Costa Concordia Sinking Ten years ago this week Captain Francesco Schettino made the decision to take his cruise liner Costa Concordia close to the Mediterranean island of Giglio in a “sail past” salute.
Costa Concordia was a 952 foot long cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere built at a cost of $570 million. She boasted a crew of over 1,100, capacity for nearly 4,000 passengers and a maximum speed of 23 knots
On 13 January 2012 at 21:45, Concordia struck rocks in the Tyrrhenian Sea just off the eastern shore of Isola del Giglio. The incident tore open a 160 foot gash on the port side of her hull. Which soon flooded parts of the engine room. And cut power from the engines and ship services. With over 4000 people on board that night, Concordia sank with a loss of 32 lives.
Instead of remaining on board to save as many lives as possible, her cowardly captain climbed into a lifeboat and left the ship. In fact the Italian coast guard instructed him to get back on the ship that night to help with the operation. It would take 6 hours to fully evacuate the ship.
Over the next two years a huge salvage operation pulled the ship upright. And eventually refloated her, with “Captain Coward” starting a 16 year prison sentence.
Getting close to shore, as against protocol as it is, is not a new occurrence. The British cruise line P&O unfortunately had its rock-hopping captains. And there were some who prided themselves on getting closer inshore than their more risk-averse contemporaries.
It’s also worth considering what might have occurred had the ship not come to rest against the island on the opposite side of the damaged side. It’s difficult to see the outcome being quite as positive as it was.
Moreover, if she hit the rocks on her port side, why did she roll over to her starboard side?
When Concordia hit and was impaled by the port-side rock, the captain turned Concordia “hard starboard” making the stern crash!
The captain was hoping for a better outcome, and of course. But luck would not favor him that day. The Concordia was going fast until she hit the rocks. Furthermore, lots of compartments filled with water very quickly. The rocks made a gash in the hull the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
Concordia meandered and then rolled to her starboard side on the sloping rock shallows of the island.
If it wasn’t for the coastal shelf that she settled on she would have capsized and gone straight to the bottom. There would have been a massive loss of lives.
As far as the result of the accident goes, it was a carbon copy of the Titanic accident in that the underwater damage compromised the watertight integrity of the vessel such there was nothing could be done to save her.
At least Captain Smith of the Titanic believed his experts when they told him the ship would sink.
Why Did Titanic Sink? A Scientific Analysis
Schettino’s Chief Engineer told him that 5 or 6 compartments were flooded and the ship couldn’t possibly stay afloat, yet Captain Schettino refused to believe it, delaying the abandon ship order which would have been carried out in open water with possibly no lives lost at all. The insane actions of the captain created the disaster and then further insane actions turned it into a deadly disaster.
The ship’s name Concordia had been intended to express the wish for “continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations.” Even the best intentions require competent leaders to carry them out.
Costa Concordia Sinking
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