Posted: Mon, 01/16/2012 - 2:47pm
By: DNicFol
What do you think? Can we solve the mystery of the Concordia collision?
This blog is written to provide you with a synthesis of all the information swarming out there regarding this accident, and to help you take further steps.
There seems to be a lack of answers when it comes to pinpointing why, exactly, the Carnival-owned Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, collided with the rocky coast area near Giglio Island, Italy this past Friday, January 13th. The ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, has been taken into custody by Italian officials with accusations of manslaughter and abandoning ship. Many angry people have been venting their distress on Facebook and Twitter, believing the accident may have been a matter of Schettino’s negligence and cowardice in handling the situation—negligence that caused the unnecessary deaths of six passengers, with still 16 people unaccounted for. Luckily, of the 120 Americans on board the Concordia, only 2 are still unaccounted for. Numbers vary slightly from source to source, as new information continuously emerges.
Yet, no matter how many or few people are dead, lost, harmed or unharmed, this accident has caused a great deal of mental and physical anguish for the 3,200 passengers and 1,000 ship workers involved. We’ve been reviewing news articles and blog posts today at 1-800-LAW-FIRM, hoping to find clear answers as to what’s really going on and why this happened in the first place. There is a lot of disagreement out there between parties involved. Yet, a consensus seems to point to the accident most likley having been preventable, and the ship’s course should have been already set out for Schettino. It shouldn’t have been so near the shore unless Schettino directed it to be.
Cosimo Nicastro, a Coast Guard spokesman, attested that the waters where the ship ran aground were well-mapped. Additionally, Captain Schettino is an 11-year veteran to ship captaining, which should provide more support that the accident was avoidable. Article after article has indicated some degree of suspicious behavior by Schettino. Costa also assured that the ship’s course was pre-planned and traveled many times before. Despite all of these facts, Schettino still claimed that, “on the nautical chart, it (the rock) was marked just as water…” That seems a bit odd. Costa added that because the course is preprogrammed, an alarm should sound if the ship deviates from its path. This apparently did not happen on the Concordia, which is either a sign of equipment malfunction, or else human hands in the act.
True, Schettino is one man against thousands of upset people. It would seem his word is at a disadvantage in that way. Yet those thousands of people bear accounts of all different sides and experiences of the accident. As the ship’s captain, Schettino also held the most weight in taking care of the ship’s passengers. That’s part of taking on such an authoritative position—great power, great responsibility. Schettino would do best to be honest and own up to what happened, especially when there are so many hurt people involved and needing closure, reasons, an apology for what they went through. Right now, there are only questions flying everywhere.
Why would an experienced captain decide to veer so far off course for such an unnecessary reason? Why was the distress signal apparently not called out early on when the ship initially collided with the shore rocks? Why are there claims that Schettino and other ship authorities abandoned the scene early rather than ensuring the safety and directing the flow of passengers—and yet Schettino denies those claims altogether?
It’s understandable that in the wake of such a tragedy, emotions are high, people are quick to cast blame on each other even if they fail to have all of their facts straight. The truth can only come from gathering more and more personal accounts, and through further investigation by educated officials and passengers.
Really, though, whatever the reason for irresponsibility, passengers will do well to enlist the help of legal professionals to research and demand that the truth come out. Most likely, passengers of the Costa Concordia will be entitled to some kind of compensation through law, especially if negligence and human error are involved. We can help with that at 1-800-LAW-FIRM. If you haven't been directly involved in the accident but would like to spread the word and join in the conversation, please see our page on Facebook or Twitter and post a comment. The more we get talking about this, the easier it will be to make amends for the situation.
Cruise Ship Accident Quick Stats
- Ship Name: Costa Concordia (Costa is a subset of Carnival Cruise Lines), 26th largest passenger ship in the world.
- Accident Date: Friday, January 13, 2012.
- 1/13/12, 9:15pm Ship took five-mile detour to pass closer to coast of Tuscany, perhaps for better viewing by passengers.
- 1/13/12, 9:30pm Ship strikes rocks off coast of Giglio Island, Italy.
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First Alarm: 9:45pm (Passengers had already began panicking)
- Ship Captain: 52-year old, 11-year veteran Francesco Schettino
- Number of Passengers: 4,200 (3,200 passengers, 1,000 crew)
- Tolls as of 1/16/12: 6 confirmed dead, 16 missing (2/120 Americans missing)
Here are some links you might like to check out regarding the accident:
Helpful Visuals and Investigative Information
A Video Captain Schettino's Statements
News story we posted from CNN comparing Concordia accident to Titanic
Informational CNN Video Report by Dan Rivers
Tags: Cruise Ship Accident, Maritime Law
