Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the cruise ship catastrophe in Italy. For those of you who haven’t, the short version is: a cruise ship struck some kind of underwater hazard and sank. In the process many people were injured or killed. Since then, there have been many allegations of misconduct, primarily on the part of the captain. Evidence is emerging that there seems to be a lot of truth to those allegations.
I want to add my two cents to the controversy. Here’s the deal. I’ve only been on one pleasure cruise, but I lived onboard a medical ship for several months. Because of this, I’ve had the opportunity to learn an awful lot about maritime law. And I’m just shocked by what I’ve learned about this cruise.
I guess what stuns me most is that they did not do a muster drill. I understand that, legally, they have 24 hours before they are required to muster, but that’s 24 hours when something *could* go wrong. Like, you know, hitting an underwater obstacle that tears a hole in the ship and causes it to sink. Musters should happen as soon as the ship leaves port, if not before.
My one pleasure cruise was on the Vision of the Seas, owned and operated by Royal Caribbean. I am happy to say that I had absolutely no concern for safety on that cruise. All of the staff members were competent and had been trained in what to do in case of emergency.
Most noticeably: On our last full day of cruising, we were scheduled to tender off the island of Visby, Sweden. Visitors who wished to visit the island would be transported to the island via tender boats. However, due to a storm that kept the sea quite choppy and unstable, the captain made the choice to cancel tender boat trips to the island. He felt that conditions were simply too dangerous for the tender boats. My family and I had a delightful day on the ship- swimming, playing a card game, and relaxing- but above all I was reassured that the captain valued our lives and our safety above all.
Of course, it is also shocking that captain of the Costa Concordia seems to have behaved in such a cowardly manner. I think everyone is shocked by that, and rightly so. The captain is responsible for the safety and security of everyone and everything on his ship. It’s a big responsibility and should be given only to those who have proven themselves worthy. For the captain to flee from his ship is absolutely inappropriate.
One other thought: I’ve read many comparisons between this catastrophe and the Titanic catastrophe. Both were absolutely tragic, beyond words. But I immediately noticed one major difference between this and the Titanic catastrophe.
In this catastrophe, the captain abandoned ship very quickly, long before all of the passengers had disembarked. Several people died and many more were injured- fewer than on the Titanic, sure, but it is no less tragic.
When the Titanic sank, over 1500 people died and many more were injured. But the captain of the Titanic, Captain Edward John Smith, remained on his ship to the end. He organized the departure as best he could, and ultimately died. His body was never recovered, and it is generally agreed that he went down with the ship.
