Costa Concordia Roundup
As Professional Mariners, we've all been following the news about the grounding of the Costa Cruise Lines ship Costa Concordia carefully. As of this morning 11 are confirmed dead, with 21 still missing, including an American couple.
Concerns about movement of the ship, which is perched precariously on a ledge just off the Italian island of Giglio, have led to the evacuation of rescue crews yet again, and operations by Smit Salvage to remove the 2400 tons of fuel from the vessel have also been suspended.
Decisions about which company will be awarded the salvage rights to the 950-foot long vessel, which will be one of the biggest salvage operations in recent history, have yet to be made. It's also unclear whether the vessel will be refloated or dismantled in place.
Details are emerging about what may have led to the initial grounding, including a detailed AIS recreation of the event, which can be found here.
A transcript of the conversation between the cruise ship's captain and a captain in the Italian Coast Guard that occurred as the vessel was being abandoned has been released, and it's well worth reading.
The U.S. Coast Guard, which oversees cruise ship safety for vessels home-ported in or using U.S. waters has released a story about how inspections and training make it hard for similar events to occur on its watch.
Latest news here.
