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Tales from the Concordia — 6 Comments

  1. Stories and photos of these incidents are always fascinating.

    The final report will be very interesting. Some seeming anomalies are apparent–besides the behavior of the Captain. The damage is on the port side, but the ship rolled to starboard. It will be interesting to hear the theory behind that.

    The facts, also makes it clear that there was no watertight integrity. No more serious than the damage was, I would think there was plenty of time to achieve at least partial integrity to limit the flooding. I will be curious to learn how the decision is made; what options are available; i.e., can certain areas be isolated from the control point, or are all doors closed at one time. Another question would be what mechanisms exist to achieve integrity; clearly, it cannot be a totally manual system, given the small number of technically trained crew.

    Admittedly, it could be a bit tricky if actions were taken from a remote control point that trapped passengers; although I wonder if there are actually any passengers below the waterline. (I know there are reports of finding bodies below the W/L, but I assume they are speaking of a “re-established” W/L.

    It is simply flabbergasting for a modern ship of that size to capsize as the result of so little damage. I recently read a story of a freighter that broke its back in a storm off of Cornwall. The Captain rode the powerless wreck for many days after getting everyone, including about 12 passengers, to safety; a genuine hero (Danish-American.) After days of continual battering in stormy seas, the ship finally foundered and sank while under tow. Forget the name of the book, but it was a riveting read. I compare that to this ship rolling over and dying with a relatively small gash in its hull, and marvel.

    A lot to learn yet.

  2. There was a comment on another blog about this incident; about another passenger ship which was disabled in a bad storm off the coast of South Africa in 1991. The captain and the whole crew abandoned ship amost immediatly, leaving the ship’s entertainers to organize the air evacuation of the passengers. No fooling – it was called the MTS Oceanos, and the entertainment staff stayed to the end. Seems pretty much what happened here: the last of the ships’ company to leave were the entertainers and the poor ship’s purser with a broken leg.

  3. Navy ships are manned by lots of folks whose primary job is to fight the ship, which takes everybody at the same time. Maintaining the ship as ready to fight takes considerably less time, so spare time is made up in endless training. You really don’t want a bunch of adolescents in close quarters trying to think of ways to amuse themselves.
    Cruise ships’ company are fully involved in running the cruise, and there is no time for substantial training; both conceptual which is what to do and repetitious which is so it happens automatically.

  4. Sgt. Mom:
    I also remember reading about an incident where the crew abandoned ship and left the passengers to their own devices. I don’t remember the particulars but I thought it was more recent than that. Maybe there was more than one such incident.

    What a contrast to the Titanic disaster 100 years ago. Back then, the rule was “women and children first”, and it was followed…mostly. Certainly there were instances of cravenness and cowardice, and certainly the first class passengers had the first crack at the limited number of lifeboats, but millionaires like Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Straus chose to go down with the ship when they probably could have saved themselves if they tried. (Guggenheim was quoted as saying, “We have dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen.”)

    Most of the crew stayed at their posts throughout. The sinking took a horrific toll on them. There were no survivors in the engineering department. They stayed in the engine room deep in the bowels of the ship and kept the electricity on until the last possible moment.

    Culture matters.

  5. Quote seen in a comment at Transterrestrial Musings:

    All societies are based on rules to protect pregnant women and young children. All else is surplusage, excrescence, adornment, luxury, or folly, which can – and must – be dumped in emergency to preserve this prime function. As racial survival is the only universal morality, no other basic is possible. Attempts to formulate a “perfect society” on any foundation other than “Women and children first!” is not only witless, it is automatically genocidal. Nevertheless, starry-eyed idealists (all of them male) have tried endlessly – and no doubt will keep on trying.
    -Robert A. Heinlein

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