disaster was not an option. Nor was it something the team behind either show would even consider. “It was impossible to ignore it,” said Daniel Read, director of the cruise shipping folio for UBM Live, which produces Cruise Shipping Miami. “It was a huge, huge thing hap- pening in the industry.” Both conferences stood as examples
of how professional gatherings can respond constructively to cur- rent events — offering both valuable best practices for industry practitioners and much-needed expert information for the general public. At the Passenger Ship Safety Conference, produced by Riviera Maritime Media, “Issues arising from this incident were under the microscope during the two- day event,” the conference website reports, “… but not to the exclusion of other, equally important discussions.”
Not addressing the Costa Concordia disaster was not an option. ‘It was a huge, huge thing happening in the industry.’
briefing on the Costa Concordia situ- ation presented by the Cruise Lines Industry Association (clia), the Euro- pean Cruise Council, and the Passenger Shipping Association, during which clia President and CEO Christine Duffy said: “Understandably, today’s press conference is not about speculat- ing on the cause of this awful event. However, we know that people have questions about how our industry is regulated, and there has been considerable demand for information of a technical nature. So in response, we have brought
together a panel of experts.” Held on March 12–15, CSM offered
another opportunity for the cruise industry to address the Costa Concordia. When the incident happened, Read said, UBM immediately reached out to its industry partners, including clia, “to make sure we were covering what
happened appropriately, respectfully.” In the first issue of CSM Today, the
show’s daily newspaper, a short, direct column from Read appeared on the front page, under the headline “A Time for the Cruise Industry to Reflect, Regroup, and Look Ahead.” Acknowl- edging that the Costa Concordia was the industry’s “worst disaster,” and that “[i]mmediately our hearts went out to those who lost loved ones,” Read wrote: “The cruise industry is working in soli- darity to address safety and training issues, and to rebuild consumers’ trust that cruising remains the world’s safest mode of transportation.” CSM’s opening keynote address was
delivered by Howard Frank, chairman of clia and vice chairman and chief operating officer of Carnival Corp., the parent company of Costa Cruises. The SeatradeInsider website described Frank’s voice as “sometimes cracking with emotion” as he discussed the Costa Concordia. “As a cruise-ship operator,” Frank said, “there is nothing more heart-wrenching than the loss of one of your passengers or crew members.” Frank’s keynote was followed by
a state-of-the-industry roundtable discussion with six top cruise-industry CEOs. Questions of safety dominated the program. “We covered safety like we always do,” Read said, “but I think there was an additional emphasis.” Later that day, CSM presented a
safety forum in conjunction with clia and the U.S. Coast Guard — a reflection of “the determination from everyone that we learn from this and put best practices in place,” Read said. He added:
“We made sure we were representing the industry and representing the inci- dent, and putting together the platform to make sure it was addressed in the most appropriate manner.”
. —Christopher Durso
The Shipping News Questions of safety dominiated a state-of-the-industry panel at Cruise Shipping Miami, which featured CEOs from six top cruise lines.