news focus Costa Concordia
evaluation from the findings of the Costa Concordia investigation so that the cruise industry remains one of the very safest recreational industries globally.” Later that day, Bill Wright, senior vice president of marine operations at Royal Caribbean Cruises, and the safety and shipboard operations cruise industry maritime expert for CLIA and ECC told PST that he believes bridge team/resource management to be “extremely effective”. Capt Wright explained however that while the vast majority of captains see its value, there will be exceptions where captains might have issues with a junior officer giving a piece of advice. He explained, “It requires a level of maturity. They [captains] need to be comfortable in their own skins and not, as captain, have to be flawless. We all make mistakes.” He also said that any deviation from a voyage plan under such a system goes through a two- person check by not only the captain but the entire bridge team. Back in 2009 PST visited the Centre for Simulator
Training (CSmart) in the Netherlands, which was set up by Carnival following a review of bridge operations that resulted in a new approach. At the time Capt Hans Hederstrom, director of professional marine training and research CSmart, said, “Together with the captains we developed a new structure. We moved away from the traditional way of managing the bridge.” Since then hundreds of officers from Carnival brands have undergone training at the centre (PST, Spring 2010). Also
high on the agenda for review are
evacuation procedures and emergency training. Under Solas, a ship must be evacuated within 30 minutes of the master giving the order to evacuate.
Costa Concordia before tragedy struck
Mr Darr commented, “I think it is fair to say that media reporting has raised questions of the 30 minutes [regarding Costa Concordia],” adding that irrespective of this particular incident “we can examine it on our own, based on the broad fleet of ships we have now”. With evacuation in mind but talking generally, he said, “There is no need to wait for the regulators [for the industry to take action] and this is a good example.” He was at pains to emphasise that assessing safety is and always has been an ongoing process but acknowledged that Costa Concordia has been a “catalyst from which lessons can be applied”. Lifeboats are required by regulation to be ready for use within five minutes from their stowed position and this too may be the subject of scrutiny. Lifeboats are required to be capable of being launched from a ship listing at 20 degrees. The port side of Costa Concordia’s hull was ripped open by the rocks. It is not clear how many compartments were damaged or how much damage was inflicted on the starboard side or to the bottom as they remained underwater. The fact that the ship listed away from the gash is the subject of debate. With damage stability and safe return to port
being very much at the forefront of regulations it is not surprising that questions are being asked as to whether things would have been different had Costa Concordia been built to these specifications. Mr Darr says CLIA would await the results of the investigation before drawing any conclusions about design. “Our first priority is what we can do the fastest, which is why we are focusing on operational issues right now. We are not precluding design elements but it is not our focus at the moment.” PST
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