Cruise ship laying on it's side after hitting rock near Italy coastline

danger boy

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/17/world/europe/italy-cruise-main/index.html?hpt=hp_t2



anyone keeping up on this disaster? seeing the pics are just amazing there were not hundreds of casualities..

Glowrdr

I've been on 3 cruises - and that would scare the living heck outta me to have one of those just "tip over" like that!

Still a couple from White Bear Lake, MN missing from that ship. Sounds like they might have found the bodies (or the news is doing a really crappy job of trying to get you to tune in later)

polkfarmboy

I was shocked when reading transcripts of conversations between Schettino and the Italian coast guard. It seems from what I read that he ran away and was too cowardly to return. I will have to read it more later on

Glowrdr

Part of me understands (to a small degree).... "What? You got out alive? Get back into that fire!" Hell No!

With that being said, I've never been a captain, an officer or a soldier. I'm not saying screw everybody else, I'm out for myself - but I believe there are an elite group of people in this world that have a whole different set of values that are instilled and expected. This captain failed the system from what was expected of him, and he needs to be stripped of any rank he's ever had in his life and sent to a desert island somewhere to think long and hard about what a coward he was.

If in fact he had something to do with the sinking of the ship itself - give him his soap on a rope and send him packing. Hell - don't give him the soap. Let him fight for it.

mrbigbluelight

The Captain is expected to put himself in harm's way.
Reminds me a of line from a James Bond movie; in response to a question from Sean Connery, Goldfinger replies,

"No, I expect you to die."

Ditto for the Captain of any ship. Ship goes down; your fault, period. It's the Captain's job to prevent that from happening, and the Captain's job to oversee corrective measures if the ship starts to founder. Especially so with civilians on board, and doubley so regarding women and children.
Apparently this "Captain" doesn't belong within 100 miles of water let alone mastering a vessel sailing on it.

BeefJerky

Glowrdr wrote: »

Part of me understands (to a small degree).... "What? You got out alive? Get back into that fire!" Hell No!

With that being said, I've never been a captain, an officer or a soldier. I'm not saying screw everybody else, I'm out for myself - but I believe there are an elite group of people in this world that have a whole different set of values that are instilled and expected. This captain failed the system from what was expected of him, and he needs to be stripped of any rank he's ever had in his life and sent to a desert island somewhere to think long and hard about what a coward he was.

If in fact he had something to do with the sinking of the ship itself - give him his soap on a rope and send him packing. Hell - don't give him the soap. Let him fight for it.

Exactly. As a captain, he has a responsibility to make sure that the passengers, as well as the rest of his crew, are safe. This isn't just in relation to guiding the ship, but also when a disaster/emergency such as this arises. This is what is expected of him, and he completely failed to live up to his responsibilities. I also question his abilities in simply guiding a ship safely since he ran aground to begin with. What's worse is how he is changing stories now the he is being investigated. He originally admitted to abandoning ship, but is now claiming that he was "catapulted into the water." What a load of BS.

If you want an example of a good captain, then look no further than Chelsey Sullenberger. He was the captain who expertly piloted US Airways flight 1549 to a safe water landing in the Hudson after both engines failed due to a large flock of birds taking them out. First, it takes a top notch pilot to pull off a maneuver like that in the face of danger. Second, he walked the passenger cabin twice to make sure all the passengers were able to evacuate safely. Only after making sure everyone was safely evacuated did he retrieve the plane's logbook and leave the plane. Kudos to Mr. Sullenberger!

tonyb

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

The Captain is expected to put himself in harm's way.
Reminds me a of line from a James Bond movie; in response to a question from Sean Connery, Goldfinger replies,

"No, I expect you to die."

Ditto for the Captain of any ship. Ship goes down; your fault, period. It's the Captain's job to prevent that from happening, and the Captain's job to oversee corrective measures if the ship starts to founder. Especially so with civilians on board, and doubley so regarding women and children.
Apparently this "Captain" doesn't belong within 100 miles of water let alone mastering a vessel sailing on it.

Well put Sir, well put.

obieone

It blows my mind that this happened at all. There should have been a bulkhead, running along the keel line, and hatches to prevent the damage that was done. If these had been in place, that ship would have listed to port, but still floated.
The lessons we supposedly learned from Titanic, and 'water tight integrity', apparently have been forgotten?!
After this, the insurance co.'s are going to REQUIRE W.T.I.. The bean counters at the the cruise lines, will be crunching numbers to see which is cheaper: higher premiums, or retrofitting the ships.

mantis

Thats just nuts for that to happen with all our technology.

tonyb

No matter how technology advances, there's still an element of human error involved in everything.

George Grand

One statement nullifies all the technology ever. Those magical words, "Hey everybody, watch this."

disneyjoe7

I've been on countless cruises, and it's sad with all the technology one could sink given all the safe guards in a ship now a days.

It's very sad to me one has sunk, and may have died in this ship.