We’ve watched in shock and horror this week as rescuers
search for bodies on the crashed Costa Concordia, which is resting on a jagged
slope outside the picturesque harbour on the island of Giglio in Italy.
On Tuesday morning would-be rescuers found five more bodies
on the ship, bringing the number of dead to 11.
Thankfully most of the 4,200 passengers and crew survived,
despite hours of chaos.
Cruise ships are a known entity in the Cayman Islands –
especially Grand Cayman where 529 of the floating hotels and entertainments
centres brought 1.4 million passengers last year.
The passenger cruise ship that wrecked in Italy is similar
in size to some of the larger vessels we attract to Cayman.
Fortunately we’ve never had a disaster like the one off
Giglio. We bet the people of Giglio never thought they’d be the centre of all
of this unwanted attention brought on by a cruise ship disaster, either.
Since Monday the Caymanian Compass has been attempting to get
information from the Port Authority, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association
and Carnival – the company that owns the ill-fated Costa Concordia – about
safety measures in place in the Cayman Islands should we be faced with a
similar emergency.
Nneither the FCCA nor Carnival even mention the disaster on
their websites, although Carnival apparently issued a statement over the
weekend predicting fewer cruise reservations this year in light of the
accident.
We don’t understand the silence.
The residents of Giglio acted heroically, as would we if
such a disaster happened off our shores. We understand the Port Authority has a
national plan, but we need to be aware of its contents.
Yes, cruise ship disasters are extremely uncommon, but they
do happen; just ask the people from Giglio and the crew and passengers on board
the Costa Concordia.
A similar disaster in the Cayman Islands could be a
nightmare, not only for the passengers, crew, cruise liner company and our
environment, but also for the marketing of our cruise tourism product.
Related Videos
It is really important that the country have emergency plans in place to deal with any potential cruise ship casualty. The plan must be in place and there should be training in a similar fashion that occurs at the airport. The cruise ships and the oil tankers present a real potential for huge accidents. This is not to scare but to plan and prepare.
but we need to be aware of its contents.
Why?
I understand you wanting to be aware. I also understand with FOI you might have a right to be aware. But why does the Compass feel it to be aware?
Many (many!) years ago I worked in the IT department of a large transatlantic cargo line and we lost one of our vessels just months after its maiden voyage when cargo shifted in a storm so I’m familar with the impact of a major shipping loss.
The idea that any reputable shipping company would immediately go public after this kind of incident and blame the Captain for the loss before any proper investigation had taken place is just beyond belief.
I’m sure there’s a cover up here.
One notable maritime expert has already raised questions (although you wouldn’t believe it from the media coverage) about how the vessel capsized on the starboard side when all the damage was on the port side. He has questioned the ability of the damage control systems to manage what appears to have been a survivable collision – something Costa have been notably silent on.
This is the fourth notable incident involving a Costa vessel in four years so I’m not in anyway surprised that the FCCA and Carnival are keeping quiet.
The bottom line is this – the Captain may have caused the grounding but what, or who, caused the capsize? Until that question is answered all the emergency planning in the world isn’t worth spit.