Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Crash, January 13 2012

Going on a cruise is supposed to be fun, and for the most part, many people travel on cruise ships without incident and have a wonderful time. Once you go on a cruise, as long as you had a positive experience, you are more than likely to repeat the adventure to many locations.

I have been on approximately 10 cruises, to all different locations and most of them on different cruise lines. Depending on your accommodations and the type of package you book, your cruise experience can be anything from just okay to absolutely fantastic. As for cruise lines, everyone who has ever been on a cruise has a favorite for one reason or another - their accommodations, the staff, the food, the ports of call, convenience of departure points, size of ship....the list goes on and on.

On January 13, 2012, the 4,500 passengers aboard the Costa Concordia who left the Civitavecchi port in Italy probably never dreamt that an accident of this magnitude could happen to them.

After all, they were traveling in good weather on a well-staffed, comfortably booked cruise ship. The forecast was all good, the itinerary was going to be exciting, the food was a highlight of any cruise line. Passengers all had different reasons for celebration to be on this cruise - high school students from Raleigh NC, another larger group from Winston-Salem, NC, couples celebrating an anniversary, honeymooning coupons, retirement, birthday, College break, sightseeing in a country other than their own, and just for fun.

For 11 people (as of January 17, 2012) it was the last cruise of their life.

Imagine that you have just been served your first course dinner meal in the magnificent two story dining room, the wine steward has poured the wine and the guests at your table propose a toast. All of a sudden, a loud scraping noise is heard, the ship jolts a bit, and the wine glasses, silverware and elegant plates of delicious looking food all slide from the table, some even crashing to the floor from the upper level of the dining room, from the impact of what you may have thought was the anchor dropping. The lights dim and come back on, over and over. The waiter nonchalantly picks it all up from the floor and explains there is an electrical problem. Some passengers at your table start to talk about memories of the Titanic disaster, which makes you all the more nervous.

Earlier during excursion signups, you were told there would be photograph opportunities as the ship went by the small town of Giglio. Some passengers assumed the ship was dropping anchor to disembark. Elsewhere on the ship, passengers saw overturned trash cans and by now, the noise level has escalated greatly. Passengers are beginning to panic, no verbal direction is coming from the captain or crew, and the ship is taking on water from the huge hole in the hull.

Among the chaos, everyone wants to get in a lifeboat and no order has been given to drop them in the water. Passengers with video cameras and cellphone cameras capture as much as they can amid the rushing frantic people, trying to keep their family members together. Most people have lifejackets on and are milling from inside the ship to the deck in an effort to secure a place on a lifeboat. There were adequate numbers of lifeboats but not all are ready to be dropped to the water. Some are so well secured it takes several stewards to release them. Evacuation drills were supposed to be held the next morning, according to the ship's schedule. By now, normal evacuation had become impossible due to the ship listing so quickly and the panic of the passengers. In the disorganization of evacuation, some passengers decided to jump overboard.

Later, some passenger statements tell that the ship’s captain and crew were slow to evacuate the ship, which created panic throughout the boat as it began to lean sideways in the water, upending its decks. Some stated the captain was eating with passengers when the ship crashed into the reef. Other passengers stated that the captain was on the bridge. Still others said he tried to steer the ship to shallow water to make it easier for passengers to make it easier to get to shore in the lifeboats. Several passengers said the captain was no where to be found. It will be interesting to hear the truth of this when it comes out.

Passengers later learned that the ship struck a huge rock or reef near the coast of Tuscany and the hole in the hull was at least 150 feet wide. Water poured into the ship, destroying belongings and sweeping people toward exits. Many had remembered to grab a lifejacket from their stateroom and even in their panic, many left behind all their belongings. Getting to safety was paramount, their belongings could be replaced.

Due to the huge gash in the hull, the boat was listing so severely by the time the crew lowered the lifeboats that people were jumping off the ship in the dark into the cold water below. A number of private boats and coast guard helicopters were enroute to the scene only to see a cruise ship more than half submerged and people making a human chain on the top (which was the side) of the ship in order to safely get from water to shore.

The coast guard said that three hours after leaving Civitavecchia, about 10:30PM the first alarm sounded on the ship. However, no SOS had been sent until several hours later, When it was all said and done, more than 30 people were injured, six were dead and the captain had been arrested for manslaughter. Gossip that he abandoned the ship before the first lifeboat had dropped has not been proven. Other gossip that he wanted to get the ship close enough to Giglio for a crew member to salute his father on shore also have not been proven. Within the next few months, more truths of the human error behind this awful accident will come to light.

But it is too late for the 11 people who have died in this senseless accident.

UPDATE: New January 17, 2012 12Noon EST - Death toll up to 11 people. Captain is charged with 7 counts of manslaughter, which will be amended in the next few days. It has now become clear that the captain had abandoned his ship, leaving all passengers behind. Via Audio recordings released today by The Port Authority, a friend to the captain employed by Port Authority is heard on the recording telling the captain that he had been with him through other problems, that he had to go back and the captain was pleading, "please, please!" He was asking his friend on the Port Authority to help him to shore and his friend is clearly heard telling him "You have to go back. You can't leave the ship. Go back."

To top it all off, it was Friday the 13th. I wonder if the captain or any of the crew had an premonitions of the date or the voyage. At the end of the day, Captain Francesco Schettino, after being questioned, arrested him for manslaughter, for abandoning the ship before the passengers, and for causing a shipwreck. That last one was a no-brainer, I thought. It will be interesting to see how many of those charges they can prove and that he is actually charged with in court.

The days immediately following, divers have been searching for two dozen or more people still missing.

Schettino is being held until next week when a judge will decide his fate - to formally arrest him or release him. If he is convicted, the maximum is 12 years in jail.

UPDATE: January 17, 2012 - 12Noon EST - The news wires are reporting that Schettino has been charged with manslaughter, abandoning his ship (evidenced in audio recordings by Port Authority) and other charges. He has been fired by the cruise line.