Major maritime mishap in the Mediterranean.

Major maritime mishap in the Mediterranean.

The Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on a sand bar near the island of Giglio, off Italy's Tuscan coast, in one of the most dramatic accidents on the sea in recent memory.  Wizbang suspects the cause was "some sort of serious lapse in navigational competence."  And, indeed, the investigations have already begun:

Italian authorities are holding the captain of a 3,200-passenger cruise ship that ran aground and tipped over late Friday, killing at least three people, injuring 30 and leaving up to 40 others still missing. Survivors, meanwhile, described a chaotic evacuation as plates and glasses crashed, and they crawled along upended hallways trying to reach safety.
Several media outlets citing Italian television reported that two survivors had been found inside the ship and firefighters were working early Sunday morning to rescue them. The ship's Italian captain, Francesco Schettino, was detained late Saturday and is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship. The Associated Press reports Schettino is being held in a jail in Grosseto, Italy, until next week, when a judge will decide whether he should be released or formally put under arrest. In Italy, suspects can be held without charge for a few days for investigation.
The chief prosecutor in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, Francesco Verusio, was quoted by the ANSA news agency as telling reporters that the captain "very ineptly got close to Giglio," the AP reports.

Ouch.

Officials say the captain appears to have taken the vessel close to shore in a dangerous manner, Reuters says. "There was a dangerous close approach which very probably caused the accident, although it will be for the investigation to establish that fully," coast guard spokesman Luciano Nicastro told SkyTG24. He said the captain then attempted a safety maneuver, setting anchor and bringing the ship closer to the shore to facilitate a rescue. Authorities were looking at why the ship didn't hail a mayday during the accident near the Italian island of Giglio on Friday night. The ship is owned by Genoa-based Costa Cruises, a mass-market line that caters to an international clientele and whose parent company is the industry giant Carnival Corporation.

Carnival, huh? Why does that not surprise me?

Three bodies — two French tourists and a crew member from Peru — were recovered from the sea after Costa Cruises' 6-year-old Costa Concordia ran aground near the coast of Tuscany late Friday, tearing a 160-foot gash in its hull and sending in a rush of water.
Costa said about 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, 126 Americans, about 160 French and about 1,000 crew members. By morning Saturday, the ship was lying virtually flat off Giglio's coast, its starboard side submerged in the water and the huge gash showing clearly on its upturned hull.

The Friday the 13th grounding of the Concordia was one of the most dramatic cruise ship accidents in recent memory. It immediately raised a host of questions: Why did it hit a reef so close to the Tuscan island of Giglio? Did a power failure cause the crew to lose control? Did the captain — under investigation on manslaughter allegations — steer it in the wrong direction on purpose? And why did crew members tell passengers they weren't in danger until the boast was listing perilously to the side? The delay made lifeboat rescue eventually impossible for some of the passengers, some of whom jumped into the sea while others waited to be plucked to safety by helicopters. Some boats had to be cut down with an axe.

The words of the news stories do not give the drama of this incident justice.  Perhaps some pictures might:

Costa Concordia lies on its starboard side after running aground on Islola del Giglio, off Italy's Tuscan coast.  Not sure of origin of photo; it was on Wizbang.

Particularly amazing are the pictures taken by Roberto Vongher:

Italian police boat investigates the stricken passenger liner Costa Concordia.  Photo by Roberto Vongher.

Just go visit Vongher's site where he has posted a lot of very, very good photos.  Obviously he's a very talented photographer.

If this incident and these pictures seem a bit ... familiar, they should:

The Italian passenger liner Andre Doria heavily listing to starboard at dawn on July 26, 1956.  She had collided with the Swedish passenger liner Stockholm in foggy conditions off Nantucket the night before.  She sank at about 10 am local time.  Photo taken by Ernie Melby from the William H. Thomas and posted on the Web site Andrea Doria Death Watch.

The collision of the Italian cruise liner Andrea Doria with the Swedish cruise liner Stockholm on the foggy night of July 25, 1956 was perhaps the most covered international maritime incident since the Titanic, though this was hardly the equivalent of the Titanic:  46 people were killed while 1,660 were rescued.  The causes of the accident were never formally released due to an out-of-court settlement between the shipping companies shortly afterwards, so it has been the subject of considerable independent analyses.

Most of the crew of the Andrea Doria performed well in the crisis, but a major cause of controversy afterwards was the behavior of a significant part of that same crew, which panicked and abandoned ship first, leaving the passengers to fend for themselves.  Some panic resulted among the passengers, which only increased the casualties.  Those crewmen rescued by the Stockholm ahead of the passengers were apparently beat up.  It was a major source of embarrassment to Italy.

So, when the captain of the stricken Costa Concordia is accused of bailing ahead of the passengers for whose safety he was responsible, you can bet the Italian government will take it very, very seriously.  As they should.

Titanic History And Tragedy

The Titanic: History & Tragedy

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Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

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Titanic was the largest ship in the world, built by a workforce of 17,000. The ultimate in turn-of-the-century design and technology. First-class suites ran to more than $ 55,000 in today’s dollars, and when she sailed on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England on route to NY , she held among her 2,227 passengers. The cream of industrial society, including Colonel John Jacob Astor. Macy’s founder; U.S. congressman Isidor Straus and Thomas Andrews, the ships builder. The ship was built of easily sealed-off compartments. If, for some unimaginable reason, the hull were punctured, only the compartment actually ruptured would flood. In an worst case example – builders figured that the Titanic would take from one to three days to sink, time for nearby ships to help, because there was only 16 lifeboats. Unfortunately, things didn’t  work out that way. On April 14th, 1912 at about 7:30, at the first ominous hint of disaster has came. Into the earphones of the wireless operator on duty came a message from the steamer California: Three large bergs five miles southward from us. But the Titanic continued to rush through the deepening darkness. The temperature was one degree above freezing. When lookouts Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee had come on duty at 10 P.M., the sky was cloudless and the air clear.

Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

At around 11:30 P.M., just half an hour before they were to be rewired, a slight haze had appeared, directly ahead. And about two points on either side. Suddenly – his training causing his reflexes to function instinctively. Fleet gave the warning bell and immediately reached across the crowns nest to the bridges telephone. In its compartment on the starboard side. He rang ms bell urgently. Fleet replaced the telephone and gripped the crowns nest rail. At 11:40 P.M., April 14 , 1912 ; The lookouts spotted the iceberg a quarter-mile ahead. Had they not alerted the bridge, the ship would not have attempted a turn. At 11:40P.M. ; The ship sideswipes the ice. Because of the steels ductility, it would have absorbed massive amounts of energy. The ice crashed right through the plating as it grinded along the side, Sinking at an angle like s 300-foot zipper. ON midnight, April 14-15; fist six compartments were filling; water was beginning to slosh over. 12:40.; water filled 2,000 bathtubs 1:20 A.M.; The bow dipped; water flooded through anchor – chain holes. At 2:10 A.M.; The Titanic titled to 45 degrees or more and stress reaches nearby 15 tons per square inch. The keel bends; The bottom plating buckles. At 2:15 A.M.; The stern grew heavier and until it reached some 16,000 tons of in – water weight . At 2:20 A.M.; The bow rips went loose. The stern rose sharply, held and almost vertical position and then, as it filled, faded downward again. At least one life boat passenger said, look – its coming back!. At 2:30 A.M.; The bow stroke the bottom, 12,612 feet down, angling downward and flowing into the mud. Shortly after 2:30 A.M. ships time a green flare was sighed suddenly, for ahead. In a few seconds it disappeared. At 3 A.M., Roston ordered rockets fired at fifteen-minute intervals to let survivors know help was approaching. The company’s night signals were also displayed. By 3:35 Carpathia was almost to the position where Titanic, if afloat, would be seen. But there was only a safety emptiness. Carpathia inched forward. The lifeboat was alongside. Some 2,340 passengers and crew were on board the Titanic when the white star liner left Southampton for its maiden voyage to NY five days ago. And some 1,595 people perished in the accident. Only 745 were saved. Many more could have been rescued but there were enough lifeboats for only half the passengers and crew. Two boats full of people who had escaped from the ship were sucked beneath the ocean. Most of the passengers were apparently not aware of the accident when it happened. At first, passengers were so unconcerned that they remained in their staterooms to dress for dinner. By 1:30 A.M. panic has begun among some of the passengers. In the tomb that was once a ship, all that remain are China teacups and brass latches, porcelain toilets, and perhaps teeth – nearby all else has been devoured: wooden decks, the rich Victorian woodwork, human beings and their clothing – all except for shoes protected from scavengers by their tannin. Some 150 items retrieved by the French sub Nautili went on display at London’s National Maritime Museum in Oct. 1994. Protected too is the ships steel.

Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

The first memorials to Titanic’s victims were the church services in commemoration of the dead and Thanksgiving for the living. As the days passed the enormity of the loss of life became evident, and relief programmers were established. The event becomes dim in the minds of new but the monuments stand, and assurance that – as long as tides flow, as long as people sail – the memory of Titanic’s courageous and gallant men and women will never fade. It is through the appalling tragedy that befell her during her owe voyage that the world best knows of her today. Perhaps History’s most famous ship, she is remembered through memories and motion pictures; through songs and scraps of yellowing newspapers; through reminiscences of her survivors as recurring anniversary observances as, fortunately she of remembered through pictures.

Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

Titanic History And Tragedy

The wreckage of the Titanic

The wreckage of the Titanic
 

The wreckage of the Titanic

(Reuters) – The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published on Wednesday.

The wreckage of the Titanic

Louise Patten, a writer and granddaughter of Titanic second officer Charles Lightoller, said the truth about what happened nearly 100 years ago had been hidden for fear of tarnishing the reputation of her grandfather, who later became a war hero.

The wreckage of the Titanic

Lightoller, the most senior officer to have survived the disaster, covered up the error in two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic because he was worried it would bankrupt the ill-fated liner’s owners and put his colleagues out of a job.

The wreckage of the Titanic

“They could easily have avoided the iceberg if it wasn’t for the blunder,” Patten told the Daily Telegraph.
“Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked and turned it the wrong way.”
Patten, who made the revelations to coincide with the publication of her new novel “Good as Gold” into which her account of events are woven, said that the conversion from sail ships to steam meant there were two different steering systems.

The wreckage of the Titanic

Crucially, one system meant turning the wheel one way and the other in completely the opposite direction.
Once the mistake had been made, Patten added, “they only had four minutes to change course and by the time (first officer William) Murdoch spotted Hitchins’ mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late.”

The wreckage of the Titanic

Patten’s grandfather was not on watch at the time of the collision, but he was present at a final meeting of the ship’s officers before the Titanic went down.

The wreckage of the Titanic

There he heard not only about the fatal mistake but also the fact that J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of Titanic’s owner the White Star Line persuaded the captain to continue sailing, sinking the ship hours faster than would otherwise have happened.
“If Titanic had stood still, she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died,” Patten said.

The wreckage of the Titanic

The RMS Titanic was the world’s biggest passenger liner when it left Southampton, England, for New York on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Four days into the trip, the ship hit an iceberg and sank, taking more than 1,500 passengers with it.

Titanic Real Cruise

Titanic Real Cruise
(Reuters) – The Titanic hit an iceberg in 1912 because of a basic steering error, and only sank as fast as it did because an official persuaded the captain to continue sailing, an author said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Titanic Real Cruise

Titanic Real Cruise

Louise Patten, a writer and granddaughter of Titanic second officer Charles Lightoller, said the truth about what happened nearly 100 years ago had been hidden for fear of tarnishing the reputation of her grandfather, who later became a war hero.

Titanic Real Cruise

Titanic Real Cruise

Lightoller, the most senior officer to have survived the disaster, covered up the error in two inquiries on both sides of the Atlantic because he was worried it would bankrupt the ill-fated liner’s owners and put his colleagues out of a job.

Titanic Real Cruise

Titanic Real Cruise

“They could easily have avoided the iceberg if it wasn’t for the blunder,” Patten told the Daily Telegraph.
“Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked and turned it the wrong way.”
Patten, who made the revelations to coincide with the publication of her new novel “Good as Gold” into which her account of events are woven, said that the conversion from sail ships to steam meant there were two different steering systems.

Titanic Real Cruise

Crucially, one system meant turning the wheel one way and the other in completely the opposite direction.
Once the mistake had been made, Patten added, “they only had four minutes to change course and by the time (first officer William) Murdoch spotted Hitchins’ mistake and then tried to rectify it, it was too late.”
Patten’s grandfather was not on watch at the time of the collision, but he was present at a final meeting of the ship’s officers before the Titanic went down.

Titanic Real Cruise

There he heard not only about the fatal mistake but also the fact that J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of Titanic’s owner the White Star Line persuaded the captain to continue sailing, sinking the ship hours faster than would otherwise have happened.

Titanic Real Cruise

“If Titanic had stood still, she would have survived at least until the rescue ship came and no one need have died,” Patten said.
The RMS Titanic was the world’s biggest passenger liner when it left Southampton, England, for New York on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. Four days into the trip, the ship hit an iceberg and sank, taking more than 1,500 passengers with it.

Titanic Real Cruise