Italy cruise ship Costa Concordia aground near Giglio

Just found this image, not sure if youve seen it but it sort of makes me think rock not sand

reply to post by BeforeTooLong

What is the thing just to the right of that?


Saying that this was caused by a sandbar or a reef, implies that it hit something underwater, which could not be seen. Hitting an island with a lighthouse on it, is slightly different.

reply to post by 12voltz & BeforeTooLong


That's a truly remarkable image. It only happened a few hours ago!



reply to post by 12voltz

The captain is crazy," Mara Parmegiani, a passenger, was quoted by Italian media as saying.

Sounds like an adrenalin-pumped Italian mama. I can hear the accent just reading it. (You just insert "a" after "is".)

I doubt we will hear the captain's version of events for a few days, at least.

reply to post by pause4thought


This is very strange the boat is in the Mediterranean a sea not known for low tides also it was just out side the harbour which I imagine would have a good depth on its entrance. Maybe there are rocks either side. Very odd. My condolences and best wishes to people involved in this terrifying incident. Edit to add just saw your picture above obviously rocks. Why was the ship so close?
OK full story and pics here www.dailymail.co.uk...

reply to post by tarifa37


Well said. A lot of families will be grieving by the end of the day.

It is indeed strange, the more you think about it. Truly disturbing. As yet I have not come across any serious attempt to explain how it could have happened.

[CORRECTION: The article you linked to mentions an electrical fault. Some interesting photos as well.]

It sounds like the attempt to get the passengers to safety was truly chaotic. Questions will undoubtedly be asked about how well the crew were prepared.


This link gives a good overview of the ship.

reply to post by pause4thought


Sounds-like-the-dinner-menu.
Just-been-reading-some-passenger-reviews-from-Costa-concordia.Not-exactly-first-class-travel-by-the-sound-of-it
But-just-personal-accounts-so-not-substantiated-although-this-one-stood-out-for-safety-reasons
www.cruisecritic.co.uk...
"The fact that the ship takes passengers in all the ports results in having every day a long (in 6 different languages) safety and administrative announcements through the speaker system. It is a torture every afternoon. Fortunately and after a series of complains, the sound was eliminated from the cabins. When those announcements occurred one had to run to the balcony (no volume adjustment was available in the cabin)."

reply to post by 12voltz


This could be the end of the line for the operator, Costa Crociere, anyway. According to the OP article:

Two years ago, a Costa Cruises ship crashed into a dock at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, killing three members of the crew.

And having reflected on the mention of an electrical fault — is it really the case that a modern cruise ship is effectively 'fly-by-wire', much the same as modern aircraft, such that an electrical fault would have the potential to create such a catastrophe? (It wouldn't surprise me.)


Update:

Latest image:


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/img/dv4f115eed.jpg[/atsimg]

Source

An expert expressing his astonishment that this could have happened:


Video


Key quote:

"Ships are designed —quite rightly— that whatever happens to them, they stay upright!

reply to post by pause4thought


Thats-a-good-picture-of-the-damage
And-i-believe-they-are-equipped-with-aircraft-style-black-boxes-or-CVR's


Heres-a-report-from-a-ship-worker
www.youtube.com...

Here's my two cents worth. Here's a pic of the USS Cole after being hit by a torpedo.



Seems to me that the damage to the Costa Concordia bears an uncanny resemblance.



I haven't been able to find any images clearly showing the sort of damage that a reef would do to the hull, but it seems to me that it would likely be more localized and elongated. To my eyes, the damage to the Concordia is more consistent with an impact perpendicular to the hull, rather than the longitudinal tear which I would expect to see after striking a reef.

EDIT: Further pics show what definitely looks like reef damage. Here one can clearly see the long scrape marks that wren't evident in the earlier pic, and even a massive chunk of the reef still lying inside the hull.

That's quite amazing and also quite distressing.

Thanks for the information and updates folks. I will keep following this event.

Oh, and here is the Wiki on the ship with some interesting info:
Costa Concordia

GPS: recalculating...but captain the GPS says turn hear....crrraaasssshhhhh

Local news reporting 3 dead - 50 plus 'missing' and many hurt.
Also, the blame is falling on an electrical 'malfunction'.
So, we'll have to wait and see what the 'full report' - between now and then I pray the families and all involved can find some peace soon.

peace

t about 12:15 GMT the Associated Press stated that up to 70 people were still missing.

We hope just lost in the panic and chaos

I just want to throw something out here. Since this is basically a modern ship with modern equipment; GPS, sonor, ect, would/could it be possible that there may have been a slight shift in the earths magnetics (not sure this is the word I'm looking for) that could've gave the ships gps a false reading?
Something just seems odd about this, this seems like a well traveled area, so how else could this happen?

reply to post by Chance321


A fair thought, but since GPS navigation systems use geostationary satellites (rather than the Earth's ever-changing magnetic field), I would imagine that magnetic field changes wouldn't affect their accuracy. I also find it interesting that this happened in the Med, which must be one of the most highly trafficked and accurately mapped seas on the planet.

reply to post by treesdancing


Thought it was something like that. So then the only other thing is, don't these ships have some kind of alarm if they drift off course? This whole thing is just odd.

Originally posted by treesdancing
Here's my two cents worth. Here's a pic of the USS Cole after being hit by a torpedo.

Seems to me that the damage to the Costa Concordia bears an uncanny resemblance.

I haven't been able to find any images clearly showing the sort of damage that a reef would do to the hull, but it seems to me that it would likely be more localized and elongated. To my eyes, the damage to the Concordia is more consistent with an impact perpendicular to the hull, rather than the longitudinal tear which I would expect to see after striking a reef.

EDIT: Further pics show what definitely looks like reef damage. Here one can clearly see the long scrape marks that wren't evident in the earlier pic, and even a massive chunk of the reef still lying inside the hull.

edit on 14-1-2012 by treesdancing because: Correction

edit on 14-1-2012 by treesdancing because: (no reason given)

No offense or anything but you do see the huge rock stuck in the side of the ship right? and the USS
Cole was hit by a boat loaded with explosives, not a torpedo.

reply to post by Fitch303


To be fair, treesdancing posted his own edit, which focussed on the rock:

EDIT: Further pics show what definitely looks like reef damage. Here one can clearly see the long scrape marks that wren't evident in the earlier pic, and even a massive chunk of the reef still lying inside the hull.

He even posted the photo clearly showing the rock.


There are still big questions to be answered. Everyone is scratching their heads as to:

a) what caused the grounding

b) why the ship listed quickly and heavily, contrary to its design specification

I read the story, very chaotic, they wouldn't lower the life boats, etc. and the place, many more people on the ship than live in that little town but they are trying to help out .