Page 6: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2012)

6Maritime Reporter & Engineering News Founder: John J. O?Malley 1905 - 1980 Charles P. O?Malley 1928 - 2000 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News is published monthly by Maritime Activ- ity Reports, Inc. Mailed at Periodicals Postage Rates at New York, NY 10199 and additional mailing offices. Postmaster send notification (Form 3579) regarding undeliverable maga- zines to Maritime Reporter/Engineering News, 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010. Publishers are not responsible for the safekeeping or return of editorial material. ©2011 Maritime Activity Reports, Inc. 118 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 tel: (212) 477-6700; fax: (212) 254-6271ISSN-0025-3448USPS-016-750No. 2Vol. 74 MemberBusiness Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc.www.marinelink.com MARITIMEREPORTER ANDENGINEERINGNEWS All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.EDITOR?S NOTEThe cover of this edition of Maritime Reporter & EngineeringNews ? our ?Cruise Shipping Annual? ? should have been the most predictable ever. While the tag line is a single word ? ?Why?? ? to most everyone the answer is painstakingly clear: The crash of the Costa Concordia by all appearances seems to be yet an-other case of human error resulting in a tragic and stupefying accident, asenseless loss of life and a situation that frankly today, given the investment in technology, training and intelligence, makes this all seems improbable if not impossible.While the plight of the stricken Costa Concordia and its beleaguered mas- ter Captain Francesco Schettino has been covered 24/7 in global news por- tals since the fateful Friday, January 13, 2012, it is worth it now to take a breath and realize that less than a month in the wake of the accident, the full details and ramifications of this disaster are still years away. Much has been made regarding the immediate detention of the Captain ? as the criminalization of mariners is a hot-button issue ? but it was his employer, Costa, who quickly asserted his role in grounding less than two days after the incident, releasing the following statement: ?While the inves- tigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship?s Master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which resulted in these grave conse- quences. The route of the vessel appears to have been too close to the shore, and the Captain?s judg- ment in handling the emergency appears to have not followed standard Costa procedures.? While damning, and corroborated with a host of additional evidence, including an alleged taped conversation between Concordia?s Master and the Italian Coast Guard in the aftermath of the wreck, a conversation that reads more like a ?Saturday Night Live? comedy sketch than an emergency dis- cussion among maritime professionals, it is still worthy to wait until full details are known ? iffulldetails are ever known ? before a hasty rush to judgment. Without a doubt, the case of Costa Concordia and the circumstance that led to and allowed the ship to stray far from its course and into danger will be analyzed for years, with the case to become a wa- tershed for the cruise shipping industry. While the accident drew immediate comparison to the ill- fated Titanic, I think it best to focus on the differences of the accidents, namely the fact that more than 1500 perished with Titanic, while, at press time, there were 17 confirmed dead and 15 still missing as a result of the Concordia disaster. This is not to diminish the value of a single soul, but the fact that more than 4,100 people exited the Costa Concordia safely on the night of Friday, Janu- ary 13, 2012, is amazing to me, a testament to not only the design of modern mega cruise ships, but also the training of crew ? two areas where the cruise industry in general, Costa in particular, are taking heavy fire. It?s in times like these that I like to rely on trusted sources of information accrued from nearly two decades covering this industry, and one of the first on speed dial for all matters maritime, particu- larly cruise related, is Tomas Tillberg of Fort Lauderdale-based Tillberg Design. For those who do not know Tomas, trust when I say he is a calm voice of reason in times good and bad, with the uni- lateral ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the industry he has served for many years. ?To be negative and critical in such a tragic situation is understandable but it would behoove all concerned to learn from this experience and take necessary steps to prevent such an occur- rence in the future,? Tillberg said. ?The cruise industry has an incredible safety record on a whole, with many years and many millions of passengers served safely. I think what you may see as a result of this incident is increased emergency training of the crews and a focus on com- munications with the passengers.? Asking ?Why??, gathering information and formulating policy to help prevent future tragedy is pru- dent. Snap decisions based on incomplete sources of information and political grandstanding is not. ? MR Feb.12 # 1 (1-9):MR Template 2/7/2012 1:24 PM Page 6