It's being compared by passengers as feeling like the Titanic. Costa Cruises Lines Costa Concordia ran aground off a Tuscan island yesterday with 4,200 people on board. The 114,500-ton ship, which was launched in 2006, and the newest in cruise line's fleet, was actually knocked on its side. Passengers jumped ship, screaming, yelling, fearing for their lives.
The irony of it all is that the Concordia was built to "amaze" according to Costa brochures and promotional materials and we guess it has. The cruise line is also known for its lively, Italian-style cruising.
Since the Internet, TV and newspapers are filled with news about this tragic event, your National Cruise Examiner thought readers might want to know a little more about the ship.
First of all Costa was acquired in 1997 by Carnival Cruises Lines parent company. The Concordia has 1,500 cabins, 505 with private balcony, 58 suites with private balcony, 12 suites with direct access to its signature Samsara Spa.
Now according to the latest report from CNN (http://www.cnn.com) Italian authorities are questioning the captain of the Concordia about the incident which so far has left t hree people dead with dozens more missing (estimates are about 50).
CNN also stated that Italian captain, Francesco Schettino, was being interviewed by investigators in Porto Santo Stefano on what happened when the 4,200-passenger Costa Concordia, owned by Genoa-based Costa Cruises, struck shallow water off Italy's western coast, said officer Emilio Del Santo of the Coastal Authorities of Livorno. And that authorities are looking at why the ship didn't hail a mayday during the accident near the Italian island of Giglio on Friday night, officials said.
"At the moment we can't exclude that the ship had some kind of technical problem, and for this reason moved towards the coast in order to save the passengers, the crew and the ship. But they didn't send a mayday. The ship got in contact with us once the evacuation procedures were already ongoing," Del Santo said.
"We can confirm that the ship has a breach on the hull of about 90 meters, and that the right side of it is completely under water."
The three persons dead were two French tourists and a crew member from Peru, Port authorities in Livorno said.
Comments