Costa Concordia convictions

[HarmlessWeasel]

I was amazed no one brought this up earlier today.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23388680

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[YoungMariner]

Unbelievable, Italy corruption at its best. It's a 3rd world country hiding under a 1st world guise.

[YoungMariner]

I can't believe they took such severe action against the Indonesian helmsman, absolutely ridiculous. What about the senior management? Clearly they have serious issues on these ships whereby the SMS has failed them, I don't think that a cowboy Captain and poor bridge team were isolated to the Concordia, I'm almost certain its endemic through Costa.
The whole case is an absolute joke. Now shipowners know where to register their ships so that they can leniency if any accidents occur, go to Italy!

[Lewis]

The helmsman is just absurd. How do they expect things to go if helmsmen question orders their given on grounds of safety?

[bobofinga]

That is a kangaroo court if I've ever seen one.

[GuinnessMan]

The helmsman is just absurd. How do they expect things to go if helmsmen question orders their given on grounds of safety?

It's part of Bridge Resource Management that we expect folks to question orders they believe may be dangerous, regardless of rank?

Anywho, the whole thing is bloody odd, with some bloody odd sentences being handed out to random folks.

However, I do like how Schettino is trying to portray himself as a hero for "Steering the ship to land". Did he not read the accident report? Especially the part where it said that all engine controls were lost shortly after the collision and it was just pure dumb luck that the ship ran aground?

[Lewis]

It's part of Bridge Resource Management that we expect folks to question orders they believe may be dangerous, regardless of rank?

The helmsman almost certainly doesn't have enough information to decide if an order is dangerous. The helmsman barley has time to look out the windows let alone consult the chart; most of his time is spent staring at the gyro and rudder indicator. This is why the helmsman is not permitted to act as a look out.

It would be like blaming the engineers for not stopping the engines before the ship went aground.

[YoungMariner]

Carnival, Costa and Fincantieri built ships all have something in common, which needn't be spelled out. I don't know why the Carnival Corp continues to keep those two brands after all the incidents in recent years, and why they continue to build and drydock ships in Fincantieri when the ships that come out are appalling quality and the drydocks are a nightmare. I think the whole situation is political, it stinks!
All the guys I know who've worked for Princess have never had anything good to say about officers of a certain nationality, who seem more interested in prancing around in a shiny uniform and drinking coffee then maintaining professional standards.
I know that some people will think I'm out of line saying the above, and no nationality or country is faultless, but seriously there is a common theme in recent years...

Dodgy shipping companies needn't flag with Liberia anymore, just come to Europe!

[GuinnessMan]

Dodgy shipping companies needn't flag with Liberia anymore, just come to Europe!

To be honest, Liberia is starting to get a wee bit stricter now!

[Clanky]

It's part of Bridge Resource Management that we expect folks to question orders they believe may be dangerous, regardless of rank?

Anywho, the whole thing is bloody odd, with some bloody odd sentences being handed out to random folks.

However, I do like how Schettino is trying to portray himself as a hero for "Steering the ship to land". Did he not read the accident report? Especially the part where it said that all engine controls were lost shortly after the collision and it was just pure dumb luck that the ship ran aground?

If I remember correctly from the report, the helmsman turned the wheel the opposite way to what was ordered, so I think his conviction is most likely connected with that rather than for not realising that the ship was going to run aground, but not having read the court report I can't tell for sure.

[Randomist]

It's part of Bridge Resource Management that we expect folks to question orders they believe may be dangerous, regardless of rank?

That can be a company specific liability clause but it wouldn't hold up in court (a UK court that is) it would still be the responsibility of the master/OOW.

But this highlights quite well that the judicial system of other countries may differ greatly. In In italian law it may be perfectly normal for liability to rest with a large number of personnel other than just the senior management. A lot of it may seem weird by UK legal standards.

Read this recently. It's quite good if a little 'google translate' lol

http://www.safety4sea.com/images/media/pdf/Costa_Concordia_-_Full_Investigation_Report.pdf

[GuinnessMan]

If I remember correctly from the report, the helmsman turned the wheel the opposite way to what was ordered, so I think his conviction is most likely connected with that rather than for not realising that the ship was going to run aground, but not having read the court report I can't tell for sure.

I can't remember. Either way, it is a bit excessive but even they have a duty to say "urm, are you sure about this boss?" when things look like they might go a bit pete tong...