With the continous news updates regarding the Costa Lines cruise-ship COSTA CONCORDIA disaster, as well as with each new piece of information that surfaces regarding the tragedy, I dont think anyone out there needs me to recount all the particulars and statistics regarding what happened to that her; however, as a ship buff and a martime historian, I feel there are a couple of points that need to be clarified regarding the ship and her tragic demise.
First, the latest news reports, via CNN and other mega-media news services have recently stated that a ship like the COSTA CONCORDIA was designed to easily survive any amount of heavy damage that she could've possibly encountered at sea and still remain in an upright position. That is not only a bogus lie, it's an extremely large piece of purely unadulterated bullshit because there is one thing, one type of damage, that no vessel afloat very VERY rarily survives - damage impact to her keel, which is the very backbone of the ship itself, the main thing that holds her altogether in one piece, regardless if she is made of riveted steel, welded steel or individual compartments.
That gash on the COSTA CONCORDIA, the very same gash which played the most pivotal role in her demise, was simply too close to her keel, her backbone, for her to not become a total loss. In addition, no ship on this planet could remain in an upright position without even the slightest list after experiencing such damage. It's virtually impossible and the proof lays in every single one of those photos we see flash on our television and computer screens in which we see her laying helplessly on her side, in her current half-way sunken state.
All of this is quite easy to understand - you know how when we humans break our necks it automatically kills us? It's the same exact thing with ships - when their keels are broken, or in the COSTA CONCORDIA's case, extremely compromised, they too die in a way, if not becoming a total operational loss.
Now even though I do know a lot about ships, quite frankly, I dont know what's gonna end up happening to the COSTA CONCORDIA. As a ship-lover, I'm hoping and praying that they still might be able to save her, then rebuild her and make her stronger than ever before and yes, perhaps even put her back into service; but, that scenario simply doesnt look realistic at this point in time. At best, I now hope that they can prevent her from becoming a danger to the local sea environment and remove her wreck in a safe, efficient and timely manner. Ships have been re-salvaged and put back into service many times over the centuries, but with a 114,000 ton mega cruise-ship like the COSTA CONCORDIA I simply dont think that's a realistic expectation at this current point in time.
Second, just because this incident happened does not mean that every cruise-ship out there now in service is unreliable and thus dangerous to travel on. Quite the contrary. Because of the COSTA CONCORDIA disaster, every naval architect and maritime engineer is going to be reviewing every single element that went into the contruction of that vessel and find out where they went wrong (if that does indeed prove to be the case) and do their damnest to correct it. On that I can guarantee. Granted, knowing this may not make the general public feel more safe-n-secure about their current and future cruise plans, but it is the truth. Following every maritime disaster that has ever taken place on this planet, that's exactly what the men and women who design and construct ships such as these mega-sized cruise-ships do - they come up with new and improved ways to make these ships safer, stronger and super-efficient.
Yet in specific regards to the COSTA CONCORDIA herself, even if the powers that be could find a way to raise her upright, salvage her and put her back into business, I really dont think there'd be tons of cruise-goers standing in line to travel on a vessel that now has such a horrible, tragic history. I'll admit, I sure as hell wouldnt want to travel on a ship where previous passengers lost their lives on but even so, death is a part of life and no matter what happens life must go on. I wont comment any further on this though because right now the media showlight on the ridiculous, inexcusable ways in which the evacuation of the COSTA CONCORDIA was handled is still so fresh on most of our minds.
Right now I think the main focus should be to continue to search for those missing 29 passengers in the hopes that they are still alive and can be reuinted with their loved ones. Besides, that should ALWAYS be the main focus of any type of disaster such as this - to save as many human lives as is possible. I know it doesnt look good for those still missing but I refuse to give up hope just yet. And I hope the rest of the world wont either. Thank you for reading.
Posted via email from Luctor Et Emergo
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