Ships Monthly Magazine Classic Cruisers - December 2013 Retour à l'édition précédente

In this issue we have a special report on the incredible salvage operation that has been undertaken to right and recover the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia from the rocks off the island of Giglio
in the Mediterranean, in what was the biggest ever salvage operation of its kind. The righting of the vessel was shown live on the internet and was extremely impressive in both its complexity and sophistication. That no expense had been spared was evident, and the Italian authorities are to be applauded for ensuring that the cleanliness of the waters around the wreck was a priority. But have any lessons been learned from the disaster? It is difficult to say whether the cruise industry has changed any safety procedures, but probably diverging from a set course is no longer allowed. Safety procedures were generally good on cruise ships, so has the commercial side of the industry suffered? New cruise ships continue to be built and ordered, with the name of the latest P&O vessel recently announced. And as they say no publicity is bad publicity, the Concordia incident probably actually helped both Costa Cruises and the cruise industry as a whole.