Carnival Corporation-owned ship hits Italian coast, three killed

[FarCenter]

At least three people were killed and rescuers were looking for other victims on Saturday after an Italian Carnival Corporation subsidiary carrying more than 4,000 people ran
aground overnight, took on water and tipped over.

A dramatic nighttime rescue operation involving lifeboats, ships and helicopters was continuing hours after the 114,500 gross tonnes Costa Concordia hit a sandbar near the island of Giglio as passengers were eating dinner.

...

Carnival Corporation was founded by the late Ted Arison, an Israeli-American businessman, in 1972. Its current president and CEO is Mickey Arison, Ted Arison’s son, and brother of Shari Arison, who owns several major Israeli businesses including Bank Hapoalim.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/carnival-corporation-owned-ship-hits-italian-coast-three-killed-1.407258

[backscatter712]

1. When asked for comments by the media, the captain was quoted as saying "Oops!" n/t

[rfranklin]

2. Actually, he was passed out in his cabin...formerly captain of the Exxon Valdez....

at least it wasn't an oil tanker.

[taterguy]

3. Oil is much more valuable than thousands of lives

[FarCenter]

4. An oil tanker sinking does a lot of damage to the environment

A cruise ship sinking? Not so much.

[sulphurdunn]

5. I can hardly believe

that a modern ship of that size, with satellite navigation and modern sounding equipment could do that. There should have been at least 4 or 5 people in the wheelhouse. They'd need to have been hauling ass and hit rocks to have done that kind of damage (sand bars don't do that), and even then it's hard to believe it could have ripped itself open like that unless the hull was made of egg shell. I'll be curious to follow the official inquiry on this.

[FarCenter]

6. Italy cruise ship Costa Concordia: Search for missing

Emergency teams in Italy are racing to rescue those missing after a cruise ship ran aground off the country's west coast with about 4,000 people on board.

Coast guard vessels are combing the waters around the Costa Concordia, which is lying on its side. Divers are searching its submerged decks.

There were scenes of panic as it began listing on Friday. Most people reached land by lifeboats but some swam ashore.

Three people are confirmed dead. About 70 are said to be unaccounted for.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16561904

[Wind Dancer]

7. They have quite a past.

One example:

Carnival Corp.
Employees filed a class action lawsuit against the cruise line for allegedly failing to pay full wages, including overtime. Some workers claimed Carnival failed to pay them for work they performed beyond their regular 70-hour workweeks while other non-tip-earning workers claimed to not have received compensation for all the overtime that they worked. Carnival has agreed to settle the class action lawsuit for $6.25 million.

https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/settlements/05447/carnival_employee_settlement.html

They'd never get my business.

[FarCenter]

8. The tardy safety drill appears to be standard

Beware Costa cruises!

"The safety drill didn't appear until near the end of the cruise - amazing!"

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=91615
and more reviews at:
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/costa-cruises/cl/