http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/cursed-concordia-born-bad-ended-up-worse-20120116-1q1w2.html

Cursed Concordia 'born bad, ended up worse'

If maritime superstitions are to be believed, the Costa Concordia was doomed from the moment it was launched.

When a grand christening ceremony was held in July 2006 in the port of Civitavecchia, the ceremonial champagne bottle failed to smash against the hull of the luxury liner - now on its side in the sea as rescue workers hunt for missing passengers - and wet the bow.

In a video capturing the moment, some among the crowd - which included supermodel Eva Herzigová - can be heard gasping as the bottle is hurled from a height and bounces, unbroken, off the side.

It is a sign some seafarers consider to be a harbinger of bad luck. Ominously, the Titanic was never christened.

"It was born bad and ended up worse," the Italian newspaper Il Giornale pronounced in a headline about Friday's tragedy.
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http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Police-take-down-Occupy-Syracuse-camp/lc4xe737EUCJ84LAicdQqA.cspx

Syracuse, New York - (WSYR-TV) - News is breaking in Downtown Syracuse, where police moved in overnight to takedown the Occupy
Syracuse encampment on South Salina Street.

Police arrested seven people on trespassing charges after they moved in about 3:30 Thursday morning. Syracuse DPW crews have dismantled the tents at the camp site.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner ordered the protesters out by 8 a.m. Wednesday, city officials were concerned that propane tanks and space heaters at the site had become a fire hazard.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2088411/Costa-Concordia-T-shirt-harbour-masters-tirade-Captain-Schettino-sell-online-12.html

Harbour master Gregorio De Falco - the man who told the cowardly Costa Concordia captain to 'Get Back on Board for xxxx's sake' - today woke up to find himself a national hero.

Headlines in Italian newspapers roared 'De Falco Idol' and 'Thank you Captain' as De Falco tried to play down the infamous four minute recording berating Francesco Schettino.

T-shirts with the phrase in Italian 'Vada a Bordo, Cazzo' (Get on board, damn it*) were being snapped up for £12 after an enterprising online clothing store advertised them on the web.

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(*Cazzo is "prick" in Italian)

http://gcaptain.com/costa-concordia-update-italian/?37534

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Antonio Belardo, a local official, said the ship deviated from its “usual” route in order to give passengers a view of Giglio’s port. That meant navigating a strait, so that the ship could skirt a stretch of the small island’s coastline that faces mainland Italy.

Gianni Onorato, managing director of Carnival Corp.’s Costa Cruises, which operated the ship, told reporters on Saturday that the course taken by the ship Friday evening was “not a defined route for passing Giglio.” However, Mr. Onorato said it would be “incorrect to say the ship was off course,” adding that he was unaware of all of the possible routes available to the captain at the time.

“It’s difficult to say at this moment what happened,” Mr. Onorato said, adding that the company was cooperating with authorities to “shed light on the causes of this tragedy that is unprecedented in our 64-year history.”

Italian media reported that the boat hit a grouping of rocks known as Le Scole, located about one kilometer, or a half-mile, off the coast of Giglio.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Splendor

On November 8, 2010, at approximately 06:00 Pacific time, on the second day of a voyage from Long Beach to the Mexican Riviera, the ship experienced a fire in her engine room, cutting all electrical power. According to Carnival president, Gerry Cahill, a "crankcase split, and that's what caused the fire," adding it was isolated to the aft generator room.[13] The fire was extinguished by the afternoon, and no one was injured. Nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members were onboard at the time.[14]

The crew was unable to restore power to the engines, and the ship was towed by tugboat to San Diego.[15][16] Without power for air conditioning and refrigeration, passengers were fed rations delivered via U.S. Navy helicopters from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.[17]

Splendor was escorted by, and received aid and security assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau.[18] Carnival Splendor arrived in San Diego under tow around sunrise on November 11, and docked around noon.[19]

It was reported that Carnival has promised to give all passengers a full refund along with a voucher for a free cruise of equal value to their cruise on Splendor, along with reimbursement for their travel expenses.[20][21]

The ship has three engines in the aft engine room and three in a forward engine room. Each generator is connected to the two switchboards. The failure of a single engine or generator should not normally cause a total power loss.[22] Clark Dodge, former chief engineer for Washington State Ferries, said, "If things were designed properly, all the power shouldn't have gone out."[22][23] The reasons for the total power loss are presently unclear and are under investigation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia

On Friday January 13 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef at around 21:00 local time (UTC+1) off Isola del Giglio, having left Savona earlier that evening at the beginning of a seven-day cruise and intending to visit Civitavecchia, Palermo, Tunis, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona, and Marseille.

It was reported that at about 20:00, passengers were in the dining hall when there was a sudden, loud bang, which a crew member (speaking over the intercom) ascribed to an "electrical failure". "We told the guests everything was okay and under control and we tried to stop them panicking," cabin steward Deodato Ordona recalled. It was about an hour before a general emergency was announced, he said. "The boat started shaking. The noise - there was panic, like in a film, dishes crashing to the floor, people running, people falling down the stairs," said survivor Fulvio Rocci. Those on board said the boat suddenly tilted to the port side.[14] Passengers were later advised to put on their life-jackets.[15] The ship later developed a list of approximately 20° to starboard, the change creating problems in launching the lifeboats, with some passengers jumping into the water to swim to shore. Six people reportedly drowned after jumping overboard, and another seven were critically injured.[1] According to the local coastguard, 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew members were on board at the time.[16]