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Respond Letters responding to: Costa Concordia: a vessel for anti-consumerist angst, by Tim Black
There are legitimate concerns about the size of cruise liners. One is a simple worry that it may prove impossible to evacuate a ship carrying more that 4,000 people in a hurry – something not tested on the Costa Concordia because things were left so late, and the shore was close. But note: as soon as she started to list, half the lifeboats were useless. That is a function of size.
Also, one does start to ask about the innate stability of the design. Yes, there was a 50 metre rip under the waterline; interestingly, she eventually capsized away from that. One asks: were there no means to isolate areas below the waterline? If there were, why did they not work? This, of course, besides asking why the Captain abdicated so comprehensively from his leadership role…
Simon Gatt, Malta
How do you get 4,200 people on a cruise ship in these difficult economic times? My guess is you do it by offering a great price – and you do that by cutting costs. Staff training might be among the first things to go. With the good safety record Black mentions, I can see how training for emergencies might not be high on the list. And have we not seen this before with the Herald of Free Enterprise tragedy? Corporate cost cutting at the expense of safety measures – then the focus on blaming an individual – albeit the ship’s captain in this case. Interesting to see how this develops.
Jacqui Radford, UK
The craziness is that anyone would let an Italian drive anything that big. They are wonderful engineers, from trains to Ferraris, or from washing machines to fridges. But, for example, when was the last time Ferrari put an Italian in the cab? All the classic signs have emerged: a dolly bird on the bridge and a captain trying to send a wave up the beach.
Norman Dee, France
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