Costa Europa Collision
Three crewmembers killed
By Mike Groves
A cruise liner carrying 1,437 passengers has slammed into the pier during her final approach towards the pier at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, during the early hours of Friday, February 26, 2010. Sharm el-Sheik is a common stop for cruise ships traveling through the region and one I have docked at myself on a number of occasions.
The Costa Europa belongs to the Genoa, Italy-based Costa Crociera line, the Italian subsidiary of Carnival Corp who have seen a number of their ships suffer collisions in recent times.
The Costa Europa had been on an 18-day cruise from Dubai to Savona and initial reports are currently blaming fierce winds for the incident, an incident that has cost three crewmembers to lose their lives after being submerged in water as it poured into the ship post collision More recent reports have confirmed that Egyptian prosecutors have already started to interrogate crewmembers as they launched an investigation. Three British tourists were also taken to a local hospital for their injuries, although these have not been disclosed.
Investigators will be focusing their attention towards a number of areas within the ship, not least her safety certification and history as well as examining a number of her logbooks and computer systems. Most certainly her bridge Nav [navigation] systems and also those logbooks situated in the ships ECR [Engine Control Room] will be thoroughly inspected, the latter able to confirm which engines were engaged at the time of the collision and if the bow thrusters* were operating correctly.
Prosecutors will also be speaking with the Captain and his Deck Officer’s to verify the decisions made and who was doing what during her initial approach and when coming alongside. They will also, I am sure, be asking whether the Costa Europa should have even attempted to come alongside at this in such adverse winds, more so when witnesses have already stated that fierce winds had rocked the area overnight?
I am aware that winds can blow up a little in this particular region however will hindsight show that the Costa Europa should have delayed her docking until these [winds] had diminished significantly – time will tell?
One eyewitness onboard, Glynnis Martin of Leicester, England informed one newspaper, "I was woken by the biggest boom I'd ever heard followed by a terrifying crunch of metal." "I ran from my cabin but the ship was so badly tilted it was hard to walk."
Costa Europa Collision
Three crewmembers killed
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
February 26, 2010
Glynnis went onto say that the Captain deliberately swung the ship to its port side to keep a hole on the starboard side created by the collision above the water line.
"The whole incident was terrifying," she says. "Even though we were at dock, the fear of sinking was there."
The ship's owner, Costa Crociera, said the vessel sprung a leak on the right side after banging into the dock at about 4:45 a.m. I do find the language that these cruise operators continue to use to be very annoying and heartless to a degree, because I rather think the two meter (yard) hole that was reported to have ripped through the ships hull is clearly a lot more catastrophic than they prefer to describe it, ‘the vessel sprung a leak.’
My old battered Fiat recently sprung a leak in the nearside passenger door but the incident onboard the Costa Europa caused a deluge of water to enter the vessels interior sanctums and cause three crewmembers to lose their lives through drowning? Hardly a leek. Carnivore Cruise Lines – please put some thought into your corporate statements before you open your own gangway, this is not the first time.
The cruise line has also disclosed that it believes the repairs should be finished within 30 days, so this tends to highlight perfectly that the Costa Europa suffered quite substantial damage to the integrity of her hull. However as we saw recently with Carnival Cruise Lines, the ‘show must go on!’
After another of their ships, the Carnival Miracle suffered substantial damage to her hull during a collision with the pier in Port Zante, St Kitts, one of her passengers would soon contact Cruise Bruise to inform us they still sailed her back to Ft Lauderdale and whilst maintaining 24 knots, and with what he described as inadequate repairs and a gaping hole still in the side! As we understand she got back in time to board her next bunch of guests as they joined the vessel for their holiday! Carnival Miracle article is here
Local officials would later say the three crewmembers killed were from Brazil, Hondurus and India respectively. As I understand all three bodies have now been recovered from the ship.
The 55,000-ton Costa Europa was built in 1986 and entered service with Costa in 2002,
*Bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires some forward motion for turning.
