Costa Collision will 'Costa-lot' of Money!
Costa almost left up the Yangtze without a paddle
By Mike Groves
The Cruise ship Costa Classica has suffered extensive structural damage after she collided with a cargo vessel at the mouth of the Yangtze River during the early hours of the morning, 0445 hours to be precise. The 52,926-ton Costa Classica picked a fight with the larger 86,848-ton Belgian-registered bulk carrier Lowlands Longevity, which was reported to be traveling in the same direction near the deep-water channel of the Yangtze River.
Albeit able to reach her berth safely, the Classica’s some 1,311 passengers were summoned to their emergency muster stations and the ship docked at 1000 hours local time. The majority of the passengers are known to be Asians but some American and Canadian were also on board.
The Shanghai Daily reported that the ship suffered a long gash in its side and several passengers were injured. Three passengers are known to have been transferred to hospital once the vessel docked.
In the picture below you can see the extent of this damage and it is somewhat of a miracle that no one was killed to be frank. Thank goodness those portholes were not the opening kind either, because I for one would not have liked to be sticking my head out of one when the collision occurred!
Costa Collision will ‘Costa-lot’ of Money!
Costa almost left up the Yangtze without a paddle
By Mike Groves QGM
Cruise Bruise Security And Safety Advisor
October 19, 2010
Consequence of things that go bump in the night, the substantial damage to Costa Classica
The gash is said to stretch approximately 20 metres along the starboard side of the vessel, Deck 5 amidships. No matter that many media outlets are enthusiastically stating at least this was well above the water they are failing to appreciate the impact factors of such a collision, fire being a very real possibility. We can only be thankful this collision occurred on the Yangtze and not whilst at sea, because any significant swell or rough seas would not have afford the vessel much in the way of protection, loss of stability through the intake of water being a very real possibility.
Some passengers have already reported seeing water pouring in through broken portholes and into cabins situated on the fifth deck. Certainly not the wake up call that they would have been expecting, fresh coffee and croissants being much more preferred during these cruises!
So what happened and why? An initial investigation by the Shanghai Maritime Safety Bureau has reported that the Costa Classica lost control due to a power failure, and which ultimately caused the bridge to lose the ability to command their vessel.
I have experienced this very scary scenario myself while on board the Seabourn Spirit as we were sailing through one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world – Singapore! On that occasion it was only through the skilled direction of the ship’s master, Captain Pedersen that we managed to avoid bumping into a number of vessels trying to get out of our way! I can only sympathize with the ships master on board the Costa Classica.
The local water pilot was about to board the Classica to navigate when the collision took place; not that he/she would have been able to do anything during such a catastrophic loss of control.
Most passengers were sound asleep when orders were given to put on life jackets and assemble on deck as plans were put into action for an emergency evacuation "It was a really scary scene," said Yu Kang, one of the cruise ships passengers.
A statement from Costa's head office in Italy says: "After the incident a few guests reported to the ship's medical staff for minor injuries. Upon arrival of the ship in Shanghai three of them were sent ashore for further medical checks.
"Costa is very regretful that this incident has occurred and is working closely with Marine Safety Administration of Shanghai to fully investigate this matter.
"The original Shanghai-Japan-Korea- Hong Kong voyage scheduled to depart on October 18 has been canceled. Costa is sorry for any inconvenience caused to passengers as a result."
Built in 1991, the Costa Classica is one of the oldest vessels in the fleet.
Page 1
