One result of the Costa Concordia disaster is that the cruise industry has adopted a stricter emergency drill policy making it mandatory for cruise ships to hold lifeboat drills prior to departure from home port. Participating international shipping organizations include Cruise Lines International Association, European Cruise Council, and the Passenger Shipping Association.
Costa Concordia had left Civitavecchia, Italy when the ship ran aground before the ship’s drill was scheduled, although only 600 of the 4200 people onboard had embarked in that port. Due to the fact the ship listed and ended up on its side a lifeboat drill for all passengers wouldn’t have made any difference. At least seven bodies were found at designated muster station in their life jackets.
In other news about the crash Reuters reports the ship’s Captain, Francesco Schettino, has admitted he knew as soon as his ship struck a rock off the island of Giglio on January 13 that he had made a catastrophic error and his 30-year career at sea was over.
Reuters says “as he came to within a quarter of a nautical mile of the coast, in water he believed to be deep enough to be safe, he saw foam breaking on what appeared to be a submerged outcrop and turned sharply, exposing the side of the hull to the sharp rock.”
The Captain told magistrates investigating the accident “I may have done something rash, I did do something rash, but God would have made it alright for me if I hadn’t set the rudder to starboard.