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Today’s ships are filled with the latest state of the art electronic gear to detect obstacles, yet two passenger ships have hit obstacles (reefs/rocks) this month,  with the latest ship, Costa Concordia, suffering several dead, due mainly to panic.  The Captain of the Costa Concordia has been arrested.  It is not clear whether he was at the helm at the time of the accident.  Many of the passengers have not been as yet accounted for.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?

I sail often and safety has never been a concern to me, up to now.  I have observed on some ships that some of their crew have a cavalier attitude to safety drill.  Many ships do not carry out lifeboat drill until ships are well at sea.  This must change.  In all cases this drill must be performed before leaving port.  Panic is the cause of many fatalities.  The demeanor of the crew is paramount.

Now, after these two recent events,  people may treat drills seriously, crew and passengers alike.  Cruising is possibly the safest mode of transport, but there is always room for improvement.  On longer cruises, I feel there should be at least two safety drills for passengers to reinforce what to do in case of emergencies.

Have all the new ships which have been launched recently, meant a drop in crew and officer quality?  I hope not.