In the Wake of Tragedy
The Costa Concordia tragedy continues to unfold. As of this writing, 11 people have perished and 23 are still missing.
I’m not going to speculate on who did what wrong. Official reports, based on hard facts, will eventually assert causes and assign blame. At that time, I’m sure there will be much to learn from this unfortunate disaster, which brings me to the point of this blog.
Motivational writer and speaker Zig Zigler wrote: “Some of us learn from other people’s mistakes and the rest of us have to be other people.” When it comes to safe operation of a boat, we don’t want to be one of those “other people.”
Fortunately, we can learn from a few notable “other captains” of the past. Edward Smith, Eddie Carroll, Piero Calamai, and Joseph Hazelwood come to mind. From each disaster came significant changes to commercial vessel regulations.
The Titanic brought the passenger ship industry much stricter lifesaving equipment regulations as well as standardized emergency communications at sea.
The 1951 capsizing of the Pelican off Montauk, NY, led to the small commercial passenger vessel regulations we have today, particularly with regard to stability.
The Andrea Doria sinking in 1956 changed how radar is used aboard commercial vessels and also led to specific changes in the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
The Exxon Valdez brought, among many changes, drug and alcohol testing for commercial mariners. (Some say that Hazelwood changed the game for all workplace drug testing.)
But from each disaster there are lessons to learn far more fundamental than can be expressed in lifeboat, stability, radar and sobriety requirements. Lessons that are equally valid for boats nine feet, 95 feet, or 951 feet long.
Some day in the not too distant future there will be regulation changes and lessons to learn from Francesco Schettino. Until then this blog will review a few significant maritime mistakes made by others, and consider what we can do to avoid those same mistakes aboard our own boats.
Up Next: Gregory Cousins, modern plotters and the continuing need for paper charts.
— Cap’n Vince
