There are few things worse than bad journalism and hype
causing not only unnecessary upset and poor decision making for the consumer,
but distracting the professionals (from regulatory agencies to cruise lines to
travel agents) from doing the job that is actually needed to be done.
The reporting on the Costa Concordia, and some of the
reactions caused thereby, have more than bothered me. I mean, would you expect less, when I
complain bitterly about how individuals post, repeat and foster huge amounts of
misinformation on Cruise Critic and the site’s owners not only don’t do
anything to correct the erroneous information, they foster its creation.
Why? Because just
like the media, it has become a matter of gaining readership and, therefore,
increased rates for, and number of, advertisements. In other words, veracity of content just isn’t
that important; traffic is.
It started off slowly. My ears perked up when I heard a CNN
report referencing the “luxury” cruise liner.
I think it is clear that the Costa Concordia is/was nothing close to a
luxury cruise ship (and it is not a “liner”, but let’s not get too
technical). The ship itself is very
closely related to a number of Carnival Cruise Line ships. ‘Nuf said.
But then it grew.
Undocumented passengers were allegedly onboard. And then it expanded to there being secreted (possibly
illegal) workers onboard. Those things were reported quickly. What hasn’t really been reported is that the original
claim was from a telephone call to the Hungarian Embassy from a person with a fictitious
name supposedly looking for a relative. But what it also did (other than bring Costa
under false attack for allegedly not having a secure ship) was have a
significant number of man hours spent not only by Costa, but governmental
agencies and rescue workers to be sure that there were no more people missing…and
trying to find these phantoms; not to mention the public relations/consumer
concern end of things.
There has been huge focus on the muster drill procedures
and, emotionally, a significant number of “consumer advocates” jumping on the
bandwagon of how allegedly dangerous this was.
I am going to go out on a limb here and speak without emotion: There were 4,000+ people on that ship and,
worse case, 99.25% of them were safely evacuated and they were evacuated the
idiocy of captain Schettino causing the problem, his delaying the evacuation
for over an hour (rendering half of the lifeboats useless) and then he and his
officers leaving everyone to their own devices as they abandoned ship and the
passengers. How many lives would have been saved if the muster was held earlier
in the cruise? How many would have been
saved if everyone brought their life jackets to the muster; noting a number of
the souls discovered were wearing their life jackets and at least one woman
died of a heart attack!
I know this may sound cold-hearted, but there are accidents
within all modes of transportation and while everyone strives for, and prays
for, 100% success rates in saving lives, it is just not possible. Imagine if it was an airline crash (there are
far more of those…and they are very rare) and 99.25% survived. That would be considered a miracle. Imagine a major highway pile-up type accident
and 99.25% survived.
I have read about there being a faulty design in the ship, but
this is by people that don’t really know enough to make those calls. Trust me on this: There are many very
distinct professions and expertises in the maritime world and I have heard
people speak of stability, hull shapes, etc. that not only haven’t done the
engineering, but aren’t capable of doing it.
Hence I wonder (not really) why these are the people who put their faces
out front stirring a pot that probably need not be stirred. (I am still waiting to hear if all of the
water-tight doors were properly closed and secured. I have noted my hunch, but have not stated it
to be a fact.) Systems are only as good
as their being followed.
Without going on too long, regardless of phony claims of
stowaways, baseless claims of ship design issues, focusing on muster drills
(because we understand them), etc., the fact is this accident was so obviously
avoidable and the captain was so obviously incompetent…or worse.
What is found in almost every accident is that there is a
significant human factor involved. Changing a muster drill may make you
emotionally feel safer, but the reality of it is that the human (here the
captain and the ship’s other officers) factors would have – not “could have” –
avoided the entirety of the accident and would have – not “could have” –
increased the survival rate to even closer to 100% if for no reason other than
starting the evacuation procedures earlier (if not with more direction and
supervision).
Yes, hype sells advertising.
But at what cost?
What do you think? Join the conversation on The Gold Standard Luxury Travel Forum.
