It’s said that history often repeats itself. After 100 years from 1912 when the Titanic met its unfortunate fate a similar incident happened with a famous cruise ship making it second in the line of the most infamous shipwrecks. The ship Costa Concordia was operated by the notable Italian cruise line Costa Conciere which was established in 1854. Since the year 1947 when the company commenced passenger services, it has established a good reputation over the years and ultimately became one of the largest cruise operators in the world. However the capsizing of one of its star cruise ships barely 7 years in service not only left a dent on the company’s reputation but also raised serious concerns over international

1. CASE STUDY: SINKING OF COSTA CONCORDIA
VARUN KESAVAN, RESEARCH SCHOLAR, E- MAIL ID - varunkesavan@yahoo.com
It’s said that history often repeats itself. After 100 years from 1912 when the
Titanic met its unfortunate fate a similar incident happened with a famous cruise
ship making it second in the line of the most infamous shipwrecks.
The ship Costa Concordia was operated by the notable Italian cruise line Costa
Conciere which was established in 1854. Since the year 1947 when the company
commenced passenger services, it has established a good reputation over the
years and ultimately became one of the largest cruise operators in the world.
However the capsizing of one of its star cruise ships barely 7 years in service not
only left a dent on the company’s reputation but also raised serious concerns
over international
The following article sheds light on the reasons behind the capsizing as well as
lists out the circumstances that led to the disaster.

2. The Accident
On the night of January 13, 2012, Costa Concordia struck her port side on an
underwater reef near the Italian island of Isola del Giglio. The ship immediately
lost all propulsive power and soon after there was a complete blackout as water
reached the electrical panels.
The breach resulted in a 60-meter long gash in the ship’s hull. This led to the
rapid flooding of the watertight compartments and ultimately led to its capsize.
It’s difficult to comprehend the fact that such an incident can happen given the
availability of advanced technology and instrumentation giving precise and
detailed information of every possible circumstance a ship may face. From rough
seas to mapping of the ocean floor to high-speed winds; all relevant data is
available with a ship at regular intervals. The topography of any area in which the
ship sails forth is already available on board a ship.
Despite all this, the ship Costa Concordia struck an underwater reef off the coast
of the Italian Island Isola del Giglio and grounded, finally resting on the rocks
near the coast.

3. What went wrong that night?
A big question arises as to why was the ship sailing so near the coast in the first
place which ultimately led to one of the most horrifying disasters in international
cruising.
Most cruise ships perform what is called a Sail – By Maneuver. The ship takes a
slight deviation from its official course to sail near an island just to give the
passengers a unique glimpse of it and give a nod to the fellow sailors on land.
This is a routine manoeuvre in cruise lining and has been practised successfully
across the world for years. The ship’s deviation course is plotted in such a way
so that it is at a minimum safe distance from the island to prevent any situation of
grounding in shallow waters or due to the presence of rocks and reefs near the
coast. Concordia had earlier also performed it for the same island in its past
voyages.
So what possibly went wrong this time endangering the lives of around 4000
people on board which would ultimately change the cruising industry forever?
Concordia’s deviation course required it to stay at least 1500 ft away from the
island. But as it turned out the ship landed up around 659 meters closer to the
coast. This egregious error due to a series of miscommunications between the
captain, first officers and the officer at the helm is reflected later in the
investigative report.

4. Because of the incorrect heading angles, the turning radius of the ship was much
wider than it was supposed to be as per the chartered deviation; ultimately
bringing the ship in close proximity to the shore.
By the time the captain realised the situation and started giving a series of orders
for rudder turns, it was too late as the ship was already in too close proximity and
moving at a speed of 16 knots. The erroneous executions of an order by the
helmsman and delay in correcting them ultimately left Concordia no chance to
pass safely.
Why couldn’t the flagship liner maintain its stability?
So why did such a big and modern cruise liner could not maintain its stability and
capsized within an hour of the initial impact?