Navigation system top of the line, say experts
The stricken Costa Concordia aground off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio. Photo: AFP
WHEN the Costa Concordia ground onto rocks off the island of Giglio near the Tuscan coast, its captain and officers of the watch had some of the most sophisticated electronic navigation systems at their fingertips.
At the heart of bridge controls would have been the Electronic Chart Display and Information System, which updates the ship’s position continually using information from the Global Positioning System.
An echo sounder would have provided them with a real-time colour display of the contours of the sea floor beneath the ship.
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They also would have been monitoring two further radars.
Each of these navigation aids is equipped with alarms that should sound as they detect hazards, says Captain Ted van Bronswijk, a director of the Company of Master Mariners of Australia and a veteran of cruise liners.
”These ships are crewed like large aircraft; if someone is distracted someone else should be there,” Captain van Bronswijk said. ”It is very rare for a ship to be so close to shore unless it is heading into port.”
Other experts say cruise ships have doubled in size over the past decade and are being designed with guest amenities rather than safety in mind.
”The alarm bells have been ringing with many of us for well over a decade now,” says Andrew Linington, of Nautilus International, the maritime professionals’ union.
”We believe a lot of basic safety principles are being compromised to maximise the revenue,” he said.
With GUARDIAN
