Italian cruise liner Costa Cruises is implementing seven new safety initiatives following the Costa Concordia tragedy on January 13, 2012, to ensure that mistakes are minimised.
These new safety measures were announced by the company during the launch of its latest cruise ship, the Costa Fascinosa.
“After the recent incident, despite the economic downturn, Costa has bounced back and booking volumes are back to the same levels recorded this time last year,” said Pier Luigi Foschi, Costa Crociere S.p.A’s chairman and CEO, adding that the delivery of the Costa Fascinosa is an “important stepping stone” on the company’s road to recovery.
Addressing some of the issues that led to the Costa Concordia tragedy earlier this year, killing and injuring scores of people, Norbert Stiekema, the Italian cruise company’s executive vice-president of sales and marketing, said: “These [safety procedures] are an important part of being in a cruise ship. Accidents are tremendously rare, but if they happen then everybody needs to be prepared.”
The initiatives include strengthening guest emergency training procedures beyond regulatory requirements and strengthening invitation procedure for guests who missed the emergency and safety on-board training.
“Everyone has to go through the safety drill... and we make sure that the safety drill is done while the ship is in port,” Stiekema said.
A monitoring system will inform the crew of any passengers who have missed this training, according to the company.
Another initiative aimed at putting guests at ease is the “Here for you” section on the company’s website, providing more clarity on safety procedures on board.
As there was a lot of talk about why the Costa Concordia went off course before it crashed, it was necessary to implement a real-time route-monitoring system called High Tech Safety Monitoring System (HT-SMS), the company said.
Further explaining, Stiekema said: “[This system] allows us to monitor, not to steer, every single ship based on the itinerary it has put into the system — it is a high-tech solution.” It means that if the ship is leaving the planned route then a message will immediately be sent and the captain will be contacted for an explanation.
Another measure Stiekema addressed was about the system on the bridge – the area where the captain controls the ship. He added that Costa Cruises has put in place a new procedure where there needs to be a consensus between all officers on where the ship is heading and which route to take before the ship sails.
The final point addresses strengthening of the policies that regulate access to the bridge. “We are putting these additional monitoring systems in place just to make sure that what has happened in the past will never happen again. Costa has gone through difficult years. We are not saying that it is coming out stronger, but it is definitely coming out more mature,” Stiekema said.
