Are Today’s Cruise Ships Too Big To Be Safe?

In The Year Of the 100th Anniversary Sinking of Titanic, Costa Concordia Accident Brings Modern Passenger Ships Sizes To The Surface

At nearly 1,000 feet the Costa Concordia is only the 26th largest cruise ship in operation.

It’s ironic – or perhaps fate? – that a huge passenger liner capsized after hitting rocks, resulting in loss of life, in the 100th anniversary year of the sinking of the Titanic.

Just as in Titanic’s day, there seems to be a Texas mentality of “bigger is better” when it comes to building cruise ships. After the Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian coast, it’s too tempting not to begin to wonder if bigger is indeed better.

When launched in 2006, the Costa Concordia was the world’s largest cruise ship, but it’s almost a baby by today’s standards. At 951 feet – as a measure of comparison a boat is classified as a ship at 150 feet – it does not even crack the Top 25 in largest cruise ships in the world.

It’s at #26; the largest is the Allure of the Seas at 1,187 feet. The Allure of the Seas  holds more than 6,000 passengers and a whopping 2,000 crew members while the Costa Concordia’s capacity is 4,000 passengers and 1,100 crew.

In a way, it’s hard to believe anything bad can happen on a cruise ship with today’s technology. But they said that in 1912 about Titanic. Complacency with technology is (or should be) a big concern; again, just as was in Titanic’s day.

But there are other issues in play. Engineers can debate the stability of adding decks, especially in high winds, and the low draught. But how easy is it for even seasoned skippers to maneuver these monsters around islands and ports?

How difficult is it to effectively evacuate 4,000-5,000 people from a sinking or distressed ship?

More than 21 million people travel on cruise ships annually, and the last loss of life was the Greek Royal Pacific in 1992 when it ran into a trawler. That’s a solid safety record. Overall, going on a cruise is safer than going to the grocery store.

But there have been incidents; in 2010, the Queen Mary 2 was disabled off Barcelona after an explosion in a switchboard room and in 2007 an accident remarkably similar to the Costa Concordia, the Sea Diamond hit a reef off Santorini, Greece, in which the captain and crew pretty much left the passengers to fend for themselves.

Capt Francesco Schettino is going to get the blame for misguiding the Costa Concordia into rocks. “It seems that the commander made errors of judgement that had serious consequences,” the company said in a statement. “The route followed by the ship turned out to be too close to the coast, and it seems that his decision in handling the emergency didn’t follow Costa Crociere’s procedures which are in line, and in some cases, go beyond, international standards.”

Passengers should not use the Costa Concordia – or any of the other of the rare accidents – as a deterrent to taking a cruise. But the incident should stir some discussion from those in the industry about putting these bigger ships into areas that once serviced smaller vessels, regardless of technology. Or if we’re reached the limit of the “size matters” mentality.