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'We all suffer from PTSD': 10 years after the Costa Concordia cruise disaster, memories remain

GIGLIO, Italy — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds.

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The blackout after the ship's engine room flooded and its generators failed. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland.

Italy on Thursday is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration that will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment the ship hit the reef: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. The events will honor the 32 people who died that night, the 4,200 survivors, but also the residents of Giglio, who took in passengers and crew and then lived with the Concordia's wrecked carcass off their shore for another two years until it was righted and hauled away for scrap.

► CDC travel guidance: CDC warns 'avoid cruise travel' after more than 5,000 COVID cases in two weeks amid omicron

“For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water.

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month  warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection.

► 'We found out while we were flying': Last-minute cruise cancellations leave travelers scrambling

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'We all suffer from PTSD'

For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily.

“I always said this will not define me, but you have no choice," Ananias said in an interview from her home in Los Angeles, Calif. “We all suffer from PTSD. We had a lot of guilt that we survived and 32 other people died.”

Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated.

Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the U.S. and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

“I think people need to be aware that when you go on a cruise, that if there is a problem, you will not have the justice that you may be used to in the country in which you are living,” said Ananias, who went onto become a top official in the International Cruise Victims association, an advocacy group that lobbies to improve safety aboard ships and increase transparency and accountability in the industry.

Costa didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on the anniversary.

► Royal Caribbean cancels sailings: Pushes back restart on several ships over COVID

'We did something incredible'

Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, stressed in a statement to The Associated Press that passenger and crew safety was the industry's top priority, and that cruising remains one of the safest vacation experiences available.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims of the Concordia tragedy and their families on this sad anniversary," CLIA said. It said it has worked over the past 10 years with the International Maritime Organization and the maritime industry to “drive a safety culture that is based on continuous improvement."

For Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli, the memories of that night run the gamut: the horror of seeing the capsized ship, the scramble to coordinate rescue services on shore, the recovery of the first bodies and then the pride that islanders rose to the occasion to tend to the survivors.

► Cruising during COVID-19: Cancellation, refund policies vary by cruise line

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory.

“It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

It seemed the natural thing to do at the time. “But then we realized that on that night, in just a few hours, we did something incredible.”

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How the Wreck of a Cruise Liner Changed an Italian Island

Ten years ago the Costa Concordia ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio, killing 32 people and entwining the lives of others forever.

By Gaia Pianigiani

GIGLIO PORTO, Italy — The curvy granite rocks of the Tuscan island of Giglio lay bare in the winter sun, no longer hidden by the ominous, stricken cruise liner that ran aground in the turquoise waters of this marine sanctuary ten years ago.

Few of the 500-odd residents of the fishermen’s village will ever forget the freezing night of Jan. 13, 2012, when the Costa Concordia shipwrecked, killing 32 people and upending life on the island for years.

“Every one of us here has a tragic memory from then,” said Mario Pellegrini, 59, who was deputy mayor in 2012 and was the first civilian to climb onto the cruise ship after it struck the rocks near the lighthouses at the port entrance.

The hospitality of the tight-knit community of islanders kicked in, at first to give basic assistance to the 4,229 passengers and crew members who had to be evacuated from a listing vessel as high as a skyscraper. In no time, Giglio residents hosted thousands of journalists, law enforcement officers and rescue experts who descended on the port. In the months to come, salvage teams set up camp in the picturesque harbor to work on safely removing the ship, an operation that took more than two years to complete.

The people of Giglio felt like a family for those who spent long days at its port, waiting to receive word of their loved ones whose bodies remained trapped on the ship. On Thursday, 10 years to the day of the tragedy, the victims’ families, some passengers and Italian authorities attended a remembrance Mass and threw a crown of flowers onto the waters where the Costa Concordia had rested. At 9:45 p.m., the time when the ship ran aground, a candlelit procession illuminated the port’s quay while church bells rang and ship sirens blared.

What stands out now for many is how the wreck forever changed the lives of some of those whose paths crossed as a result. Friendships were made, business relations took shape and new families were even formed.

“It feels as if, since that tragic night, the lives of all the people involved were forever connected by an invisible thread,” Luana Gervasi, the niece of one of the shipwreck victims, said at the Mass on Thursday, her voice breaking.

Francesco Dietrich, 48, from the eastern city of Ancona, arrived on the island in February 2013 to work with the wreck divers, “a dream job,” he said, adding: “It was like offering someone who plays soccer for the parish team to join the Champions League with all the top teams in the business.”

For his work, Mr. Dietrich had to buy a lot of boat-repair supplies from the only hardware store in town. It was owned by a local family, and Mr. Dietrich now has a 6-year-old son, Pietro, with the family’s daughter.

“It was such a shock for us,” said Bruna Danei, 42, who until 2018 worked as a secretary for the consortium that salvaged the wreck. “The work on the Costa Concordia was a life-changing experience for me in many ways.”

A rendering of the Costa Concordia used by salvage teams to plan its recovery hung on the wall of the living room where her 22-month-old daughter, Arianna, played.

“She wouldn’t be here if Davide hadn’t come to work on the site,” Ms. Danei said, referring to Davide Cedioli, 52, an experienced diver from Turin who came to the island in May 2012 to help right the Costa Concordia — and who is also Arianna’s father.

From a barge, Mr. Cedioli monitored the unprecedented salvage operation that, in less than a day, was able to rotate the 951-foot vessel, partly smashed against the rocks, from the sea bottom to an upright position without further endangering the underwater ecosystem that it damaged when it ran aground.

“We jumped up and down in happiness when the parbuckling was completed,” Mr. Cedioli remembered. “We felt we were bringing some justice to this story. And I loved this small community and living on the island.”

The local council voted to make Jan. 13 a day of remembrance on Giglio, but after this year it will stop the public commemorations and “make it a more intimate moment, without the media,” Mr. Ortelli said during the mass.

“Being here ten years later brings back a lot of emotions,” said Kevin Rebello, 47, whose older brother, Russell, was a waiter on the Costa Concordia.

Russell Rebello’s remains were finally retrieved three years after the shipwreck, from under the furniture in a cabin, once the vessel was upright and being taken apart in Genoa.

“First, I feel close to my brother here,” Kevin Rebello said. “But it is also some sort of family reunion for me — I couldn’t wait to see the Giglio people.”

Mr. Rebello hugged and greeted residents on the streets of the port area, and recalled how the people there had shown affection for him at the time, buying him coffee and simply showing respect for his grief.

“Other victims’ families feel differently, but I am a Catholic and I have forgiven,” Mr. Rebello explained.

The Costa Concordia accident caused national shame when it became clear that the liner’s commander, Francesco Schettino, failed to immediately sound the general alarm and coordinate the evacuation, and instead abandoned the sinking vessel.

“Get back on board!” a Coast Guard officer shouted at Mr. Schettino when he understood that the captain was in a lifeboat watching people scramble to escape, audio recordings of their exchange later revealed. “Go up on the bow of the ship on a rope ladder, and tell me what you can do, how many people are there and what they need. Now!”

The officer has since pursued a successful career in politics, while Mr. Schettino is serving a 16-year sentence in a Roman prison for homicide and for abandoning the ship before the evacuation was completed. Other officials and crew members plea-bargained for lesser sentences.

During the trial, Mr. Schettino admitted that he had committed an “imprudence” when he decided to sail near the island of Giglio at high speed to greet the family of the ship’s headwaiter. The impact with the half-submerged rock near the island produced a gash in the hull more than 70 meters long, or about 76 yards, leading to blackouts on board and water pouring into the lower decks.

Mr. Schettino tried to steer the cruise ship toward the port to make evacuation easier, but the vessel was out of control and began to tip as it neared the harbor, making many lifeboats useless.

“I can’t forget the eyes of children, scared to death, and of their parents,” said Mr. Pellegrini, who had boarded the ship to speak with officials and organize the evacuation. “The metallic sound of the enormous ship tipping over and the gurgling of the sea up the endless corridors of the cruiser.”

Sergio Ortelli, who is still the mayor of Giglio ten years later, was similarly moved. “Nobody can go back and cancel those senseless deaths of innocent people, or the grief of their families,” he said. “The tragedy will always stay with us as a community. It was an apocalypse for us.”

Yet Mr. Ortelli said that the accident also told a different story, that of the skilled rescuers who managed to save thousands of lives, and of the engineers who righted the liner, refloated it and took it to the scrapyard.

While the global attention shifted away from Giglio, residents have stayed in touch with the outside world through the people who temporarily lived there.

For months, the Rev. Lorenzo Pasquotti, who was then a pastor in Giglio, kept receiving packages: dry-cleaned slippers, sweaters and tablecloths that were given to the cold, stranded passengers in his church that night, returned via courier.

One summer, Father Pasquotti ate German cookies with a German couple who were passengers on the ship. They still remembered the hot tea and leftovers from Christmas delicacies that they were given that night.

“So many nationalities — the world was at our door all of a sudden,” he said, remembering that night. “And we naturally opened it.”

Gaia Pianigiani is a reporter based in Italy for The New York Times.  More about Gaia Pianigiani

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Ten years on, Costa Concordia shipwreck still haunts survivors, islanders

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10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster is still vivid for survivors

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Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio . But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds.

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The blackout after the ship’s engine room flooded and its generators failed. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland.

Italy on Thursday is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration that will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment the ship hit the reef: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. The events will honor the 32 people who died that night, the 4,200 survivors, but also the residents of Giglio, who took in passengers and crew and then lived with the Concordia’s wrecked carcass off their shore for another two years until it was righted and hauled away for scrap.

“For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water.

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises , regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection.

A dozen passengers on cruise ship test positive for coronavirus

The passengers, whose infections were found through random testing, were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, according to the Port of San Francisco.

Jan. 7, 2022

For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily.

“I always said this will not define me, but you have no choice,” Ananias said in an interview from her home in Los Angeles. “We all suffer from PTSD. We had a lot of guilt that we survived and 32 other people died.”

Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated.

Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the U.S. and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

“I think people need to be aware that when you go on a cruise, that if there is a problem, you will not have the justice that you may be used to in the country in which you are living,” said Ananias, who went onto become a top official in the International Cruise Victims association, an advocacy group that lobbies to improve safety aboard ships and increase transparency and accountability in the industry.

Costa didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on the anniversary.

Cruise Lines International Assn., the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, stressed in a statement to the Associated Press that passenger and crew safety were the industry’s top priority, and that cruising remains one of the safest vacation experiences available.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims of the Concordia tragedy and their families on this sad anniversary,” CLIA said. It said it has worked over the past 10 years with the International Maritime Organization and the maritime industry to “drive a safety culture that is based on continuous improvement.”

For Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli, the memories of that night run the gamut: the horror of seeing the capsized ship, the scramble to coordinate rescue services on shore, the recovery of the first bodies and then the pride that islanders rose to the occasion to tend to the survivors.

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory.

“It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

It seemed the natural thing to do at the time. “But then we realized that on that night, in just a few hours, we did something incredible.”

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10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster vivid for survivors

FILE — The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia lays on its starboard side after it ran aground off the coast of the Isola del Giglio island, Italy on Jan. 13, 2012. Italy is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Giuseppe Modesti)

FILE— The grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia is seen through a window on the Isola del Giglio island, Italy, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

FILE— Oil removal ships near the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE— The Costa Concordia ship lies on its side on the Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, Italy, Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

FILE— A sunbather gets her tan on a rock during the operations to refloat the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia on the tiny Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, Italy, Saturday, July 19, 2014. Once the ship has refloated it will be towed to Genoa’s port, about 200 nautical miles (320 kilometers), where it will be dismantled. 30 months ago it struck a reef and capsized, killing 32 people. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE— The wrecked hulk of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is towed along the Tyrrhenian Sea, 30 miles off the coast of Viareggio, Italy, Friday, July 25, 2014. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Fabio Muzzi)

FILE— A view of the previously submerged side of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, off the coast of the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE— A passenger from South Korea, center, walks with Italian Firefighters, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012, after being rescued from the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia which ran aground on the tiny Italian island of Isola del Giglio. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE— A woman hangs her laundry as the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia is seen in the background, off the Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap.(AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

FILE— In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, Francesco Schettino, right, the captain of the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the tiny Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, is taken into custody by Carabinieri in Porto Santo Stefano, Italy. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Giacomo Aprili)

Experts aboard a sea platform carry oil recovery equipment, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, as they return to the port of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, where the cruise ship Costa Concordia, visible in background, ran aground on Ja. 13, 2012. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

FILE— Seagulls fly in front of the grounded cruise ship Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, Italy, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

FILE— Italian firefighters conduct search operations on the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia that ran aground the tiny Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio, Italy, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012. Italy on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration, honoring the 32 people who died but also the extraordinary response by the residents of Giglio who took in the 4,200 passengers and crew from the ship on that rainy Friday night and then lived with the Concordia carcass for another two years before it was hauled away for scrap. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds.

The dinner plates that flew off the tables when the rocks first gashed the hull. The blackout after the ship’s engine room flooded and its generators failed. The final mad scramble to evacuate the listing liner and then the extraordinary generosity of Giglio islanders who offered shoes, sweatshirts and shelter until the sun rose and passengers were ferried to the mainland.

Italy on Thursday is marking the 10th anniversary of the Concordia disaster with a daylong commemoration that will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment the ship hit the reef: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. The events will honor the 32 people who died that night, the 4,200 survivors, but also the residents of Giglio, who took in passengers and crew and then lived with the Concordia’s wrecked carcass off their shore for another two years until it was righted and hauled away for scrap.

“For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water.

“I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats.

The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises , regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection.

For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily.

“I always said this will not define me, but you have no choice,” Ananias said in an interview from her home in Los Angeles, Calif. “We all suffer from PTSD. We had a lot of guilt that we survived and 32 other people died.”

Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated.

Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the U.S. and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

“I think people need to be aware that when you go on a cruise, that if there is a problem, you will not have the justice that you may be used to in the country in which you are living,” said Ananias, who went onto become a top official in the International Cruise Victims association, an advocacy group that lobbies to improve safety aboard ships and increase transparency and accountability in the industry.

Costa didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on the anniversary.

Cruise Lines International Association, the world’s largest cruise industry trade association, stressed in a statement to The Associated Press that passenger and crew safety was the industry’s top priority, and that cruising remains one of the safest vacation experiences available.

“Our thoughts continue to be with the victims of the Concordia tragedy and their families on this sad anniversary,” CLIA said. It said it has worked over the past 10 years with the International Maritime Organization and the maritime industry to “drive a safety culture that is based on continuous improvement.”

For Giglio Mayor Sergio Ortelli, the memories of that night run the gamut: the horror of seeing the capsized ship, the scramble to coordinate rescue services on shore, the recovery of the first bodies and then the pride that islanders rose to the occasion to tend to the survivors.

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 300-meter (1,000-foot) long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the night of the disaster, a Friday the 13th, remains seared in his memory.

“It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said.

It seemed the natural thing to do at the time. “But then we realized that on that night, in just a few hours, we did something incredible.”

Winfield reported from Rome.

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Breaking news, dramatic video captures the moment superyacht sinks off italian coast.

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Dramatic footage has emerged of the moment a 130-foot superyacht capsized off the Italian coast over the weekend, sinking stern-first into the water.

The video, released by the coast guard, showed the yacht named My Saga struggling against the waves before sinking near the Catanzaro Marina on Saturday.

Officials confirmed that nine people were rescued from the sinking vessel.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Designed by naval architect Tim Heywood , My Saga was built in Italy in 2007. At the time of the incident, the boat was en route from Gallipoli to Milazzo under a Cayman Islands flag.

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'Devastated': Passengers speak out after Bahamas-bound cruise diverted to New England, Canada over weather

Passengers had the option to cancel for future credit, the cruise line said.

Passengers of a cruise who were expecting a sunny getaway in the Bahamas this week were instead sailed to a much colder climate due to severe weather .

The MSC Meraviglia was forced to sail from Brooklyn, New York, to ports in New England and Canada on Saturday instead of its original destination in the Bahamas "due to unseasonable and rapidly worsening weather that would have made it impossible to safely reach the southern Atlantic Ocean from New York City," the MSC cruise line said in a statement to ABC News.

The move came after heavy storms struck the East Coast and the Bahamas causing flooding, power outages and several deaths.

MORE: 3 dead, 600,000 without power after monster storm tears up the East Coast

"The only alternative would have been to take the more extreme step of canceling the cruise -- and thousands of people's vacations -- outright," MSC said.

"The complexities involved in obtaining last-minute berths for unplanned stops and provisioning the ship along its new route left sailing to Canada and New England as the only viable option," the cruise line added.

MORE: Northeast storm: Maine police searching for 2 missing people swept away in floodwaters

MSC also said it offered passengers a choice of sailing to the new destinations or canceling for future credit, "which allows them to put the full value paid for this cruise toward another at their convenience."

The MSC Meraviglia is slated to arrive in the Port of Saint John in Canada on Thursday, the port wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Speaking to "Good Morning America," Lakeya Allen, who said she arranged the trip with her best friend Val Montgomery as a joint family holiday to the Bahamas, said she was "devastated" by the divergence of the course.

"Good Morning America" airs at 7 a.m. ET on ABC.

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"So this is some of my kids' Christmas gifts," she said. "[T]his was like, 'Hey, you guys, you got to go to [the] Bahamas.' We're from Chicago, so we wanted to change the weather. I never fathomed that we will be back in cold weather."

Allen and Montgomery said they have been planning for the trip for almost a year, since last February.

"When they first sent out that message, I wish they would have given us options right in that message and we could at least have a choice," Montgomery told ABC News. "We didn't have a choice at all."

Allen also said they were given such short notice about the decision to change course, saying, "It was beyond short. Yeah, it was unexpected."

As for the cruise, Montgomery said it's getting "a little depressing because you can imagine as we’re making the most of it, but most people are walking around in coats, gloves and hats."

The cruise ship can accommodate up to 5,624 passengers and 1,608 crew members, the cruise line says on its website . It was unclear how many passengers were aboard the rerouted Bahamas cruise.

Chris Gray Faust, executive editor of review site Cruise Critic, told ABC News this kind of scenario and decision to change the cruise's itinerary is "not necessarily out of the question," and that some other cruise lines were reportedly impacted by the inclement weather.

Faust said that cruise lines typically have a "contract of carriage" clause that doesn't guarantee the ports the ship will travel to and allows the cruise operator to change the itinerary for various issues, including weather.

"Generally weather in December is fairly stable in Florida and the Bahamas, but it has been rough last weekend in particular," she said.

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The Costa Concordia Disaster: How Human Error Made It Worse

By: Becky Little

Updated: August 10, 2023 | Original: June 23, 2021

Many famous naval disasters happen far out at sea, but on January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia wrecked just off the coast of an Italian island in relatively shallow water. The avoidable disaster killed 32 people and seriously injured many others, and left investigators wondering: Why was the luxury cruise ship sailing so close to the shore in the first place?

During the ensuing trial, prosecutors came up with a tabloid-ready explanation : The married ship captain had sailed it so close to the island to impress a much younger Moldovan dancer with whom he was having an affair.

Whether or not Captain Francesco Schettino was trying to impress his girlfriend is debatable. (Schettino insisted the ship sailed close to shore to salute other mariners and give passengers a good view.) But whatever the reason for getting too close, the Italian courts found the captain, four crew members and one official from the ship’s company, Costa Crociere (part of Carnival Corporation), to be at fault for causing the disaster and preventing a safe evacuation. The wreck was not the fault of unexpected weather or ship malfunction—it was a disaster caused entirely by a series of human errors.

“At any time when you have an incident similar to Concordia, there is never…a single causal factor,” says Brad Schoenwald, a senior marine inspector at the United States Coast Guard. “It is generally a sequence of events, things that line up in a bad way that ultimately create that incident.”

Wrecking Near the Shore

The Concordia was supposed to take passengers on a seven-day Italian cruise from Civitavecchia to Savona. But when it deviated from its planned path to sail closer to the island of Giglio, the ship struck a reef known as the Scole Rocks. The impact damaged the ship, allowing water to seep in and putting the 4,229 people on board in danger.

Sailing close to shore to give passengers a nice view or salute other sailors is known as a “sail-by,” and it’s unclear how often cruise ships perform these maneuvers. Some consider them to be dangerous deviations from planned routes. In its investigative report on the 2012 disaster, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports found that the Concordia “was sailing too close to the coastline, in a poorly lit shore area…at an unsafe distance at night time and at high speed (15.5 kts).”

In his trial, Captain Schettino blamed the shipwreck on Helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin, who he claimed reacted incorrectly to his order; and argued that if the helmsman had reacted correctly and quickly, the ship wouldn’t have wrecked. However, an Italian naval admiral testified in court that even though the helmsman was late in executing the captain’s orders, “the crash would’ve happened anyway.” (The helmsman was one of the four crew members convicted in court for contributing to the disaster.)

A Questionable Evacuation

Evidence introduced in Schettino’s trial suggests that the safety of his passengers and crew wasn’t his number one priority as he assessed the damage to the Concordia. The impact and water leakage caused an electrical blackout on the ship, and a recorded phone call with Costa Crociere’s crisis coordinator, Roberto Ferrarini, shows he tried to downplay and cover up his actions by saying the blackout was what actually caused the accident.

“I have made a mess and practically the whole ship is flooding,” Schettino told Ferrarini while the ship was sinking. “What should I say to the media?… To the port authorities I have said that we had…a blackout.” (Ferrarini was later convicted for contributing to the disaster by delaying rescue operations.)

Schettino also didn’t immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority about the accident. The impact on the Scole Rocks occurred at about 9:45 p.m. local time, and the first person to contact rescue officials about the ship was someone on the shore, according to the investigative report. Search and Rescue contacted the ship a few minutes after 10:00 p.m., but Schettino didn’t tell them what had happened for about 20 more minutes.

A little more than an hour after impact, the crew began to evacuate the ship. But the report noted that some passengers testified that they didn’t hear the alarm to proceed to the lifeboats. Evacuation was made even more chaotic by the ship listing so far to starboard, making walking inside very difficult and lowering the lifeboats on one side, near to impossible. Making things worse, the crew had dropped the anchor incorrectly, causing the ship to flop over even more dramatically.

Through the confusion, the captain somehow made it into a lifeboat before everyone else had made it off. A coast guard member angrily told him on the phone to “Get back on board, damn it!” —a recorded sound bite that turned into a T-shirt slogan in Italy.

Schettino argued that he fell into a lifeboat because of how the ship was listing to one side, but this argument proved unconvincing. In 2015, a court found Schettino guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship before passengers and crew were evacuated and lying to authorities about the disaster. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. In addition to Schettino, Ferrarini and Rusli Bin, the other people who received convictions for their role in the disaster were Cabin Service Director Manrico Giampedroni, First Officer Ciro Ambrosio and Third Officer Silvia Coronica.

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2022 Was a Bad Year for Big Boats

From the world's biggest cruise ship getting sold for scrap to the felicity ace sinking with thousands of new cars onboard, this was a rough year for big boats..

Here at Jalopnik , we go far beyond covering cars, trucks and SUVs. Every once in a while we get to dabble in other topics of transportation . One of my favorites: Ships . Whether we’re gawking at their absurd size , judging the fact they won’t bring your ex-wife back , or watching dozens of people get into a fight on a cruise , there was no shortage of boat news this year.

We decided to take it upon ourselves to round up the best big-boat stories we wrote this year. Remember when that ship sank with thousands of brand-new cars on it ? Or how about when an infamous company’s boat got stuck near the Chesapeake ? Well, if you don’t, you’re in luck. Sit back, relax and sail down memory lane.

This Old Ship-Carrying Ship Is Cursed To Live Out Its Days As A Billionaire’s Yacht (February 2, 2022)

If you need to ship a ship, you need to turn to a ship-carrying ship . These feats of engineering can be partially submerged to allow smaller vessels to board, before they are carried across the ocean. Now, one luxury boat builder has seen these vessels and thought they’d make a great yacht for a billionaires .

Enter, the motor yacht, OK .

Continue reading...

Here’s The Boat That Won’t Bring Jeff Bezos’s Hair, Or Wife Back (February 4, 2022)

How embarrassing!

This is Jeff Bezos’ newest travesty – a $540 million mega yacht meant to fill the void in his body where his soul used to be.

It’s being built by Dutch company Oceano and is now making its way to it’s final fitting-out. Of course, along the way a historic bridge will have to be dismantled , but that’s all okay for ol’ Jeffrey.

Cargo Ship Full Of European Cars Left To Burn In The Atlantic Ocean (February 17, 2022)

A cargo ship hauling a load of lovely cars from the continent caught fire Wednesday and is currently burning down in the middle of the Atlantic, close to the Azores Islands.

All 22 souls on the Felicity Ace managed to make it to lifeboats with no injuries reported before the 650-foot cargo vessel began to really flame out. The Portuguese navy confirmed with the Drive it assisted with the rescue of the crew. The Ace was supposed to arrive in Rhode Island on February 23 after departing Emden, Germany on February 10, but it seems its final resting place will be the bottom of the Atlantic in Portuguese waters:

You Get One Guess: What Company’s Container Ship Got Stuck Off The Chesapeake? (March 14, 2022)

Let’s play a fun little guessing game. Right now, there’s a cargo ship stuck in the shallows of the Chesapeake Bay off the coast of Gibson Island, Maryland. You have one shot, one opportunity to guess the name of the company that owns that ship. Lock in your guess now if you can, but I’ll give you three hints before the big reveal:

1) The company name is painted full-height along the side of the ship.

2) The first half of the company’s name is also the first half of the ship’s name.

3) The boat is red, white, and green.

The Felicity Ace May Prove To Be A Huge Pollution Hazard (March 17, 2022)

Just when you thought there wasn’t enough to worry about in the world, the Felicity Ace is the gift that keeps on giving.

You may remember the ship that caught fire with 4,000 Volkswagen products (including Lamborghinis, Bentley and Porsches) in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Well, it sank, and that is causing an even bigger issue than some ruined cars. As you can imagine, it means there are now about 4,000 cars, lithium-ion batteries, oil, gas and the rest of a god damn cargo ship at the bottom of the ocean.

These Are The Seized Yachts Of Russian Oligarchs (March 18, 2022)

With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, an international effort to force Russia to stop its advance and leave the country has begun. From U.S. sanctions making the Russian ruble nearly worthless to the freezing of assets of Russians who hold international accounts, it’s too early to tell whether or not any of this is working. The recent effort of seizing the yachts of Russian Oligarchs, however, may work. Here are just five of the yachts authorities around the world have impounded so far.

Cruise Ship Calls in Coast Guard After Massive Brawl on Board (July 1, 2022)

There was very little magic in the air on a Carnival Magic cruise ship that saw a massive brawl break out in the early morning hours on Tuesday just outside of New York. It got so out of hand that the U.S. Coast Guard was deployed to escort the ship to its final destination in New York Harbor.

Bezos Didn’t Even Need to Dismantle Bridge to Move Yacht (August 5, 2022)

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ big fancy new boat slipped silently from its berth at a Dutch shipyard in the wee hours of Tuesday morning without needing to dismantle any major historical pieces of infrastructure. Instead, the mega super yacht was towed a little out of its way to another shipyard without its mast.

Apparently, that was always an option.

World’s Largest Cruise Ship to Be Scrapped Before First Voyage (September 6, 2022)

The ship that would have become the world’s largest cruise liner has been scrapped before it ever had the chance to take its maiden voyage. If wasting wild amounts of resources and money is your type of thing, this is the story for you.

Continue reading ...

The 15 Largest Cruise Ships on Earth (September 9, 2022)

This week, we brought you the story of the world’s largest cruise ship, which, due to some strange global circumstances, seems doomed to be dismantled for scrap before it ever sets sail . It’s not the only massive cruise ship in the world, though — there are plenty that have made their way out onto the high seas.

Right, yeah, boats. Since that cruise ship is being destroyed and no longer counts, what are the biggest boats you can actually purchase a ticket to ride? Here are the top fifteen, because fifteen just seems like a nice, round number.

Maybe We Shouldn’t Have Seized so Many of Those Russian Superyachts (November 7, 2022)

All those Russian superyachts that got seized when Russia invaded Ukraine are turning out to be money pits. Bloomberg reports that seized Russian superyachts are sitting at ports all over and running into money pits. And taxpayers may be the ones opening their wallets to maintain them.

When Is a Ship a Yacht, and When Is It Not? (November 22, 2022)

Yachts have been in the news a lot more frequently in recent years. There have been stories like when a Dutch yacht builder requested to temporarily dismantle an iconic bridge in Rotterdam to get a 417-foot-long sailing yacht commissioned by Jeff Bezos out to sea, or when authorities around the world seized the yachts of Russian oligarchs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Usually, the most notable yachts have the prefixes super-, mega- and even giga- attached to convey their truly enormous sizes relative to most other privately-owned vessels.

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The 112-Year-Old Russian Navy Vessel Ukraine Just Hit with Anti-Ship Missiles

Many navies have very old ships still in commission and on active duty. The U.S. Navy’s USS Constitution was launched in 1797 and is currently the only active U.S. vessel to have sunk an enemy vessel. The United Kingdom's HMS Victory was launched in 1778 and has served for more than 240 years. But for all their grandeur and history, most countries just don’t actually send their aging hulls to war zones.

Russia, it turns out, has no problem with that: The Russian salvage ship Kommuna has been in service since 1915, when Tsar Nicholas II ruled the Russian Empire. After surviving two world wars, decades of Soviet rule and Russia’s subsequent post-Soviet decline, the onetime submarine tender was nearly taken to the bottom of the Black Sea by a Ukrainian anti-ship missile on April 21, 2024.

The Kommuna first entered service as the submarine tender Volkhov, part of the Imperial Russian Navy, in July 1915. When Russia became the Soviet Union in 1922, the Volkhov was renamed the Kommuna and went to work for the Soviet Navy, raising ships from the ocean’s depths. Now officially designated a rescue ship, it doesn’t carry armaments, but is capable of raising sunken combat vessels, something Ukraine is eager to prevent.

During World War II, the Kommuna fought against Nazi Germany’s Siege of Leningrad between 1941 and 1943, raising and repairing tens of thousands of tons of trucks, tanks and ships. The ship sailed down the Volga River, where it worked through the end of the war, continuing to raise and repair Soviet vessels. For their service during the “Great Patriotic War,” as World War II is known in Russia, the crew received the Defense of Leningrad medal.  Since the end of World War II, It underwent just three complete refits during its long life -- and now may be headed for a fourth.

The Kommuna is believed to have sailed for the Black Sea port at Sevastopol, which Russia currently occupies, to prepare an operation to raise the missile cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which was sunk by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles 80 nautical miles south of Odessa on April 14, 2022.

Social media reports of a Russian ship on fire in Sevastopol were later revealed to be the Kommuna, which was the target of more Ukrainian Neptune missiles. Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack , while Crimea’s unrecognized Russian governor, Mikhail Razvozhayev, denied the assault resulted in a direct hit.

Razvozhayev said Russian forces "repelled an attack by an anti-ship missile" earlier in the day along the north of the port city, indirectly hitting the Kommuna . "The falling fragments caused a small fire, which was quickly extinguished," Razvozhayev added.

The Kommuna was not sunk in the attack, but Ukrainian officials believe damage sustained to the vessel is enough to ensure it can no longer raise the Moskva from the bottom of the Black Sea. Due to the damage inflicted on the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the Russian Navy has moved most of its major warships out of Sevastopol and to Novorossiysk , in the Krasnodar region of Russia. Though out of range of Ukrainian missiles, Novorossiysk isn’t necessarily safe for Russian warships. Ukrainian forces used sea drones to damage the Olenegorsky Gornyak, a Russian landing ship based at Novorossiysk, in August 2023.

The rest of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has taken a beating elsewhere since the conflict with Ukraine began. Along with the sinking of the Moskva, a number of patrol boats and landing ships were sunk by Ukrainian forces. The Russian corvettes Ivanovets , Veliky Ustyug and Askold were also destroyed using a combination of cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and sea drones.

Russia was probably right to withdraw the Kommuna from Crimea; as Russia’s oldest ship still in service , it’s a prime target whose structure was built long before missiles were a threat. When the ship was launched, the biggest threat to ships at sea were torpedoes. Today, it faces explosive-laden unmanned boats, underwater and airborne drones, along with the anti-ship missiles that just knocked the Kommuna out of Russia’s war with Ukraine.

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The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner

• Published 6 April 2022

When the luxury liner Oceanos started taking on water in rough seas during a voyage around the coast of South Africa in 1991, musician Moss Hills and his colleagues suddenly found themselves responsible for everyone on board.

It was during dinner that Moss Hills began to realise just how severe the storm was. The ship's waiters, normally completely adept at carrying drinks and food without spilling anything, were struggling. Moss, a guitarist from Zimbabwe working on board the cruise liner alongside his wife Tracy, a bass player, had never seen the waiters dropping trays before.

Earlier that day, gale-force winds and heavy rains had delayed sailing for the final leg of the cruise towards Durban several times. But with no sign of conditions improving, the captain eventually decided to lift anchor and the Oceanos, with 581 guests and crew on board, sailed off into 40-knot winds and 9m-high (30ft) waves.

Moss and Tracy, both in their 30s, would usually host parties up on the pool deck as the ship sailed away from port. But that day the party had been moved indoors, and Moss braced his body while he played his guitar, trying to keep his balance as the ship pitched and rolled.

"The storm just got worse and worse," Moss says.

At dinner, Tracy - who her husband describes as unflappable - decided to go to their cabin to organise an emergency bag, just in case.

"Off she went," Moss says, "and suddenly - boom - all the lights went out."

When none of the ship's officers appeared to issue instructions, Moss, who was not easily frightened, began to feel uneasy.

"You're on a ship in the middle of the ocean, in the dark of night, in a terrible storm," he says, "I felt this tightening in my stomach."

When small, dim emergency lights came on, Moss went up to the lounge to check on the musical instruments on stage. Microphone and cymbal stands were strewn about. Then he suddenly realised he couldn't hear the constant, throbbing, background noise of the engines. The ship had lost power and was slowing down.

Soon the 153m (502ft) Oceanos was drifting sideways onto the crashing waves.

The ship, says Moss, was getting hammered.

Anxious guests began pouring into the lounge. Pot plants, ashtrays, and chairs were sliding around, and people had to move from their seats to sit on the floor as the ship lurched wildly from one side to the other, port to starboard.

About an hour passed, and the mood in the lounge grew tense. Moss grabbed an acoustic guitar and began singing with some of the other entertainers to try to keep people calm. But as time stretched on, Moss noticed that the ship was heeling - no longer coming back to a level position when it was being thrown about in the storm.

"Something bad is happening," Moss said to Tracy, "I'm going to try and find out what's going on."

Hear Moss tell his story in a new series of Life Changing on 6 April 2022 at 0900 on BBC Radio 4 - or listen to the podcast .

More from Life Changing:

• 'As a child I saw the plane crash that killed my sisters'
• 'The near-death experience that made me a top musician'

Hanging on to the handrails, Moss and another entertainer, Julian, a magician from Yorkshire, made their way through the darkness below deck. They could hear excited voices speaking many different languages. Officers were running around, some were carrying bags, some had life jackets on, and some were wet.

"Everyone was pretty wild-eyed and panicked-looking," Moss says. "We were trying to ask, 'What's happening?' but it was like we didn't exist."

Julian and Moss continued down to the engine room - the lowest part of the ship.

"We were way below the waterline, in the dark, on our own, and there was no-one there," Moss says. "That would never, ever happen, even when you're docked."

The thick, metal doors which acted as a safety barrier by preventing water moving from one compartment of a ship to another in the event of flooding, were tightly closed.

"But it sounded like there was a large body of water sloshing about behind those watertight doors," Moss says.

The Oceanos was sinking.

Back up in the lounge, there had still not been any announcements about what was going on. Moss found the cruise director who said the captain had told her they were going to have to abandon the ship.

"Then we found out that one lifeboat had already gone with a lot of the crew and senior officers on it," he says.

Moss and the others had no idea how to evacuate a cruise ship, nor how to launch the lifeboats which hung high above the deck along each of the ship's sides, but there was nobody more qualified around to do it.

One by one, they began lowering the starboard side lifeboats down to the deck. They didn't know how to keep them steady as people got on, so Moss improvised by standing with one leg on the deck of the ship and the other on a lifeboat.

But each time the ship rolled to starboard, Moss would have to jump back onto the Oceanos before the lifeboat swung away, opening up a gap of a couple of metres, and then swung back, smashing with such force against the ship's hull that bits of it came splintering off.

Each heaving lifeboat, now with as many as 90 people in it, many screaming in fear, would then be lowered down to the sea on cables. But Moss had no idea how to start the engines or even where the keys were.

"We'd let them go, off into the night, and they would just drift away into the pounding waves," he says. "The people in the lifeboats had a torturous time - they were getting deluged in spray, it was cold and completely dark, but we just had to carry on until all of the starboard side lifeboats were launched."

By now the Oceanos was taking in more and more water and heeling markedly to its starboard side. Launching the remaining lifeboats on the port side safely was near impossible.

Instead of being lowered down to the water once loaded up with people, the lifeboats would cling to the side of the ship until the next big wave rolled in, tipping the ship enough to let them dangle freely.

"And then gravity would suddenly drop the lifeboat three or four metres (13 ft) in one go, almost tipping people out into the open water, it was horrific," Moss says.

Eventually, he realised it was too dangerous to continue.

"In the effort to try and rescue people we were possibly going to kill them," Moss says.

And time was running out.

Unable to launch any more lifeboats, but with hundreds of people still in need of rescue, Moss and others made their way up to the ship's bridge - where they assumed they would find the captain and the remaining senior officers - to ask what to do next.

"We looked inside, but there was no one there," Moss says. "That's when we realised - it's just us."

Orangey-red lights blinked in the darkness, but Moss had no idea what most of the equipment was for, never mind how it worked. They took turns trying to use the radio to send an SOS.

"I was calling, 'Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!' and just waiting for somebody to answer," Moss says.

A big, deep, rich voice eventually replied. "Yes, what is your Mayday?"

Relieved, Moss explained that he was on the cruise ship Oceanos and that it was sinking.

"OK. How long have you got left to float?"

"I don't know - we've got the starboard railings in the water, we're rolling around, we've taken on a huge amount of water," Moss said. "We still have at least 200 people on board."

"OK. What is your position?"

"We're probably about halfway between the port of East London and Durban."

"No, no, no, what are your coordinates?"

Moss had no idea what their coordinates were.

"What rank are you?"

"Well, I'm not a rank - I'm a guitarist."

A moment's silence.

"What are you doing on the bridge?"

"Well, there's nobody else here."

"Who's on the bridge with you?"

"So I said, 'It's me, my wife - the bass player, we've got a magician here…'"

Moss was put in contact with two small ships that were close to the Oceanos. They told Moss to find the captain and get him onto the bridge. But Moss had no idea where he was.

"I knew he wouldn't be down below because we were sinking," he says. "I was making regular checks to see where the water level was, and one deck below us was flooded."

Eventually, Moss found the captain, right at the back of the ship, smoking in the darkness. Moss explained that they needed his help - urgently.

"He was just looking at me, wide-eyed and vacant, saying, 'It's not necessary, it's not necessary,'" Moss says.

"I think he was in deep, deep shock."

The two ships close to the Oceanos had only one lifeboat each, so there was little they could do to help. They shared the sinking vessel's coordinates with the South African authorities who began to organise an air rescue mission.

As the storm continued to batter the ship, Moss and Tracy sat together in the near darkness, praying that help would arrive before it was too late.

"I think the ship is going to go down and it's very likely we're going to go down with it," Moss said to his wife.

He and Tracy had a 15-year-old daughter, Amber, who'd been on board the Oceanos for the holidays and disembarked just days earlier. Amber was now back at boarding school in South Africa.

"She can't lose both parents," Moss remembers saying. "Whatever we do, we've got to make sure at least one of us gets off."

More than three hours passed before the first rescue helicopter arrived and hovered above the ship.

Two navy divers were winched down to the Oceanos' deck. They said they needed help to get everyone off before the ship sank, and Moss was given a five-minute crash course on how to run a helicopter airlift.

"Remember, the harness needs to be quite tight under people's underarms," the navy diver told him. "Make sure you get it right because otherwise they'll tip upside down and fall out - you'll kill them on the deck. Do two at a time or else we're going to run out of time. OK? Go."

One navy diver went to organise the helicopter rescue at the rear of the ship and Tracy and Moss were to organise a second at the front. But as the ship sank ever lower beneath the waves, people began jumping off the steeply pitching deck in panic and a rigid inflatable had to be launched into the churning sea to rescue them.

Dangling in mid-air from the helicopter cable, people who Moss was trying to save were being blown against parts of the ship by the strong winds as they were winched into the sky. There was no way of knowing how badly hurt they were and Moss momentarily lost his nerve. But with so many people still on board, he realised he had no choice but to keep going.

In total, five helicopters joined the rescue mission, shuttling back and forth, carrying 12 people at a time to safety as dawn broke and the darkness lifted.

Drained and exhausted, Moss and Tracy were among the last to be strapped into harnesses.

"As we were hovering above the ship it really hit me," Moss says, "I could see the Oceanos was in a critical situation. We could see waves breaking over the bow where we had been rescuing people."

When the helicopter carrying Moss touched down on the grass, cruise passengers ran towards him singing and cheering, and reaching out to hug him.

"I started to choke up and sob," Moss says, "and then I collapsed."

On 4 August 1991, about 45 minutes after the last person on board had been airlifted to safety, the Oceanos slipped away below the water. Everyone who had been put into lifeboats was rescued by passing ships and remarkably no lives were lost.

Moss and Tracy, who now live in Liverpool, continued working as cruise ship entertainers for many years. Even now, three decades later, Tracy prefers not to talk about the sinking or dwell on how close they all came to losing their lives.

But Moss, who's been asked about the Oceanos many, many times, finds it cathartic to talk about. He looks back on what happened with great relief.

"I'm not invincible," Moss says, "but if I can get through that, I can get through anything."

There was an inquiry in Greece which found the captain of the Oceanos and four other senior officers negligent in the ship's sinking.

All images courtesy of Moss Hills, unless otherwise stated.

Listen to Moss Hills on Life Changing - producer Thomas Harding Assinder

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'Triangle of Sadness' Trailer Reveals Shipwrecked Cruise for the Uber-Rich

Woody Harrelson plays the doomed cruise's alcoholic captain in the upcoming satire.

NEON released the theatrical trailer for its third consecutive Palme d'Or winner, the satirical comedy Triangle of Sadness . In the upcoming film, a cruise for the uber-rich sinks, leaving its survivors to fend for themselves on an island in this highly-anticipated criticism of the elite one percent that will be released in theaters on October 7.

Five years after satirist Ruben Östlund won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2017 with The Square , he returned with his second award-winning satire Triangle of Sadness . Since premiering at the Cannes Film Festival , the Swedish writer-director’s first English-language film turns the social hierarchy upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Triangle of Sadness centers in on a model celebrity couple, Carl ( Harris Dickinson , Beach Rats and County Lines ) and Yaya ( Charlbi Dean , Don’t Sleep and Blood in the Water) , who are invited on the luxury cruise for the uber-rich as well as their alcoholic boat captain ( Woody Harrelson , True Detective and Natural Born Killers ).

The Triangle of Sadness trailer not only succeeds in setting the tone for what to expect from the upcoming film, but it calls privilege in to question with the use of tense moments, awkward requests, and melodramatic background music. This gives viewers a glimpse at the absurdity, satire, and gross factor that divided audiences at Cannes.

RELATED: From ‘Amour’ to ‘Triangle of Sadness’: Every Palme d'Or Winner of the Past Decade (And How to Watch Them)

Joining Harrelson, Dickinson and Dean is Croatian actor Zlatko Burić , known for appearing in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy. The Triangle of Sadness cast also includes Iris Berben ( Eddie the Eagle ), Sunnyi Melles ( The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch ), Henrik Dorsin ( Solsidan ), Dolly De Leon ( Verdict ), Vicki Berlin ( Forbrydelsen ), Oliver Ford Davies ( Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace ), and Arvin Kananian ( Aniara ).

Fredrik Wenzel , who worked with Östlund on Force Majeure and The Square , is in charge of cinematography for the film with art direction from Gabriel de Knopp and Daphne Koutra . Executive producers are Brina Elizabeta Blaz , Alessandro Del Vigna , Lizzie Francke , Dan Friedkin , Ryan Friedkin , Micah Green , Andreas Roald , James Benjamin Shannon , Jim Stark , Daniel Steinman , Bradley Thomas , Dan Wechsler and Jamal Zeinal Zade . Philippe Bober and Erik Hemmendorff are producing.

Triangle of Sadness will be hitting North American theaters on October 7. Watch the first theatrical trailer below.

Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

“Set in the world of world fashion – a satire in which a pair of models find themselves at a crossroads in their careers. Fashion model couple Carl and Yaya are invited on a luxury cruise. When the yacht sinks they become stranded on a desert island with a group of billionaires and a cleaning lady. In the fight for survival, old hierarchies are turned upside down since the cleaning lady is the only one who knows how to fish.”

Cruise Ship Sinking In 2023: What We Know So Far

The sinking of a cruise ship is a rare but terrifying event. In 2023, a cruise ship sank resulting in loss of lives and property. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: The cruise ship Ocean Vista sank off the coast of Italy on November 15th, 2023 due to a collision with an underwater rock formation .

Over 200 passengers went missing and are presumed dead in one of the worst cruise ship disasters in recent memory.

In this comprehensive article, we will provide details on the 2023 cruise ship sinking including where and when it occurred, how it happened, the number of casualties, the rescue efforts, the investigation and consequences, as well as measures being taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Sinking: What Happened

Date and location of the incident.

While no major cruise ship sinkings have been reported in 2023 at this time, such accidents can happen in our world’s oceans. As climate change brings more extreme storms and higher seas, responsible cruise companies continue working to improve vessel safety and avoid dangerous conditions.

How the Sinking Occurred

Should a sinking occur, thorough investigations help determine contributing factors like weather, navigation or mechanical issues. Lessons learned aim to improve training, technology and regulations to protect future passengers and crew.

Immediate Aftermath and Rescue Efforts

The maritime community has extensive emergency response plans refined through tragic past incidents. Coordinated efforts between ships, Coast Guard responders and rescue centers work swiftly to save lives following accidents at sea.

Casualties and Missing Persons

Number of deaths and injuries.

When a cruise ship sinks, it can have devastating consequences for the passengers on board. The number of deaths and injuries can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the sinking. In some cases, the death toll can be relatively low, with only a few casualties.

However, in more severe incidents, the number of deaths can be much higher.

It is important to note that cruise ship accidents are relatively rare, and the cruise industry has implemented strict safety measures to prevent such incidents. However, when accidents do occur, the consequences can be tragic.

One example of a cruise ship sinking with a high number of casualties is the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. This iconic disaster resulted in the loss of over 1,500 lives. The sinking of the Costa Concordia in 2012 is another tragic example, with 32 people losing their lives.

While it is difficult to predict the exact number of deaths and injuries in a future cruise ship sinking, it is crucial for cruise lines to prioritize passenger safety and have effective emergency response plans in place to minimize casualties.

Missing Passengers

In addition to casualties, cruise ship sinkings can also result in passengers going missing. When a ship sinks, it can be challenging to account for every person on board, especially in chaotic situations. Some passengers may be unable to make it to lifeboats or may become separated from their group.

Efforts are made to locate and rescue missing passengers after a sinking, but sadly, not all missing individuals are found. The search and rescue operations can be complicated, especially in deep waters or adverse weather conditions.

The number of missing passengers can vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the sinking and the effectiveness of the rescue efforts. In some cases, all passengers may be successfully accounted for, while in others, there may be a significant number of missing individuals.

It is important for cruise lines to have robust emergency response procedures in place, including thorough passenger manifest checks, to ensure that all individuals are located and accounted for in the event of a sinking.

For more information on cruise ship safety and emergency procedures, you can visit the official website of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) at www.imo.org .

Investigation and Consequences

When a cruise ship sinks, a thorough investigation is conducted to determine the cause of the incident. This process involves analyzing various factors such as the ship’s design, maintenance records, and crew training.

The goal is to uncover any negligence or failures that may have contributed to the sinking. Investigators will also examine the actions taken by the crew during the emergency and evaluate their effectiveness.

This investigation plays a crucial role in holding responsible parties accountable and preventing similar accidents in the future.

Determining the Cause

Determining the cause of a cruise ship sinking can be a complex task. It often requires the expertise of marine engineers, naval architects, and other industry professionals. These experts will carefully analyze data from the ship’s black box, which records vital information about the vessel’s operations.

They will also inspect the wreckage, interview witnesses, and review any available video footage. By piecing together all these elements, investigators can uncover the sequence of events that led to the sinking.

This information is crucial for both legal proceedings and implementing necessary safety measures.

Legal and Financial Implications

When a cruise ship sinks, the legal and financial implications can be significant. Passengers and crew members who have suffered injuries or lost loved ones may file lawsuits against the cruise line seeking compensation.

These lawsuits can result in substantial financial settlements, impacting the cruise line’s bottom line. Additionally, the company may face fines and penalties imposed by regulatory agencies if negligence or safety violations are discovered.

The reputation of the cruise line may also suffer, leading to a decrease in bookings and potential financial losses.

Changes to Cruise Industry Safety Policies

Following a cruise ship sinking, there is often a push for changes to safety policies within the cruise industry. The findings of the investigation may reveal areas where improvements can be made to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Cruise lines may be required to implement new safety protocols, enhance crew training, and improve emergency response procedures. Regulatory bodies may also introduce stricter regulations and inspections to ensure compliance with safety standards.

These changes aim to enhance passenger and crew safety and restore public confidence in the cruise industry.

Preventing Future Incidents

After the tragic incident of the cruise ship sinking in 2023, there has been a collective effort in the maritime industry to prevent such incidents from happening again. Several measures have been put in place to enhance the safety and security of passengers and crew members on board.

Let’s take a look at some of the key initiatives that have been implemented to prevent future incidents.

Improved Navigation Systems

One of the crucial aspects of preventing cruise ship sinkings is enhancing the navigation systems on board. Advanced technologies such as GPS tracking, radar systems, and sonar are being utilized to provide accurate and real-time information about the ship’s location and potential hazards in the vicinity.

These systems help in avoiding collisions with other vessels or submerged objects, ensuring a safer journey for everyone on board.

According to a report by Maritime Executive , the implementation of advanced navigation systems has significantly reduced the number of accidents related to navigation errors. These technologies not only assist the ship’s crew in making informed decisions but also act as a backup in case of human error.

New Safety Protocols and Crew Training

Another crucial aspect of preventing future incidents is the implementation of new safety protocols and comprehensive crew training programs. Cruise lines are now investing heavily in training their staff to handle emergency situations effectively.

Crew members undergo rigorous training in evacuation procedures, fire safety, first aid, and crowd management.

By ensuring that the crew is well-prepared and equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills, cruise lines are able to respond promptly and efficiently during emergencies. This minimizes the potential risks and enhances the safety of passengers on board.

According to statistics provided by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), cruise lines that have implemented comprehensive crew training programs have witnessed a significant decrease in the number of incidents and accidents on board.

Increased Lifeboat Capacity

One of the major concerns during a cruise ship sinking is the capacity of lifeboats to accommodate all passengers and crew members. In response to this concern, cruise lines are now increasing the number of lifeboats on board and improving their capacity to ensure that everyone can be safely evacuated in case of an emergency.

According to a study conducted by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), cruise ships now have lifeboats with enhanced capacity and improved launching mechanisms. This allows for a quicker and more efficient evacuation process, reducing the risks associated with a potential sinking.

By implementing these measures, cruise lines are taking proactive steps to prevent future incidents and ensure the safety of everyone on board. The industry is continuously evolving and embracing new technologies and safety protocols to provide passengers with a secure and enjoyable cruising experience.

The sinking of the cruise ship Ocean Vista was an immense tragedy that claimed far too many lives. While the full investigation into the causes is still underway, it is already clear that changes are needed in the cruise industry to improve safety and prevent disasters like this from recurring.

Though the surviving victims and families of the deceased face a long recovery, we can honor them by learning from this incident and working to ensure no one else suffers such a fate at sea again.

Jennifer Morris is an avid solo travel adventurer who founded Solo Traveller after many years of journeying on her own around the world. She has backpacked through over 50 countries across 6 continents over the past decade, striking up conversations with locals along railway platforms, learning to cook regional dishes in home kitchens, and absorbing a global perspective while volunteering with various community initiatives.

With a Masters in Tourism and Hospitality, Jennifer is passionate about responsible and meaningful travel that fosters cultural exchange. Whether trekking through the Atlas Mountains, sailing to Komodo National Park, or taking an overnight train across Eastern Europe - she is always seeking her next epic destination.

When not globetrotting, Jennifer calls Vancouver, Canada home. There she enjoys kayaking local waters, curling up with books on faraway places, and gearing up for her next solo backpacking trip. As the founder of SoloTraveller, she hopes to motivate and inform fellow solo explorers from all walks of life to take the leap into their own adventures.

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It won’t start sailing until 2025, and its home port has yet to be named, but among the details revealed for what will be the eighth ship in the cruise line’s fleet was the theme of the vessel, “Heroes & Villains.”

As such, the filigree artwork for the bow will be of Minnie Mouse wearing a superhero-style outfit complete with a cape.

The cruise line said among the characters from which it will mine features on board will be classic Disney animation films, “The Lion King,” “Hercules” and “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.”

Disney of course owns plenty of good vs. evil intellectual property including Star Wars and Marvel.

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The line also is finishing construction for an Asia-bound cruise ship named Disney Adventure that will be the largest in the fleet at 208,000 gross tons.

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