What happened to cause the sinking of Costa Concordia cruise ship

On January 13th 2012 the Costa Concordia ran into trouble just off the Italian coast. Over the last 36 hours there have been numerous different reports of the incident but today we are trying to bring you new updates along with a better idea of what actually happened.

Costa Concordia ran into difficulty just a few hours after leaving the port of Civitavecchia on the western coast of Italy at around 7.30pm on Friday evening en-route for Savona. The ship was on the last leg of her voyage, a voyage that this ship undertakes every week. According to reports the ship suffered a blackout and a fire was reported onboard just before the vessel ran aground. She ran aground just off the coast of Giglio, a tiny island just off the coast of mainland Italy.

The ship was reported as listing heavily and unseen to witnesses on land panic onboard the vessel had set in. There are now numerous reports that the scene onboard was like that of Titanic which sank 100 years ago this year. There are also reports that there was no muster drill procedure carried out and many lifeboats were lowered so fast they hit other boats still making their way from the stricken vessel.

Over the last 36 hours there have been numerous reports of missing people and that senior officers abandoned ship. We can report that the ship’s Captain, Francesco Schettino and the ship’s first officer Ciro Ambrosio have been detained by local police under suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning ship whilst passengers were still in danger. Captain Schettino has worked for Costa Crociere for 11 years.

Although not all information is clear yet as to exactly what the ship hit, Captain Schettino was quoted by Italian press as saying "The area was safe, the water was deep enough.

"We struck a stretch of rock that was not marked on the charts. As far as I am concerned we were in perfectly navigable waters."

Sources say that Captain Schettino, from Naples, had abandoned ship at roughly 23.30 yet all passengers were not safely taken ashore until the early hours of the following morning.

Captain Schettino's lawyer Bruno Leporatti said: "'My client understands the reasons why he has been detained but as his legal representative I would to like to say that several hundred people owe their lives to the skill of the commander of the Costa Concordia.

''I say that because you have to be very clever to steer a ship that is 117,000 tones and 300 metre’s long, especially one that has been damaged after a collision - he negotiated the vessel closer to the shore therefore ensuring a faster rescue operation and enabling hundreds of people to be saved.”

Reports so far confirm the deaths of three people, two French passengers and one Peruvian crew member. It was confirmed however that in the early hours of Sunday morning three survivors were found onboard the vessel which is now at a steep 90 degree angle. They included a young Korean couple who were enjoying the Mediterranean cruise as their honeymoon getaway, and a senior member of staff who is reported to have a serious leg injury.

Passengers who were onboard the vessel have all begun to tell their story of exactly what happened and what the scene onboard the Costa superliner was really like.

There are descriptions of absolute chaos onboard the Italian ship. A loud bang has been described as the first indication to passengers there may be a problem. One passenger told Italian news “We were having supper when the lights suddenly went out. We heard a loud boom and a groaning noise then all the cutlery fell to the floor.”

Another passenger said "The boat started shaking. There was a lot of noise and panic, like in a film, dishes crashing to the floor, people running, people falling down the stairs."

Cabin Steward, Deodato Ordona recalled "We told the guests everything was ok and under control and we tried to stop them panicking,"

He then noted it was roughly one hour before the general emergency signal was announced. The ship then rolled again, listing dangerously to the right and the Captain gave the announcement to abandon ship. Mr Ordona also said both crew and passengers were waiting to use the lifeboats but because the ship changed direction whilst sinking they were forced to seek available boats on the other side of the ship

Many passengers and crew as mentioned relay scenes onboard like that of the Titanic. There was no organisation and everyone panicked. One crew member relayed their story "Everything happened really fast. Everybody tried to get a life boat and people started to panic. A lot of people were falling down the stairs and some were hurt because things fell on them.

"Everybody was trying to get on the boats at the same time. When people had to get on the lifeboats they were pushing each other. It was a bit chaotic. We were trying to keep passengers calm but it was just impossible.

Some people decided it was too difficult to get on to a lifeboat and chose to swim, with a number safely reaching the nearby island of Giglio.

One passenger also told of how difficult it was to manoeuvre around the ship once it began listing heavily.

Georgia Ananias said: 'We were crawling up a hallway, in the dark, with only the light from the life vest strobe flashing.

'We could hear plates and dishes crashing, people slamming against walls.'

An Argentine couple handed her their three-year-old daughter, unable to keep their balance as the ship lurched to the side and the family found themselves standing on a wall.

'He said "take my baby,"' Mrs. Ananias said.

'I grabbed the baby. But then I was being pushed down. I didn't want the baby to fall down the stairs. I gave the baby back. I couldn't hold her.

'I thought that was the end and I thought they should be with their baby.'

The question everyone is asking now is how did this happen. Costa Concordia was built in 2006 making her just 6 years old. She was fitted with state of art technology and equipment in order to avoid situations just like the one witnessed n Friday evening.

Costa Concordia is built to the same specifications of others within the Costa fleet including sister ship Costa Serena and the Costa Pacifica but Costa Concordia also has another identical twin, the Carnival Splendor. All ships are owned by the Carnival Corporation and there are now questions being put forward asking if the ships are safe.

These questions have stemmed from reports that there was some kind of blackout onboard before the Costa Concordia ran aground.

One industry expert has said for a ship so modern and fitted with state of the art equipment something has to have failed within the ship’s operating system which may have left the propellers and steering functions without power prior to the ship running aground.

As always we will keep you informed of any new stories and all updates.

From everyone at CruiseCompare our hearts go out to the family’s of those missing and who have lost their lives.

Update at 12.16 Officials say they are now searching for seventeen missing people