When Was the Last Major Cruise Ship Accident?

By Alice Nichols

On January 13th, 2012 the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Giglio Island, Italy, and capsized after being holed by a rock. The accident resulted in the deaths of thirty-two people. It is considered to be one of the worst cruise ship accidents in recent memory and is one of the most notorious examples of maritime safety gone wrong.

The accident occurred when the cruise ship was traveling near Giglio Island, an island located off the coast of Tuscany in Italy. The captain attempted to take a “shortcut” near the island and sailed too close to shore.

The ship ran aground on a large underwater rock which caused it to list heavily and eventually capsize.

The evacuation process that followed was chaotic and poorly managed. Passengers were not informed about emergency procedures until it was too late for many of them to escape. There were also reports that some crew members abandoned their posts during the evacuation process, leaving passengers stranded on board.

Since then, maritime safety protocols have been updated significantly to prevent such large-scale disasters from occurring again. Cruise ships are now required to have multiple layers of redundancy in their navigation systems and all crew members must be trained in emergency procedures.

Conclusion:

The Costa Concordia disaster is considered to be one of the last major cruise ship accidents in recent memory. This tragedy has led to significant improvements in maritime safety protocols and has highlighted how important it is for ships’ crews to be properly trained for emergency situations.