Costa Crociere issue a statement with their point of view regarding the recent hearings in Grosseto on the loss of the cruise ship.
The Costa Concordia owners drew attention to the following points, which are condensed here.
The Crisis Unit
The company's Crisis Unit was promptly convened but was unable to provide the necessary support to the ship, due to the speed with which the ship sank. It did however provide logistic support to passengers and crew members ashore.
The Ship
The ship and the navigation systems were designed, built and tested in compliance with the advanced safety criteria provided by national and international standards. The navigation instruments installed on the Costa Concordia had sufficient backup systems to ensure that they function properly even in the event of a failure during navigation.
Safety Procedures
It was proven that Costa Cruises safety procedures are adequate and fully comply with all existing laws and regulations.
The Crew
The difficulties met during the abandonment of the ship were influenced mainly by the delay with which the captain made the decision to sound the general alarm and then to abandon the ship. From the moment the order to abandon the ship was given, the ship was evacuated rapidly assisted mainly by the crew, that worked under difficult conditions because of the ship’s list, making it very challenging for the crew to carry out operations as provided by planned procedures.
The Route
With respect to the route taken by the ship on the night of 13 January, the notification obligation lies with the Master of the ship. Neither the Port Authorities or the Company were informed of the variation of the route.
Costa Cruises was basically recognized [pre-trial] as a company that implements exhaustive procedures that comply with national and international provisions that are applied both for ordinary and emergency procedures.
