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We’ve all heard about the sinking of the Costa Concordia. It is a terrible tragedy, with at least 11 people dead and others who remain unaccounted for.

I’ve received many questions on the subject of cruise ship “safety”. Everyone is quite naturally concerned for the safety and wellbeing of family and friends, who are cruising or are planning to cruise.

Let me put your mind at ease. Statistically, you are safer on a major cruise line’s ship, at sea, than you are in your car on the highway.

Give or take a dozen, 14 million people a year cruise. We’ve all heard of the little problems with lost power, a fire, etc., but, this is the first time I can remember where a fire or ship failure resulted in a passenger’s death. 

There is good reason for this. There are International agencies as well as U.S. Coast Guard personnel involved from the design phase through construction and sea trials. Any ship that operates in U.S. waters, the Coast Guard inspects at least every six months to review staff safety procedures. Some are announced inspections, some are not. This insures compliance with U.S. regulations as well as SOLAS (Safety of Lives at Sea, the U.N. standards set by the International Maritime Organization).

Even the Centers for Disease Control is involved in inspecting cruise ships. Each ship undergoes a “sanitation” inspection and the results are published on their website. 

I NEVER sail on a ship with a grade of less than 90, and I’ve NEVER suffered from norovirus, food poisoning, etc.

A cruise industry spokesman said “This is a very safe industry. The way ships are built, they are extremely safe”, and yet, the sinking of the Concordia did happen.

In a press conference Costa announced “the event resulted from human error”. Further, they announced that the captain elected to deviate from his programmed course without permission from the cruise line and without a valid reason for doing so.

Can human error ever be removed from this equation? I don’t have an answer to that, but, when you consider past safety records, you can clearly see that this is an unusual situation. More regulation? Perhaps one small addition; a regulation that requires the concurrence of another deck officer to any unapproved course change… Just my thoughts…

In the last analysis, whether to take a cruise, or any other type of vacation, is up to you. It’s a matter of personal choice. If you are still driving, or if you ever get on an airplane, I suspect you’ll continue to cruise.

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