The blame game can certainly be confirmed by data which includes satellite pictures, and by emails that indicate that the captain had every intention of deviating from the planned route the night the Costa Concordia slammed into the rocks, listed and sank onto a rocky Italian shoreline.
It has also been confirmed by the Italian Coast Guard that the captain did abandon his ship before all passengers were rescued. An angry Coast Guard official talked to the captain on his phone and ordered him back to the Concordia until the rescue was completed. And the company, Costa, is putting the blame squarely on its captain — right or wrong?
I know that one person lost is one too many but the cruising industry in the last five years has carried 100 million people with only 16 casualties. In the world of travel, that's a pretty good record. However, the cruise industry cannot rest on that record given the events of this week.
Much has to be investigated by authorities with regards to Costa’s on-board safety program. Was it robust enough to prepare for something like this? What about the integrity of the ship: design, construction, materials used? An impartial team of investigators needs time to examine all aspects of this disaster, which if you go by aircraft crashes could take a year or more.
Did the crash hurt the industry? We'll know that in the next few months. So far this week, most cruise agencies have not reported a run on cancellations. If the new bookings do not materialize, then cruise lines will do what they always do when business is slow — put on a massive sale. That always seems to move their product. While other forms of travel were retreating during the recession, the cruise industry remained buoyant. A major part of its revenue comes from on-board sales so it's extremely important to have heads in those beds.
When a major accident involving travel occurs, there is usually a tightening of the safety rules. As you are reading this, I would assume that is already happening for cruise lines.
More follows as news warrants.
All for now.
(Photo of the Costa Concordia by Filippo Monteforte/Getty Images)