It’s a nagging question with no reassuring answers. Our cruise ship injury attorneys note that the Costa Concordia disaster shows us that cruise ship passengers could be just as vulnerable today in the event of a major emergency as they were 100 years ago when the Titanic went down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Even the largest cruise ship is but a speck in an ocean. Our cruise ship injury attorneys point out that these ships, despite their awesome immensity, have shown themselves vulnerable to storms, fire, and collision damage just like other ships throughout man’s sea-going history. Designers, engineers, and safety experts use computer modeling and the latest technologies to continually improve cruise ship safety.
The list of challenges above illustrates that it’s not just the presence of advanced safety features that is critical. It’s the ability of passengers and crews to be able to safely and rapidly access and utilize these features in the event of an emergency. Our cruise ship injury attorneys caution that a full complement of the best lifeboats is of no help if the lifeboats are underwater before passengers and crew can reach them.
The cruise industry is currently seeing a downturn in passenger bookings as people reevaluate the safety of cruise ships in light of the Costa Concordia disaster. Lingering questions about whether large cruise ships can be safely evacuated in case of emergency are keeping potential passengers ashore.
The thorny problem of how to quickly and safely evacuate large and diverse groups of people from a sinking ship remains. Our cruise ship injury attorneys suspect that after the shocking example of the Costa Concordia disaster, the cruise industry might not be able to easily calm nagging doubts regarding crewmembers abilities to guide an evacuation or help vulnerable passengers.