What does a coastal navigation chart look like? Does it show reefs?

Take a look at this picture of a typical coastal navigational chart. Our Galveston maritime accident lawyers point out that you can see reefs, rocky outcroppings, submerged mountains, and variations in depths clearly marked. You can obtain much more detailed navigational maps showing shipping lanes, buoys, currents, and all the minutiae a skilled and responsible navigator needs to know to guide a ship through coastal waters.

Map vendors, GPS services, government agencies, and other services all provide navigational aids for the sea-faring traveler. Cruise ships belonging to major cruise lines might be expected to have some of the latest navigational technology and state-of-the-art coastal navigation charts.

Reading these detailed navigational charts and using state-of-the-art navigational technologies requires some skill. Modern captains are trained and tested in the techniques of their trade. Most captains generally don’t achieve their high rank until after years of proven responsible service in lower positions.

So what led the captain of the Concordia, who likely had reliable navigational charts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, a bridge full of seasoned crewmembers, and his own years of experience to guide him, to abandon all caution and steer the ship far too close to a rocky shore? That remains something of a puzzle.

The captain’s ill-advised and shocking “show off” maneuver caused a deadly disaster. Old sea hands from the area of the disaster said the captain steered the massive cruise ship Concordia far too close to Giglio’s shore into a passage between the rocks that was far too narrow for such a huge ship. He should have known better from his own experience with that ship in those waters.

If you’ve been the victim of a captain’s negligence and suffered injury at sea, contact our Galveston maritime accident lawyers for a free consultation. We could explain your legal options regarding a recovery of compensation for your injury. We’ll help you protect your legal rights after another’s negligence has caused you harm. Call 877-307-9500 or use our web contact form. We’re here to help.