The Costa Concordia disaster

Consequences on international maritime regulations

Christelle FRANCOIS

2Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

Summary

1. The Costa Concordia accident

2. The casualty investigation report

3. Response to Costa Concordia

a. IMO

b. EU Commission

c. Cruise ship industry

4. Improvement to the design

5. Conclusions

3Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

The Costa Concordia accident

► 13th January 2012

► 4229 on board (3206 passengers; 1023 crew)

► Collided with rocks close to island of Giglio off Italian coast – 21.45 hours

► 53 metres breach of hull involving 5 watertight compartments

► Capsized in shallow water

► 32 dead, 157 injured

4Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

Casualty Investigation Report of Italian Authorities

► Phase 1:

Events leading up to contact with rocks

Behaviour of master and passivity of bridge team

► Phase 2

Not promptly declaring emergency

Delay in gathering of passengers and crew at muster stations

Abandoning ship whilst passengers and crew still on board

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OMI Response : MSC initiatives

► 90th Session (May 2012) MSC adopted Resolution that Member States should

recommend a passenger ship companies conduct a review of operational

measures in consideration of interim operational measures contained in MSC

Circular (Now MSC.1/Circ.1446)

► 92nd Session (May 2013) MSC

1. approved draft amendments to SOLAS Chapter III to require musters prior to

or immediately upon departure

2. approved revisions to recommended interim measures

(MSC.1/Circ.1446/Rev2

3. Revised and updated the long term action plan on passenger ship safety

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OMI Response: operational measures

► Carrying additional lifejackets to be readily accessible in public spaces, muster

stations etc.

► Reviewing adequacy of dissemination and communication of emergency

instructions

► Carrying out muster for passengers prior to departure and inclusion of common

elements in musters and emergency instructions

► Limiting access to bridge and avoiding

distractions

► Ensuring voyage plan takes into account IMO Guidelines

Recommended Interim Measures for passenger ship

companies to enhance safety of passenger ships

Recommended Interim Measures for passenger ship

companies to enhance safety of passenger ships

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Cruise Lines International Association

► Operational Safety Review launched to

evaluate existing safety procedures

identify industry best practices

develop new policies for rapid implementation to further enhance the safety of

passengers and crew

► Review guided by cruise industry members with the advice and input of an

independent panel of safety experts

► Resulted in 10 new policies

• Passenger Muster

• Passage Planning

• Personnel Access to the Bridge

• Excess Lifejackets Policy

• Recording the Nationality of Passengers

• Common Elements of Musters and Emergency

Instructions

• Lifeboat Loading for Training Purposes

• Harmonization of Bridge Procedures

• Location on Lifejacket Stowage

• Securing Heavy Objects

→

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IMO Symposium on Future of Ship Safety

► On 10 and 11 June 2013 IMO hosted a major international symposium on

the future of ship safety attended by 500 delegates

► Symposium urges comprehensive review of existing safety regulations

► Some speakers suggested time for a new SOLAS convention – to keep

track with developments in science and technology

► Criticism of ‘grandfather clauses’

► Application of new standards to effectively 1% of ships

► Gap between safety of old and new ships

9Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

EU Commission Approach

1. Updating and/or amending existing EU legislation or (co)

sponsoring submissions for international standards at IMO

2. Continuing to enforce and implement existing rules and

draw lessons form best practice

3. Promoting voluntary commitments of the industry

► 20 January 2012 : Brussels orders passenger ship safety review

► 24 April 2012 :Passenger Ship Safety Stakeholder Conference

► The Commission is currently undertaking a passenger ship

safety legislative review of the current rules, in particular :

o operational issues such as watertight doors,

o safe return to port,

o evacuation procedures

with a view to preparing legislative

proposals in the near future

EU Commission approach

10Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

IMPROVEMENTS ON SOLAS RULES SINCE 2004 :

► Safe return to port : redundancy of vital equipments (propulsion, steering, navigation)

new ships built since 01/07/2010

► On board stability computer (or shore based support) for new ships built from

01/01/2014

► Flooding detection system in compartments for new ships built since 01/07/2010

► Electronic Chart Display System (ECDIS) for new ships built since 01/07/2011 (not

later than the 1st survey after 01/07/2012 for ships built before 01/07/2011) :

route planning and route monitoring system

► SOLAS 2009 new standard for the damage stability (probabilistic and deterministic)

COSTA CONCORDIA - keel laying date : 2004

Technical support in case of emergency situations

MSC.1/Circ1291 in spaces of volume greater than

max (30m3;TPcm at ds)

↔

↔

↔

SOLAS 2009

11Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

IMPROVEMENTS ON THE DESIGN :

► To limit the down flooding points on the bulkhead deck (ex stairs leading to spaces below the bulkhead deck)

► To re-assess the current possibility to have watertight doors left open at sea (continuous access of the crew to spaces including laundry,

food, machinery,..)

Under discussion at IMO :

12Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

IMPROVEMENTS ON THE DESIGN :

► To fit a double-skin protection in watertight compartments containing equipment : a preliminary study provided by the Italian

authorities (MSC 93/6/1) shows that the estimated maximum damage penetration is about 2.9 m (to be confirmed after

further survey)

Passenger ships have no double skin protection : exemple

Under discussion at IMO :

13Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

IMPROVEMENTS ON THE DESIGN :

► To increase the level of survivability of the ship with regard to the damage stability aspect (through the R factor : Required Subdivision

Index – Solas 2009)

Based on the European projects EMSA / GOALDS.

Under discussion at IMO :

→ GOALDS_1 & 2 are based on studies on the

improvement of the design of passenger ships (pax

and roro pax)

IMO has agreed a Phase 1 : moderate increase of

R still to be decided : 50% of the difference ?

Less ? More ? Applicable to new ships only or also

to existing ships ?

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Some accidents with an impact on the increase of the survivability :

► Herald of Free Enterprise : 6th of March 1987

► Estonia : 28th of September 1994

Previous accidents

→ Solas 1990 (upgrading of the stability criteria)Solas 1974

Solas 1990 → Solas 1990 + Stockholm Agreement (additional effect of water on deck)

Both having retroactive application to existing ships

15Costa Concordia 12 March 2014

Conclusions

Importance of human error

Human error still an enormous factor in accidents

Despite technological advances accidents still happen for same human and

organizational reasons

Accident investigations may be missing some of human and organizational factors

Improvements on the design

An accident is always leading to additional rules for the improvement of the design, for

a better level of survivability

16Costa Concordia 12 March 2014