Let the pictures speak for themselves. That was the idea behind an intriguing documentary on Channel Four last night about the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship. This excellent programme just relied on footage shot by passengers with the occasional comments from survivors. It gave it a strange almost ethereal feel, but above all said more about the incompetence of the crew than any interviews could ever do.
By using footage from cameras and mobile phones the programme allowed the drama to unfold before our very eyes as it happened. And it soon became apparent that 1/ there were just not enough lifeboats and 2/ the communication and information being given out was controlled and extremely poor. Add to that a captain and officers whose only aim seemed to be to save their own skins and it made for compelling viewing.
It also underlined that in our modern age it is impossible to "hush" anything up. We have all become journalists and photographers, ready and able to record any events and pass them on to the public via television documentaries and social media. If mistakes are being made there is absolutely no place for those making them to hide.
The worrying thing here was the Concordia obviously had a coward as its captain and that is of grave concern. You tend to assume when you undertake a cruise that the captain and officers are there for a bit more than to pose for photographs with guests and to clink glasses and toast each other at the gala banquets. The fact that on this vessel it seemed that they were literally out of their depths is worrying.
I have been on a number of cruises and really enjoy the relaxation which is mixed with on land visits. It's the perfect mix for a holiday. I have always hated the first day lifeboat drill where everyone wanders out to their particular muster station with lifejackets on and stand around (often in very hot conditions) whilst they are given a lifeboat drill.
My problem with this is that in a real emergency there is likely to be blind panic and not an orderly queue for the various muster stations. It would turn into the survival of the fittest as the captain of the Concordia proved. All the drills would go out of the window and at the end of the day the problem has been the same for the last 100 years. There weren't enough lifeboats on the Titanic and there weren't enough lifeboats on the Concordia. Add to that the fact that there seemed to be a lack of awareness on how to launch them on the Concordia and we are entering very dangerous territory indeed!
I think there is a great deal of tokenism on cruise ships - the same kind of view that there was on the Titanic in 1912 - a belief that the boat cannot possibly sink and if it does there are plenty of lifeboats to go round. This is patently not true and neither is the view that the captain and crew will direct operations when things go really wrong. I hope that this documentary will be the catalyst for cruise liners to really train their staff in safety principles and how to take charge of a life threatening situation. If it doesn't we could have another Concordia at virtually any time. This is an area where corners cannot and must not be cut.
Interesting take on the use of mobile phones yesterday with news that a stallholder on Norwich Market is refusing to serve refreshments to anybody on a mobile phone. Well done him. Mobiles can become highly addictive and anti social. After all if you are in a restaurant you wouldn't expect one of the waiters to be using a mobile.
It's incredible how talking into a mobile at all times of night and day has become the accepted norm. I can remember when mobiles first came out (about the size of a house brick and with a battery that lasted about two hours). I was working for Norfolk Constabulary at the time and was sent off into Norwich to test whether this particular monster worked. I was in Virgin Records when it rang and I scuttled out of the shop and almost hid in an alleyway to answer it - such was my embarrassment. Today people use them just about everywhere. I have even heard mobile phone conversations coming from behind a loo door.
So they can be anti social but they can also be dangerous. I only just avoided having an accident with a van last week because the driver was speaking into a phone with one hand and trying to turn a corner with the other. The thing that annoys me is not so much the fact they are using mobiles whilst trying to drive (and this alone can be highly dangerous) but that they refuse to have blue tooth technology put into their cars/vehicles. I know this can be quite costly but the blue tooth ear adaptors cost just a few pounds. It is an offence to drive whilst holding and speaking into a mobile. I know the police take it very seriously but I would like to see many more people stopped and prosecuted for this offence.
By using footage from cameras and mobile phones the programme allowed the drama to unfold before our very eyes as it happened. And it soon became apparent that 1/ there were just not enough lifeboats and 2/ the communication and information being given out was controlled and extremely poor. Add to that a captain and officers whose only aim seemed to be to save their own skins and it made for compelling viewing.
It also underlined that in our modern age it is impossible to "hush" anything up. We have all become journalists and photographers, ready and able to record any events and pass them on to the public via television documentaries and social media. If mistakes are being made there is absolutely no place for those making them to hide.
The worrying thing here was the Concordia obviously had a coward as its captain and that is of grave concern. You tend to assume when you undertake a cruise that the captain and officers are there for a bit more than to pose for photographs with guests and to clink glasses and toast each other at the gala banquets. The fact that on this vessel it seemed that they were literally out of their depths is worrying.
I have been on a number of cruises and really enjoy the relaxation which is mixed with on land visits. It's the perfect mix for a holiday. I have always hated the first day lifeboat drill where everyone wanders out to their particular muster station with lifejackets on and stand around (often in very hot conditions) whilst they are given a lifeboat drill.
My problem with this is that in a real emergency there is likely to be blind panic and not an orderly queue for the various muster stations. It would turn into the survival of the fittest as the captain of the Concordia proved. All the drills would go out of the window and at the end of the day the problem has been the same for the last 100 years. There weren't enough lifeboats on the Titanic and there weren't enough lifeboats on the Concordia. Add to that the fact that there seemed to be a lack of awareness on how to launch them on the Concordia and we are entering very dangerous territory indeed!
I think there is a great deal of tokenism on cruise ships - the same kind of view that there was on the Titanic in 1912 - a belief that the boat cannot possibly sink and if it does there are plenty of lifeboats to go round. This is patently not true and neither is the view that the captain and crew will direct operations when things go really wrong. I hope that this documentary will be the catalyst for cruise liners to really train their staff in safety principles and how to take charge of a life threatening situation. If it doesn't we could have another Concordia at virtually any time. This is an area where corners cannot and must not be cut.
Interesting take on the use of mobile phones yesterday with news that a stallholder on Norwich Market is refusing to serve refreshments to anybody on a mobile phone. Well done him. Mobiles can become highly addictive and anti social. After all if you are in a restaurant you wouldn't expect one of the waiters to be using a mobile.
It's incredible how talking into a mobile at all times of night and day has become the accepted norm. I can remember when mobiles first came out (about the size of a house brick and with a battery that lasted about two hours). I was working for Norfolk Constabulary at the time and was sent off into Norwich to test whether this particular monster worked. I was in Virgin Records when it rang and I scuttled out of the shop and almost hid in an alleyway to answer it - such was my embarrassment. Today people use them just about everywhere. I have even heard mobile phone conversations coming from behind a loo door.
So they can be anti social but they can also be dangerous. I only just avoided having an accident with a van last week because the driver was speaking into a phone with one hand and trying to turn a corner with the other. The thing that annoys me is not so much the fact they are using mobiles whilst trying to drive (and this alone can be highly dangerous) but that they refuse to have blue tooth technology put into their cars/vehicles. I know this can be quite costly but the blue tooth ear adaptors cost just a few pounds. It is an offence to drive whilst holding and speaking into a mobile. I know the police take it very seriously but I would like to see many more people stopped and prosecuted for this offence.
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