The Costa Concordia disaster Consequences on international maritime regulations Christelle FRANCOIS

2 Costa 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

3 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 The Costa Concordia accident ► 13 th January 2012 ► 4229 on board (3206 passengers; 1023 crew) ► Collided with rocks close to island of Giglio off Italian coast – hours ► 53 metres breach of hull involving 5 watertight compartments ► Capsized in shallow water ► 32 dead, 157 injured

4 Costa 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

5 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 OMI Response : MSC initiatives ► 90 th 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) ► 92 nd 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

6 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 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

7 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 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 →

8 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 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

9 Costa 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

10 Costa 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 (30m 3 ;TPcm at d s ) ↔ ↔ ↔ SOLAS 2009

11 Costa 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 :

12 Costa 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 :

13 Costa 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 ?

14 Costa Concordia 12 March 2014 Some accidents with an impact on the increase of the survivability : ► Herald of Free Enterprise : 6 th of March 1987 ► Estonia : 28 th of September 1994 Previous accidents → Solas 1990 (upgrading of the stability criteria) Solas 1974 Solas 1990 → Solas Stockholm Agreement ( additional effect of water on deck ) Both having retroactive application to existing ships

15 Costa 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