Costa Concordia

I've been watching that on the news. It's freaky to watch being a retired ship captain of 42 years. Thank goodness and the appropriate forces I and my crew always managed to keep our ships on top of the water and not under it.
 
It worked! The ship is sitting upright. It will take some time before it can been re-floated and towed off for salvage.
But the parbuckling worked.
From the pictures, it looks as if over half the ship is still underwater.
 
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TexasRaceLady said:
It worked? The ship is sitting upright. It will take some time before it can been re-floated and towed off for salvage.
But the parbuckling worked.
From the pictures, it looks as if over half the ship is still underwater.
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report I saw said the platform was set so the water line would be at the 7th floor.
 
I am very familiar with ships and how they are designed and structured and I am in complete awe with what they have done so far. Usually they leave it, which in this case they couldn't, or cut it up on site which wasn't very practical. It's just amazing to me what they've accomplished..
 
Just heard the cost of righting this ship was 800 million and there's still a lot of work to do before it can be towed off and cut up for salvage. Wonder why the superstructure wasn't cut off in place? Wouldn't it have made righting easier?
Anyone venture a guess what's it worth in salvage?
 
My guess would be that cutting the structure off would be too time consuming and not cost effective since it was laying on its side and partially submerged. Upright it is in a better and easier position to be stripped before its refloated but how much they'll take off I don't have a guess but probably all the way to the deck.
 
Jay Leno was talking about this last night and he said that it's been under water for a long time and it still has more working bathrooms than a Carnival Cruise ship.
 
Johali said:
I've been watching that on the news. It's freaky to watch being a retired ship captain of 42 years. Thank goodness and the appropriate forces I and my crew always managed to keep our ships on top of the water and not under it.
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no wonder ya like them $160 seats at tha races ! ha!

what kinda cargo ?
 
hawg dawg said:
no wonder ya like them $160 seats at tha races ! ha!

what kinda cargo ?
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Standard Cargo Liners until Container Ships became the future of shipping in the late 70s then stayed with them until I retired 4 years ago. Six months at sea and six months at home, memories of my life are like time lapse photography, but I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I still love it.
 
Johali said:
Standard Cargo Liners until Container Ships became the future of shipping in the late 70s then stayed with them until I retired 4 years ago. Six months at sea and six months at home, memories of my life are like time lapse photography, but I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I still love it.
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johali ....neat job. just curious......how'd ya wind up doin that ? navy ? etc

best friend's dad growin up was chief engineer/mechanic on tugboat. miss. river. 30 on / 30 off.
big hunter / fisherman.....so that worked out very good !
 
I had two years of college when I was discharged from the USMC in 1965 and an uncle suggested that I use part of my Veterans Benefits to attend the US Maritime Academy at Kings Point NY to see what I thought about it for a profession, I loved it, graduated as a Third Mate in the US Merchant Marines with a Bachelor of Science degree, an officers commission in the armed service of my choice if I wanted it which I didn't in 1967 and it took 3 years of honorable sea time to get my Masters Certificate and another 7 years to get a relief Command position then another 5 years to get my first permanent Command. It was a helluva ride and I wouldn't change a thing.
 
young folks today would want relief command outa school ! ha!
what ports did ya visit ? which usa ones ya depart from usually ?
we could make this a whole new thread !
 
hawg dawg said:
young folks today would want relief command outa school ! ha!
what ports did ya visit ? which usa ones ya depart from usually ?
we could make this a whole new thread !
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I appreciate it dawg but I lived and talked about it for 42 years and now its over, and I think its best to look ahead. If you throw a dart at a list of the sea ports of the free world and some not so free there is a good chance that where it hit I've put in there.
 
$600 Million cost to build, $800 million to salvage and $47.5 million to scrap per the news the other day.
 
It's coming on the discovery channel. I'm gone.
 
That was a good show with great explanations of what was going on, even with my background I learned a great deal, especially why they had to do things the way they did that I never heard of.
 
Those divers working under the ship were the bravest of the brave. Didn't realize how precarious the site was --- damned thing could have slipped and been gone in a heartbeat.
 
I liked what the supervisor from Florida said about how they figured out how to raise it, " we went to the bar, had a few and came up with a great idea, went back and crunched the data and saw it wouldn't work and did that over and over until we figured it out" not an exact quote but close enough. Nothing they did had ever been tried before, what they did was amazing. And yes the divers I know and have dealt with aren't stupid but are pretty much fearless.
 
Yeah, I got a kick out that statement about the ideas, too. It's called "brainstorming" --- you just start throwing ideas out until something clicks.

What was also amazing was the precision with which all the pieces fit together.
 
What I found amazing about his comment was they did their brainstorming on a project that big while in a bar having drinks, ours were always in a boardroom with a brainstorming invitation only and water or coffee was the drink but I guess the best ideas come when you are relaxed and they just pop in your head.

Yes I agree the engineers got it right this time, the pieces all just fell into place.
 
I remember reading about the Concordia mess the night it happened while on a cruise ship forum I used to post on frequently. When I first heard about it, I saw pictures of the ship leaning over (before falling on its side and losing power), and that was shocking enough. Seeing the first picture of the ship on its side without power a few hours later was unbelievable at first.

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First picture I saw of the Concordia on its side:

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Haven't been paying as much attention to what's been going on with the Concordia lately. Any chance the Discovery Channel will re-air that program anytime soon?
 
They reaired it twice so far that I know of, check their lineup I'm sure you'll find it.
 
Johali said:
What I found amazing about his comment was they did their brainstorming on a project that big while in a bar having drinks, ours were always in a boardroom with a brainstorming invitation only and water or coffee was the drink but I guess the best ideas come when you are relaxed and they just pop in your head.
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IIRC that's how the concept of the B-52 came about. Sketched out in a bar on a napkin.
 
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