Experts say the Concordia's navigational devices may have failed after passengers tell of possible engine room explosion
Like all forms of modern mass transport, cruise liners are utterly dependent on complex electronic devices to steer them – and on electricity to run these systems. Without power, a ship is stricken and with reports suggesting that an explosion occurred in Concordia's engine room shortly before the ship ran aground, early analysis indicates power loss is likely to have been a key factor in the accident.
This point was stressed by Malcolm Latarche, editor of global shipping magazine IHS Fairplay Solutions. Passengers had reported a power black-out and hearing a large blast shortly before the grounding, indicating the vessel could have suffered an engine room explosion, he noted.
According to this scenario, a power surge or "harmonic interference" could have caused a malfunction in the generators feeding the ship's six diesel-electric engines, while back-up systems failed to provide power with sufficient speed. This would have caused the ship to lose navigational power and steering control and to veer off course.
"The systems need to be reset and most of these things have automatic back-up, but it takes time for them to come in," said Latarche, who added that a similar problem had caused the Queen Mary 2 to lose power in September 2010 as she was approaching Barcelona.
This similarity between the two incidents was also stressed by the maritime professionals' union Nautilus International which said it was now essential that inquiries into the Concordia's grounding examine reports of electrical problems in all modern ships. The general secretary of the union, Mark Dickinson, added that the accident should serve as a wake-up call to the shipping industry.
Nautilus – which represents 23,000 ship masters, officers, ratings and other shipping industry staff – is concerned not just with power issues but with the rapid recent increases in the size of passenger ships, with average tonnage doubling over the past decade. "Many ships are now effectively small towns at sea, and the number of people on board raises serious questions about evacuation," Dickinson added.
The sheer scale of modern cruise liners therefore presents another challenge for emergency services and analysts say much more attention needs to be given to the adequacy of life-saving appliances, and the quality of crews and their training. In addition, investigators will have to examine issues that include seafarers' working hours, adequate manning of the bridge and engine room, evacuation systems and more innovative methods for abandoning these giant vessels.
In short, the Concordia inquiry will have to be a comprehensive affair if cruise line holidays are to regain their rosy reputations.