Earlier this week, we regaled you — okay, informed you — with things about the Titanic that were new to us. One that we couldn't squeeze in was about the legendary ship's legacy: Its demise in 1914 led to the formation of the International Ice Patrol, and from that day to this, no lives have been lost to ship collisions with icebergs.
Fast forward 98 years.
The Costa Concordia, twice the size of the Titanic, wrecked on rocks near Italy just over a year ago. It has become the modern-day version of the Titanic even though the death toll (32) wasn't nearly as staggering (1,507).
So what will the Concordia's legacy be?
It's already taking shape.
On 60 Minutes a couple of weeks ago, CBS did a Concordia update. Among its revolutionary findings: a "new ship" is being welded onto both sides of the Concordia
"like big Lego" so that the disabled ship can be rolled, raised, buoyed by pumped air and floated to shore, something that's never before been tried. The cost is probably not much less than it was when the Concordia was built nine years ago: $400 million.
On a website belonging to a well-known maritime lawyer and cruise safety advocate, Jim Walker, there is concern that the world's two biggest cruise ships — Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas — don't have enough lifeboats to carry their massive populations to safety should disaster strike. You can read his fascinating account at www.cruiselawnews, but in essence, it sounds like it would be a stretch for Royal Caribbean to evacuate up to 8,500 people in an "abandon ship" crisis.
The point is, while the Concordia disaster's days in infamy may never be of Titanic proportions, it will certainly continue to have an impact on safety at sea.
Norwegian Spirit
12 nights
April 17, 2013
Barcelona, Toulon, Florence, Rome, Naples, Mykonos, Istanbul, Izmir, Athens, Venice
Inside: $899
Cost per day: $74
www.ncl.com