There was a bad cruise-ship accident a couple of weeks ago. It was on the Coral Princess, a ship we cruised on a couple of years ago. It involved a lifeboat, perhaps one that was on the Coral Princess a couple of years ago.
Two crew members fell into the water inside a lifeboat. One of them died. The other is in hospital with injuries. That makes it a bad accident…not that there are ever any good ones.
The ship was in Colon, Panama at the time. The crew members were doing maintenance to 
the ship’s hull, from a lifeboat. As the lifeboat was being raised back into position, a cable snapped and the lifeboat plunged into the water.
As with all accidents, there is a tendency to say…these things happen.
But this one raises a serious question.
Lifeboats carry as many as 300 people at once. If a cable snaps with two people in a lifeboat, even if the accident was due to human error, how safe are lifeboats when carrying 200 or 300 passengers?
Today at portsandbows.com: Regal Princess — now it’s official!
Norwegian Sky
3 nights
November 28, 2014
Miami (return): Nassau, Great Stirrup Cay
Inside: $129
Cost per day: $43
www.ncl.com