Costa Concordia Operator Launches New, Safer Cruise Ship

The cruise line company that operated the Costa Concordia, the cruise vessel that partially sank off the Italian coast killing 32 people, has now launched a new cruise ship. 

The Costa Fascinosa cost $530 million to build, and weighs more than 140,000 tons. The launch of the ship comes just months after the Costa Concordia disaster. The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian coast, with more than 4,000 passengers on board. It then tipped over, partially sinking, and killing 32 people. The accident was allegedly caused when the captain decided to deviate from a set route.

This launch of a new vessel by the same company has not gone unnoticed. This time around, the cruise operator has made sure that the vessel comes with as many safety features as possible in order to reduce the risk of a maritime accident. This cruise vessel comes with new safety features that include a real-time monitoring system that will encourage captains to follow the same routes across all ships. 

Several international cruise line operators recently begun following new rules set by the industry. Those recommendations call for mandatory emergency training for all passengers before a cruise begins. 

Earlier this month, Cruise Lines International, one of the biggest cruise operator organizations also decided to adopt new rules that would require cruise lines to equip their vessels with more numbers of life jackets compared to the number of passengers on board. This rule is being adopted in order to reduce the kind of safety deficiencies found after the Costa Concordia disaster. In that tragedy, survivors complained that they did not get life jackets in time.

The cruise ship injury lawyers at Schechter McElwee Shaffer and Harris represent crewmembers and passengers who have been injured in cruise vessel accidents in international waters.