Charges of evidence tampering filed in Concordia shipwreck

Charges of evidence tampering filed in Concordia shipwreck

Official press release.

(ANSA) - Grosseto, October 7 - Italian consumer group Codacons announced on Monday it filed charges of evidence manipulation in the Costa Concordia shipwreck probe and delivered the complaint to prosecutors in the Tuscan city of Grosseto.


The trial resumed on Monday of ex-captain Francesco Schettino who was in command of the giant cruiser when it smashed into a rock formation on Giglio Island off the Tuscan coast, on January 13, 2012, causing one of Italy's largest maritime disasters.


Schettino is accused of multiple manslaughter and dereliction of duty for his role in the shipwreck that killed 32, forced the evacuation of thousands onboard, and caused massive economic damage to Costa Cruises and to Giglio Island, a popular Tuscan tourist destination where the massive ship crashed.


Codacons' charges concern maintenance records that Costa Cruises delivered to experts during their appraisal of the evidence. ''Specifically, it concerns files related to compulsory tests for the emergency generator, to be performed weekly,'' Codacons announced in a note.


''Precisely those related to 10 weeks before the accident - were modified two months after the accident, on March 13, 2012,'' Codacons continued. Codacons complained that the values were changed ''all at the same time, in other words within a few dozen seconds, moreover with the insertion of identical values, such as for the temperature of the water and the temperature of the oil''.


''Malfunctioning of the emergency generator (was) a possible cause or secondary cause of the tragic epilogue of the shipwreck in terms of human lives, and is one of the main aspects that Codacons has been fighting from the beginning of the trial, and evidently it is not by chance that the alterations of the data concern precisely that front,'' Codacons claimed.


The consumer group called on the Grosseto prosecutor's office to open an urgent investigation into related facts and relative responsibilities, as well as called for the immediate seizure of documentation

Royal Princess cruise cancelled after power failure

By Phil Davies 

Princess Cruises has been forced to cancel a cruise by new ship Royal Princess after it lost power in the Mediterranean.

The ship suffered from a power outage yesterday while sailing between Mykonos and Naples.

The vessel, carrying 3,594 passengers and 1,336 crew, was on the seventh day of a 12-day voyage from Venice.

Power was reported to have been out for around three and a half hours.

A statement from the US line confirmed that the cruise will be cancelled after the ship arrives in Naples tomorrow evening (Tuesday).

It is not yet known what impact there will be on the next cruise, due to depart from Barcelona on September 27.

Passengers in the current voyage will receive a full refund along with a 25% future cruise credit.

The US line said: "The ship’s technical team continued to evaluate the problem overnight and, upon further assessment, it became apparent that repairs need to be made to fully resolve the situation.

"We sincerely regret this means the remainder of the current cruise will be cancelled, and passengers will disembark the ship in Naples.

"Princess is making homeward air arrangements for passengers, and we anticipate that passengers will spend Tuesday night onboard and depart the ship on Wednesday."

The company added: "We have dispatched a care team to Naples to ensure that all our passengers are provided with any assistance they may require.

"The impact of the repairs on the next Royal Princess cruise, scheduled to depart from Barcelona on September 27, is not yet known and we will keep passengers fully advised as details become known.

"Once again, we are deeply sorry for this unanticipated disruption of our passengers’ vacation plans, and we appreciate their patience and understanding of these circumstances."

Royal Princess experienced a power outage at lunchtime on Sunday.

“During the power outage, an emergency backup generator was used to provide essential services, such as toilets," the company said.

“The ship is not in any danger, and the captain has been keeping passengers regularly informed about the situation.”

The 141,000-ton vessel was named by the Duchess of Cambridge in June in Southampton.

Carnival Dream guests to be flown home from St. Maarten

UPDATED: Carnival Dream guests to be flown home from St. Maarten

By Tom Stieghorst

Carnival Cruise Lines said Thursday morning that while personnel continue to work on a "technical issue" with the Carnival Dream's backup emergency diesel generator in St. Maarten, Carnival is making arrangements to fly all guests home on a combination of charter and scheduled flights.

Carnival also has canceled the March 16 departure of the Dream.

Carnival said it has traced the technical issue to a malfunction during a regularly scheduled test of the emergency diesel generator on March 13. That led to periodic outages in elevator service and restroom services, Carnival said.

"While the ship’s propulsion systems and primary power source were not impacted, in an abundance of caution, we prefer not to sail with guests on board without an operational back up emergency generator," Carnival stated.

The Dream operates from Port Canaveral, Fla., and was on the last leg of a seven-day cruise when the problem occurred, Carnival said.

The ship did not lose power and its propulsion and primary power generators were not affected, Carnival said.

All hotel systems are functioning normally on the Dream, after periodic interruptions to elevators and toilets in the evening hours on Wednesday while the ship was docked in St. Maarten.

CNN reported on the problems, citing passengers who claimed the ship had lost power and didn't have functioning toilets. It quoted a passenger who e-mailed saying guests were not allowed to leave the ship.

In a statement, Carnival said at no time did the Dream lose power. 

Regarding restrooms, Carnival stated, "Based on the ship’s service logs and extensive physical monitoring of all public areas, including restrooms, throughout the night, we can confirm that only one public restroom was taken offline for cleaning based on toilet overflow and there was a total of one request for cleaning of a guest cabin bathroom. Aside from that there have been no reports of issues onboard with overflowing toilets or sewage."

Hotel functions were restored around 12:30 a.m. "The ship has full power but is still at dock while personnel continue to work on the technical issue," Carnival said.

Guests on the current cruise will get a refund equal to three days of the cruise, plus a 50% discount off a future cruise. Guests on the upcoming cruise will get a refund and a 25% discount off a future cruise, Carnival said.