Saturday, April 14, 2007

Sunken Cruise Ship: Sea Diamond

Things are looking poor for the crew of the cruise ship Sea Diamond. The ship that sank off of the Greek island of Santorini. A so-called black box has been recovered by a remote controlled submersible probe, the box - similar to those used in the airline industry is becoming more common at sea. The data recovered from this box will undoubtedly be used to hang the crew members.

The aftermath:
1,600 people had to be rescued. A few remain missing and search parties continue looking for them.


Any accident at sea is most definitely a tragedy and probably avoidable. Such incidents have been occurring since the first ships sailed the seas. It is particularly frightening when it is a large vessel carrying passengers- or large quantities of oil. Frightening for the passengers and for the crew. These crewmen will likely face jail time for doing their job poorly. While I am not a fan of the extreme punishments facing mariners today, I must say that it is probably justified when watch standers are this negligent. This is unfortunate for everyone in the industry because it will likely result in more inquiries and more rules that we will be strapped with.

The last vessel I was on, I was assigned as the security officer. Part of my duties were to have a new surveillance system installed. This included a black box, cameras on the bridge, and microphones that recorded every word on the bridge. I was glad to be leaving when my time was up. I can only imagine that the black box recovered from the Sea Diamond will be damning in this case. I am glad it wasn't my ship. I will try to follow this case as it unravels.

Word to the wise: Don't be complacent when standing your watch. If you want to goof around, you should really look for another line of work.

1 comment:

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