Travel Guard Offers Assistance to Greek Cruise Ship Passengers

[TravelerMike]

I would like to share this important information in light of the terrible event involving the Sea Diamond yesterday:

Travel Guard is offering assistance, emergency travel services and medical assistance services free to evacuees of the Sea Diamond cruise ship and their families. If you were affected or are looking for information on loved ones who were, you can call Travel Guard’s 24-hour World Service Center at 1-800-826-1300. From Greece, evacuees can call 00800-1809-201-2429.

[Andrealovescruising]

TravelerMike, good info. The news agencies are reporting that a man and his 16 yr. old daughter are the only passengers unaccounted for. Their cabin filled with water very quickly. Although his wife and other child safely got off the ship. Just awful.

[choochella]

I just saw that about this cruise ship sinking. Someone's definitely going to be held accountable for this. Didn't the captain know of the rocks in that area? I read that they were clearly marked. The passengers on this cruise must have been really horrified. I also read that the crew were getting off before some of the passengers. Seems like the Titanic all over again.

[Svein]

Originally posted by choochella:
I just saw that about this cruise ship sinking. Someone's definitely going to be held accountable for this. Didn't the captain know of the rocks in that area? I read that they were clearly marked. The passengers on this cruise must have been really horrified. I also read that the crew were getting off before some of the passengers. Seems like the Titanic all over again.

There's nothing more ignorant than people drawing conclusions without knowing the facts and the results of the investigation.

[Jim C.]

Common Svien... unless the ship was unpowered, or in a maor storm (it wasn't) there is no excuse for hitting a reef/rocks in that area. Magellian had maps that said "look out for these rocks"....

With modern navigational systems an experienced crew should have been able to avoid this. I'll hold judgement until there is more information, but at this point it does not look good for the crew of that ship

[Svein]

That's whatI'm saying. It's stupid and ignorant to make a conclusion based on the first headlines from the scene.

Anyway as a master mariner I know very well that high tech nav equipment is not a guarantee against grounding and I will be very careful to point fingers at a colleague until I know all the facts.

[Andrealovescruising]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe...hip/index.html

I'm pretty sure this says it all.

[Meldrew of the Seas]

It seems surprising that the ship sank completely... watertight compartments should surely have kept the ship afloat.

So.... 2 questions spring to mind.

Did the damage breach too many watertight compartments (Titanic style) ?

Did someone forget to close (or did the closing mechanism fail) the watertight doors ?

If, as reported, the captain tried to free the ship from the rocks, that seems (at least to me) a foolish move as this would surely have increased the damage beneath the water line.

And we then get the question of why the ship hit the rocks.....

Propulsion failure? Steering gear failure? Human error? Faulty GPS / navigation equipment?

While Sea Diamond was 20 years old, we have to remember that two much newer Princess ships have been involved in serious incidents in the last year. And Sea Diamond is a new ship for Louis cruises.... they have some 1960's tonnage.

The fact that the captain has been charged does not mean he is guilty... that is what an investigation is for.

It is good to see that all but 2 passengers survived... so the safety equipment and procedures did their job. No doubt good weather and proximity to shore (for help) made the evacuation easier.