Costa implements seven new safety initiatives
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Costa Cruises has implemented seven new safety initiatives, including a real-time monitoring system that allows the company to control the position of all its ships.
The new measures have been announced during the delivery of its new 114,500- ton Costa Fascinosa in Venice this past weekend and only four months after its Concordia veered of its course near the Italian Island of Giglio, killing 32 people.
The new monitoring system allows the company to manage and monitor fleet routes with the ability to control the position and course of its ships in real time. The system verifies the safety level of route plans, comparing the route planned by the captain with the safest paths. It enables the line to quickly identify unexpected changes of direction through an automatic alert system, to enable prompt action and to ensure guest safety.
The line will be strengthening guest emergency training procedures to ensure each guest is fully trained on all aspects of emergency and evacuation procedures prior to the ship’s departure. The new measures are far in excess of the current mandatory requirements. A new electronic card system will be implemented to ensure that each and every guest is fully trained and if for whatever reason any guest was not in attendance, the electronic monitoring system will isolate these guests and measures will be taken to ensure these guests receive the required training.
A new section on Costa’s website “Noi per Voi” (Us for You) highlights all safety procedures the company has adapted starting from the ship building process , crew training, fire regulations all the way to all aspects of safety onboard. The new section highlights the importance of safety to Costa and to provide additional comfort to guests who visit the site, who just need a little bit more re-assurance prior to making a booking.
Costa’s officers will receive advanced bridge-management training at the Smart simulation centre in Almere, Netherlands. All other industry wide safety procedures announced by CLIA in the aftermath of the Concordia disaster have already been fully implemented.
Meanwhile Costa took delivery of its new £415m flagship last Saturday in Venice. The ship was officially handed over at the Venice Passenger Terminal by shipbuilder Fincantieri. The delivery ceremony was attended by Italy’s Minister of Tourism Piero Gnudi and his daughter Elsa serves as godmother to the new ship.